The Lost Symbol : A Review

After Rome and Paris, Robert Langdon faces yet another challenge to unravel ancient secrets, save a friend's life,defeat a formidable foe and avert a global disaster, all in a single day's work. But this time the adventure takes place in Washington which may initially seem surprising,given the fact that was founded roughly 300 years back whereas ancient secrets date back to well.. antiquity. The linkage of course is the well-known Masonic roots of the founding fathers of the USA and Freemason symbols and signature found in everything from the White House to the Presidential Seal and even currency bills, subjects which have provided sustenance to myriads of conspiracy theories floating on the web especially.

The plot is similar to his previous thrillers as are the characters.[Spoiler Alert!]  Like in previous books the three main characters besides the protagonist are hardly normal people. An unimaginably rich and immensely powerful  patron,a genius, powerhouse of knowledge and a gentleman with a heart of gold is unlikely to come across anywhere other than Dan Brown book. Similarly, an immensely intelligent, single independent woman of science and one of the keys to the plot  and a highly motivated, skilled and ruthless villain with an unusually high intellectual level  completes the triad around which the story revolves. [/Spoiler Alert!] 

Dan Brown was never really a great writer,but in this one he definitely sounds stale. However, the author probably relies more on his homework,assortment of oddities,  rather than literary skill which would explain why about half the lines in his books are usually italicized. Unlike conspiracy theorists', Dan Brown's assertions are usually based on facts, obscure facts,facts which have been hidden beneath tales,stories,customs,rituals or even under physical structures and private artefacts,but more interesting are the secrets hidden in plain view which we look at often, but never see! Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons had loads of them. In The Lost Symbol, the quest that the villain embarks on is to unravel the ancient mysteries and find the path to immortality! Now if that sounds preposterous in the 21st century,just take a look at this picture above, mentioned in The Lost Symbol.

Secrets like these are what compensate for the literary value it lacks. Freemasonry has been mentioned depicted in numerous books and movies but mostly as an ungodly cult, Brown narrates the seemingly grotesque rituals with all their sordid details but then he also explains the underlying philosophy and principles which make these rituals seem justifiable for greater good. Another obscure but very potent branch of science, the Noetic Science, which according to my understanding is the science investigating the intangible relationships of  humans with other humans and with the universe. as a whole.

For the occasional reader looking for a gripping storyline, a proper thriller, The Lost Symbol might just not satisfy. As for those like me , given to oddities and mysteries, it certainly deserves a place on the shelf.