The Lost Symbol

Whether you see Dan Brown as a good or bad writer, I've found his books to be typical page turners. The Lost Symbol is not. I used a lost more time to read this book that what I normally would. It just got boring. Biggest issue: Predictable. The second the idea of where the lost word (symbol) was presented, I knew exactly where it was, within no time I knew the twist regarding the bad guy, and as you understand the idea behind the Ancient Mysteries in the book, you also understand right away that the ending is going to be a let down. I believe most people reading The Lost Symbol will feel the same way. I'm glad I borrowed this book and saved my money.

I quite enjoyed 'The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons", so I was quite excited to read the third book in the series. However, it was extremely dull and became quite a chore to finish. You do not sympathise with any of the characters whatsoever. In fact you are more likely to wish that the villan would come out on top, at least that would make things interesting. Dan Browne has concentrated far too much on facts and figures, that end up becoming awfully tedious, and you end up feeling that you would have been better off reading an encyclopedia. I suspect that, as can sometimes happen after an author becomes succesful, that Dan Browne has been a little lazy with this Novel. I hate to be so negatvie, as I really do enjoy most books I read, but this book was really bad.

I have to admit, that I used to be a Dan Brown fan.... started with the Da Vinci code, then to Angels and Demons and the rest from there. I never used to understand the prejudice behind his books, especially from the critics, and felt them easy page turner thrillers. I think in this case however, I am beginning to see why. Firstly, this book is a variation on the same theme... mystical treasure, kidnap, death, run around town like a headless chicken.... beautiful lady and a twist at the end. So lets just say far from original Secondly, he keeps telling us what their character is thinking, almost treating the reader as slow witted, as 90% of the time you know what they are supposed to think Thirdly - Freak of nature/weirdo chasing the hero.... Finally - and really specific to this book, is the quest is just boring, the twist is even more boring! In the previous books something was at stake, and you just had to know what the outcome was... in this book I just really didn't care. If Langdon, the Masons and his girlfriend spontaneously combusted I would not have cared, in fact probably would have found it more interesting! Sorry..... Dan Brown, you are no longer on my must read list

Yes, the prose is awkward, yes the style is irritating at times ... But the plot keeps the pages turning. It's no literary masterpiece, but it's a good, simple read.

I loved the previous Dan Brown books, so I was waiting anxiously for the new book to come out. Unfortunatelt it did not meet the high standards of previous books. The story moves at a fast pace as usual, but it just did not get me hooked as the previous books. Also, the drawn out end was a big dissapointment and took me about a week to finish... The entire background story seems too far fetched and the involvement of the various government agencies overdone. Sorry, but only three stars for this one.

Although I braced myself for it to be not as enthralling as his previous title's, I was heavily disappointed with his latest work. The Mason story is continuously repeated and most of the time I found myself scanning pages to get through it. The 'baddie' is the most ridiculous character which just made it harder to let my imagination go with it. Obviously it has been written with the movie in mind with his action descriptions bordering on the ridiculous. It was always going to be tough to follow the Da Vinci Code (as well as his previous novels) but this was poor. A poor story which went on too long and I had lost interest by the half way stage. Shame, but simply his topic of discussion was not for me and to add the mundane 'history' lecturing I would not recommend this book.

ALthough this book was in the "Used" category it was descibed as "Like New" and they werent wrong. In fact I believe the book had never been taken out of its wrapper so I was more than happy.

I was really looking forward to a fast paced storyline, instead I was bored, bored bored.... What appeared to be a promising book, especially since the author mentioned the Upanishads in the beginning turned out to be predictable and just a complete and utter waste of my time. It was obvious what the real identity of the vilain was miles off before it was revealed. I just felt that the author dangled some promising material in the beginning and then didn't really use it. I was bored and this book did not hold any surprises and was a major let down. I used to think that Foucault's pendulum was the thinking man's Da Vinci Code. Now I think that the da Vinci code is the thinking man's The Lost Symbol. It almost seems that the author took away any form of intelligence from Robert Langdon. It almost feels like after the Da Vinci code episode, Robert Langdon has undergone a lobotomy. As for his side-kick, she just seemed to be made of cardboard. A woman with no depth who is manipulated by her brother into her area of study. I cannot count the number of times that the author mentions her beauty. This unfortunately culd not distract from her almost comical depiction. It seemed like a completely immature and what I would definitely not regard as being an intelligent woman. Just a really disappointing book, and very poorly written. The characters were very one-dimensional and poorly thought out.

I've read a few of this guys books, and they gradually get worse I was given this as a present, so I decided to read it. It's by far his worst book, and has left me feeling robbed of time I will never get back. If you have time on your hands and want some mindless entertainment, then I suggest you go watch paint dry. Do not read this book!

Worst book I have ever read - so bad I couldn't even finish it! Dan Brown is grasping at straws here. Poor plot, poorly written.