The Lost Symbol

[Syvaris]

I got it yesterday at work and am about half way done as of the time of this writing. The book is pretty good so far, typical Dan Brown. I must say it is one of the times I have laughed out loud at a book. The Lux Aerta moment was very funny, it has to be the most cliched piece of music, and it shows up there, to funny.

[Yodaking]

I liked this one quite a bit. Thought it had a good finish, although I figured out where the stairway was before they revealed it in the book.

[Reynard the Fox]

Personally I read it and thought it was terrible. I had to skip large portions of the book simply because I couldn't get myself to read it all the way through.

[AliasQTip]

The Lost Symbol pales in comparison to Angels and Demons; my favorite of the Robert Langdon series. The book was okay but not something I'm gonna pick up again any time soon.

[Reynard the Fox]

Out of the three, I always thought Angels and Demons was the best too. In that book you had a tangible threat, you had wonderfully beautiful architecture to provide a setting, as well as an intricate conspiracy expertly weaved into the architecture, and you had a powerful overriding theme, science vs. religion.

The Lost Symbol on the other hand was way too intangible and the linking between the architecture and history was weak as well. It was embarrassingly weak.

[killercactus]

I liked the book - it kept me reading through to the end, though I also figured out the staircase thing, and:

that Mal'akh was Zachary Solomon, as soon as he mentioned they were in the same jail

[Reynard the Fox]

Yeah, I figured those out too. My problem is:

Spoiler That the one major focus on the book, the subject of noetic science and what is essentially psychic ability, is so underwhelming. The first major applications of the so called "power of the mind" that Brown gives is shaping crystal structure, not the most impacting example. He gave an example of some kind mentioning how a whole bunch of people could change the tide or what not. Again, not very powerful.

The first real substantial example is when Katherine Solomon mentions the power of faith healers, around 300 pages in. What took so long? I myself am interested in paranormal/supernatural subjects, though I don't believe in the supernatural. I know what the man is talking about and I expected something more substantial.

Angels and Demons: It's a bomb, that has weight.

DaVinci Code: The secret there, while not life threatening, would undermine Christianity and much of Western tradition, so I can see the urgency in keeping such a think quiet.

Lost Symbol: No weight at all.

[krysto2002]

I enjoyed it. Not as much as Deception Point and the other two Langdon books, but I still liked it.

I've read all 5 books, and went through the Da Vinci Code in a one day binge. I promptly ate and fell asleep afterwards...

[jschild]

I liked the first 2/3rd's of the book, but the ending was one of the most horrendous pieces of junk I've seen in a very long time. Absolutely horrendous.

Also...the whole Noetic "science" stuff was so new agey and laughably bad that it made it almost impossible to enjoy on any level.

Give me Angels and Demons anyday.

[Mossman]

Definitely not my favorite Langdon book, though I enjoyed it. I agree about the ending- much too bloated.