The Lost Symbol By: Dan Brown
Year: 2009
Genre: Fiction: Thriller
Ah, Dan Brown. Hot on research and narrative, thin on plot and characterisation. And this book is no exception.
The template for his Langdon novels are always the same. All is good and well, and then a severed body part appears. The police misunderstand his heroic, boneheaded attempts to solve the Mystery Of The Body Part. There's a mysterious villain who somehow exudes sexuality despite being (in this book) a eunuch. Many symbols and codes are revealed, hidden in plain sight in one of the major cities of the world. There's always a female brought in, intelligent and vital, but ultimately there for some love interest. And Robert saves the day.
Yeah, the Lost Symbol is no exception to any of these rules...but unlike the Da Vince Code and Angels and Demons, it's crap. It's set in Washington DC and his descriptions don't bring it to life as the Vatican and Paris were in the other books. Perhaps this is because Dan Brown is familiar with the city and expects his readers to. Perhaps it's because the places alluded to are more modern. Perhaps it's because these places don't feature in my mind at all. I don't know.
Although it's as readable, gripping and page-turny as the other two books, it's somehow ROUTINE. I let out a great SIGH when a severed body part was discovered because it's Old Hat now.
I really didn't CARE about any of the characters. I haven't ever liked Langdon. He assumes too much knowledge of the people he's talking to; holding entire conversations in meaningful nods and "Oh...."s that just don't translate well to paper. It's as though Brown wrote the book with an eye on the movie adaptation. The only character with any slice of vitality (except the ubiquitous, claustrophobic Langdon) is the villain. You CARE about the villain in a way you really don't about anyone else. When somebody was drowned in formaldehyde, I really didn't bat an eyelid.
Equally, the subject matter (the Freemasons) was a little too National Treasure for my liking. I kept thinking about Nic Cage, and that's NEVER A GOOD OMEN for a book. I really hated the ending, which I can't explain without giving it away, but basically it should have ended about three chapters before it did.
In short, an excellent book for a holiday or long journey. But if you didn't like the other two, I don't expect you'll like this.
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