Review: The Lost Symbol

SKM, you can have the book now :)

I have just finished reading Dan Brown’s latest novel and I must say that sadly, I was not that impressed with it. Was it because I waited a few years for this novel and held unrealistic hopes? I don’t know. I must admit though that the story was entertaining and was thoroughly researched, but it was certainly not as exciting as Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code.

True to his form, Dan Brown employed some drastic plot twists but to me they were either hard to believe or added very little to the story line. While reading Th Lost Symbol, the buildup to the final climatic scene was immense but sadly Dan Brown failed to deliver. In a sense, the novel started with a bang but ended with a whimper.

Even with all of the novel’s misgivings, I still recommend it. It is not that this novel is bad, it is just that I keep comparing it to Dan Brown’s works of art, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code.

Spoiler Alert: If you’re still reading the novel or wish to read it in the future then please STOP here and DO NOT read further.

If you are reading this then I assume that you have already finished reading the book or have no intention of reading it altogether.

I will now attempt to explain where I think the story failed to deliver and I will start with the plot twists of the story. The first major twist was when Langdon was trapped in a coffin filled with what we first thought was water, after a short while he apparently drowned but later on in the story we found out this ‘water’ was some kind of a breathable liquid that kept Langdon alive. Okay, I do recall a similar scientific discovery being shown on TV so we know that a breathable liquid does exist. I admit that it could be used as an interrogation technique where the antagonist, Mal’akh, did the same thing to get information about ‘The Ancient Mysteries’ (Ancient information used by a select few enabling them to make great discoveries like Isaac Newton and his laws of gravity) The thing I didn’t like about that was the fact that when Langdon was pulled out of his liquid coffin he quickly regained his mental strength and composure to continue with his quest. The story stressed that this experience is extremely painful and people who went through this become disoriented.

The second plot twist was, in my opinion, just absurd. Mal’akh was the bad guy of the story who attempted to kill the Solomon family in order to get to the Ancient Mysteries. It turned out that Mal’akh was Peter Solomon’s son. Peter was the head Mason who held the important information regarding the Ancient Mysteries. That was too ‘Star Wars’ for my liking.

In the final chapters we learned that the Ancient Mysteries were in fact found in the bible and for people to get them they should simply read ‘between the lines’. That is a stark difference to the Da Vinci Code’s conclusion regardin the meaning of The Holy Grail. The Lost Symbol kept on going about how each person is divine. Keeping my religious beliefs aside, let’s say that it was a bit of a letdown for me. Doesn’t this conclusion contradict with the Freemason belief of what they call a ‘Supreme Being’ overlooking everything? Anyway, I expected something more sinister that would keep me thinking about Freemasonry for a while.

In a nutshell, if it took Dan Brown 5 years to research and write this story, then I suggest he should spend 2 more years for editing and revision.

Please note that I am not a book critic for you to take my word on all of this. I still suggest you should read the book, you’d never know, you might actually end up liking it more than me.

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