£16 in premium fund, thanks Ciao :-). You can also read my reviews at http://lou-reviews.blogspot.co...
£16 in premium fund, thanks Ciao :-). You can also read my reviews at http://lou-reviews.blogspot.co m/
Member since:25.11.2008
Reviews:135
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What can I say, I'm absolutely shattered, why? Because I was awake half the night reading this book. I received it in the post yesterday morning and started it straight away, and within a couple of chapters I was absolutely hooked.
Synopsis
The book again follows symbologist Robert Langdon. This time we find him at home in the US, when he receives an urgent call from his friend Peter Solomon, however, when he rings Peter back he only manages to get through to Peter's assistant. His assistant tells Robert that Peter is in a bit of a pickle as a lecturer has backed out of a speech and he needs someone to speak at the Capitol Buidling that night, feeling a little backed into a corner, Robert agrees.
After a short flight on Peter's private jet, and being whisked off to the Capitol building, Robert is bemused to find the place empty when he gets there.
That is until he receives a phone call from what Robert immediately believes is a madman. This call leads Robert into another maze of clues and cryptic messages in order to find the secret that the Masons have been hiding for years.
My Thoughts
You can tell by the fact that I managed to read such a long book in one day that I really enjoyed it. I found it much better than The Da Vinci Code (which I thought was a little over hyped), and better than Angels and Demons.
I hadn't planned to read it all in one day, because I like to feel like I've got value for money from my books, and even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I'm disappointed in myself for not making it last longer.
I thought the writing flowed much more smoothly in this book than the other two, my only complaint was that some of the science was a little complicated (I really don't have a scientific mind at all) and I had to double read a few bit to ensure that I understood them fully.
As I said, I had every intention of not reading the entire thing, but every time I started a new chapter I thought to myself 'right, this is definitely the last one', but then I'd get to the end of the chapter and I just had to find out what happened next, so then it was 'just one more chapter can't hurt'.
As for the characters, well Robert Langdon is typical Robert. If you haven't read any of the other books I don't think this one would give you a real understanding of him, although it does give you some insight into his past and his days as a new lecturer. But I think Dan Brown has assumed that you know Robert and his little foibles. Although I don't believe it'd exclude anyone from reading the book, but perhaps new readers wouldn't feel the same link with Robert.
The villain of the piece is Mal'akh, this isn't a spoiler, because he's revealed at the beginning, but is Mal'akh working alone or with someone else? Well that's something you'll have to find out when you read it. Mal'akh worked well as the bad guy, the descriptions given by Dan Brown make his into the perfect monster for this novel.
Another major player is Katherine Solomon, who is Peter's sister. She is a Noetic scientist, which is where the complicated science came in. I like her character, but it does seem a bit formulaic; in Angels and Demons we had Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra, in The Da Vinci Code we had Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, now Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon. Perhaps it would have been nice for Robert to have a male counterpart for a change.
The only thing I didn't like, and it's just a small thing; was that there was a map part way through the book showing the layout of the Capitol building. It looked totally out of place and more text book like than novel. As with the other novels there are other parts of the book where it deviates from plain text, and has symbols and items that need deciphering, but these are necessary and it would be impossible for Dan Brown to describe them without adding a dozen more pages to the book. But the map adds absolutely nothing because stopping to look at it breaks up the flow of the story, then after I found the area on the map that they were stood in I was still in the same situation I'd been before, Dan Brown had described the area as much as I needed him too, I didn't need to see a blueprint style map.
Apart from that it was brilliant, I loved it, although I might not be saying that later when I'm falling asleep in the afternoon!!
Very highly recommended, especially since Asda began a price war by advertising it at £4.99, even Amazon are selling it for the same price/
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, its actually how rev...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that ... more
clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, its actually how rev...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that ... more
clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, its actually how rev...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that ... more
clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, its actually how rev...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Six years in the writing The Lost Symbol is Dan Brown's extraordinary sequel to his ... more
internationally best-selling Robert Langdon thrillers Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. Nothing is ever what it first appears in a Dan Brown novel.
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: A good read with symbolic twists and turns Disadvantages: No WOW factor
Nothing-But-The-Truth 06.11.2009 (06.11.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Advantages: A good read with symbolic twists and turns Disadvantages: No WOW factor
Nothing-But-The-Truth 06.11.2009 (06.11.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Sep 16th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
