Saturday, July 3, 2010

Book Review : The Lost Symbol

The Lost symbol is the third and latest book in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series if we can call it this. Dan Brown wrote "The lost symbol" after "The Da Vinci Code" trying to keep the success he achieved in the most controversial book of the last decade , some people said that he managed to do so and some people believer otherwise ; either ways Brown managed to made a name for himself that we can't ignore as best selling author.
The Lost Symbol overall does not disappoint the reader and proves that Dan Brown is not one best selling author , on the contrary  he proved that the world has not finished with his alter ego Robert Langdon.

Now here is my review for the book which I read several months ago and kept this post till I find the suitable time to post it , I think summer time is suitable because it is the perfect time to read.
The following review is full of spoilers , so if you want to read it without spoilers then I advise you to stop here.


Now my dear reader to the Lost Symbol which you will only find at the end of the book as Brown always does , you know when you read a book for Brown that in its last chapters you will be dazzled by new revelations that will change the answers you already conclude from the novel. 
This time Brown stays away from Catholic Church and Christianity altogether and chooses another theme that is not less controversial if it is not more controversial : Freemasonry.
Through this book , Brown may give a proof to what some Orthodox priest said about him in Egypt during "The Da Vinci Code" crisis" :
    He is a Freemason who wants to fight religions
Many conspiracy theorists believe that he is a Freemason who tries to poison of the public mind with good publicity about the most hated secret group in the world in the last 2 centuries especially he wrote in a favorable way about the illuminati in 'Angels and demons" ; according to conspiracy theorists the illuminati is the real sinister group behind the Freemasons, who are their modern public cover these days. 
Yes the book is a pro-freemason novel , the best free publicity the Masons have received since the National treasure film series to the level of launching a website about the book and the truth about freemasonry. Yet I can't lie that I did not enjoy knowing the unknown Freemasonic history of the United States' founding father and how Washington D.C was planned to the Freemason Utopian's capital. One of Brown's strength points is that he takes the reader in to a journey of knowledge , a free trip to be accurate.  Where shall I know all that hidden history about the founding fathers of the United States and their strong freemasonic beliefs !!??
Again and again the Lost Symbol shares with The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons in things more than having the same hero Robert Langdon. The start was quiet different though Langdon was summoned not for murder but for a lecture regardless of what happened later.
The villain in the novel was just like in Angels and demons and after it the Da Vinci code too , the one villain behind the the curtain but unlike the first two novels this time it is a surprising villain, you will not guess him easily. The only thing I do not get is how large that Soloman trust fund that gave Mal'akh the ability to go on with his devilish plan. Already I can't imagine Mal'akh physically with all those tattoos and steroids.
I do not know what Dan Brown thinks about Muslims and Arabs overall but I feel it is not that good based on how he portrayed Muslim Arabs whether in the first book of the series "Angels and Demons" and "The lost Symbol". What is significant of having an Arab taxi driver who reported the security where Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon went !!? I think any taxi driver regardless of his race and religion will do the same thing.
It is not about that taxi driver only , I do not understand why Brown made Inoue Sato , the director of CIA's office of security with that cartoonish image especially with her Japanese background , may be Brown wanted to say that due to being a woman in that career with her background made her heartless bitch in order to prove herself with my all respect. I felt that I am in front of Edna Mode from  the Incredibles with Homer Simpson's sister in law Selma's voice !! It is also interesting that Sato is the female version of  Capitan Fache of the "Da Vinci code" who is the French version of commander Olivetti in "Angels and Demons" , Langdon always has this clash with the authority or security representatives as far as I could tell !!
Despite all that I enjoyed the mysteries and riddles in the book and you will enjoy it too.
Overall this is the best novel you can read in summer time , it is highly recommended , I will give 5/5 rating :
 StarStarStarStarStar
By the way I am waiting for the next Dan Brown's novel and I hope it will not take long just like J.K Rowling

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