The Lost Symbol (Unabridged Audio CD Set) |
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Dan Brown
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Pages: 14 (Audio CD)
ISBN: 1407442538
Pub: Whole Story Audio Books
Pub date: 2009-09-21
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3737
Editorial Review:
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that 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, it’s actually how reviewers such as myself obtained our copies of the much-anticipated The Lost Symbol, the follow-up to the Da Vinci Code. And as we read it in (literally) the cold light of dawn, we wonder: is it likely to match the earlier book’s all-conquering, phenomenal success?
Firstly, it should be noted that The Lost Symbol has incorporated all the elements that so transfixed readers in The Da Vinci Code: a complex, mystifying plot (with the reader set quite as many challenges as the protagonist); breathless, helter-skelter pace (James Patterson's patented technique of keeping readers hooked by ending chapters with a tantalisingly unresolved situation is very much part of Dan Brown’s armoury). And, of course, the winning central character, resourceful symbologist Robert Langdon, is back, risking his life to crack a dangerous mystery involving the Freemasons (replacing the controversial trappings of the Catholic Church and homicidal monks of the last book). And while Dan Brown will never win any prizes for literary elegance, his prose is always succinctly at the service of delivering a thoroughly involving thriller narrative in vividly evoked locales (here, Washington DC, colourfully conjured).
Robert Langdon flies to Washington after an urgent invitation to speak in the Capitol building. The invitation appears to have come from a friend with copper-bottomed Masonic connections, Peter Solomon. But Langdon has been tricked: Solomon has, in fact, been kidnapped, and (echoing the grisly opening of the last book) a macabre mutilation plunges Langdon into a tortuous quest. His friend’s severed hand lies in the Capitol building, positioned to point to a George Washington portrait that shows the father of his country as a pagan deity. The ruthless criminal nemesis here is another terrifying figure in Brown’s gallery of grotesques: Mal’akh, a powerfully built eunuch with a body festooned with tattoos. Mal’akh is seeking a Masonic pyramid that possesses a formidable supernatural power, and a pulse-pounding hunt is afoot, with Langdon stalled rather than aided by the CIA.
Caveats are pointless here; Dan Brown, comfortably the world’s most successful author, is utterly review-proof. And there's no arguing with the fact that he has his finger on the pulse of the modern thriller reader, furnishing the mechanics of the blockbuster adventure with energy and invention. Like its predecessor, The Lost Symbol will unquestionably be--in fact, already is--a publishing phenomenon. --Barry Forshaw
Reader Reviews:
A bit disappointing (0/0 people found this helpful)
Well I won't go on and talk about the plot of this book as many others have already done. I really loved the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, so I was looking forward to this book and was wondering how Dan Brown could possibly top the previous books. I eagerly started the book but I confess it took me ages to finish it. While I did find the subject interesting (Freemasons), the plot with the crazy tattooed guy was quite ridiculous. I found the book way too long and felt it could have been shortened substantially. I also found the end a bit of a let-down, the final `revelation'. Would I recommend this book? Sadly, not really, unless you are a huge fan of Dan Brown's work.
absolute class (0/0 people found this helpful)
got this for christmas and i have to say i was on the edge of my seat all the way. i read before bed and the only reason i put this book down was because my eyes were refusing to open. brown's writing is literary genius no matter how many times you try to guess whats going to happen the plot always twists in a way that always keeps you in the dark.
well worth 5 stars. must have book.
Not as bad as some would have you believe (0/0 people found this helpful)
Just finished reading this today and although i don't think it is as enjoyable as the Da Vinci code it does have some merits. I found the book was paced very well and did not find myself skipping sections like you sometimes do when a story drags. I found some of the reviews on here somewhat prejudiced due to the authors previous success, a form of snobbery in the extreme. It is true that the more popular someone becomes the more people feel the need to degrade them. I have to laugh when some reviewers state how they couldnt stand the writing/plot etc.., why did they buy this book? especially after condeming the previous authors work.
This aint a great piece of literature but it was never intended to be, it is though an enjoyable read, sometimes it is good to read a bit of entertaining nonsense. There is no way this is a one star book, a bit of perspective is needed.
For all those wannabe Will Self's out there i suggest you read something else.
Disappointing and Complex (0/0 people found this helpful)
As a follow up to Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci code, this book is a great disappointment and quite boring.
I've read all of Dan Browns' books and this is the only one I was glad to finish.
The storyline is similar to The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, but set in Washington DC, so the plot could have done with a bit more imagination and less complicated structures
The plots were very complex and uninteresting in places, requiring lengthy explanations and as a Freemason myself, I was offended at some of the content. There are masonic words and ceremonies in the book that people have vowed to keep secret. Shame on all who broke their vows of secrecy.
Even if I were not a Freemason, I would still have been bored by the same old (if slightly altered)storyline.
I'm glad this book was a Christmas present. I would have felt cheated out of my hard earned money if I'd bought it myself.
If anyone is really looking for "Unputdownable" thrillers, look no further than James Pattersons' Alex Cross novels
More of the same (0/0 people found this helpful)
Angels and Demons was explosive, Da Vinci Code fantastic but I'm afraid that Mr. Brown is churning out more of the same, just in a different setting. (Running around, hotly pursued, looking for obscure signs and symbols, just in Washington this time). If you have read the other two books I mention then I wouldn't bother buying this. If you are new to Dan Brown then you will probably think it fantastic, but Angels and Demons is much much better.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Audio CDs -> Fiction -> Unabridged
Books -> Subjects -> Audio CDs -> Fiction -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Authors, A-Z -> B -> Brown, Dan
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> Genre -> Adventure Stories
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Audiobooks -> Books on CD
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size