BOOK REVIEW OF "THE LOST SYMBOL" BY DAN BROWN

Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” is the third instalment of the Robert Langdon series and is bound to continue until the author decides to rest.

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon arrives at Washington for a last time lecture on the request of Peter Solomon-his mentor alias father-figure. What awaits in D.C is not only a gruelling surprise but also a mission which he reluctantly accepts because the life of someone dear to him is hanging in balance. Langdon figures quickly that it was not Peter who invited him but a vocal-doppelganger. Before he could understand the gravity of the situation, NSA enters the scene and Langdon’s journey turns worse at every turn with the preceding minute faring better than the next.

Meanwhile Katherine Solomon, sister of Peter Solomon, the chief of Noetic Sciences in D.C is at the end of a redefine-everything-as-we-know experiment. But someone will go to any lengths to see that this experiment doesn’t come to light. Who is he? Is he the same person who puppeteers Langdon. Also Peter Solomon’s dark history comes into play and makes Langdon jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. Will he survive?

Robert Langdon is no 007 nor is he as brilliant a sleuth as Sherlock because outside his comfort zone of symbols he will be as lost in sea as MH370. But his presence of mind and a deep knowledge of Masonic history have helped him overcome every obstacle with the help of a feminine sidekick (also in Davinci code, Angels and Demons).

The 670-page novel is typical Dan brown, clings at the start, takes parallel storytelling and at the end brings them all together but maintains the suspense as much as possible. Where the book falls flat is in the last 40 pages which is nothing but philosophical explanation of the supreme power, if any, which controls us. Without that conversation between Robert and Katherine, this novel would have been a brilliant read. But that can be excused considering the wonderful 600 pages we had before.

The twist, which should have been a surprise, was something that I saw coming a mile away. The nuance of Dan Brown is spelt in every chapter and in the sketch of the characters i.e Sato being a sturdy but short Asian, Anderson being a subjugating to authority American and off course Langdon as always is helpless but key to the ploy.

It’s highly unlikely that we will have a movie version of the book because on the screen the movie will be too brilliant to understand like “Inception’. However as a book the enjoyment will be much more extensive.

The Lost Symbol: Will have you lost in the pages.