I've been very impressed with Dan Brown's other two Robert Langdon Books, and was very excited to read this latest one. However, I must say I was less than thrilled. Dan Brown's attention to detail was too meticulous this time, slowing the pace of his usually well-paced books. But most importantly, Dan's incredible twists were shattered in this book. It was UNBELIEVABLY predictable. Literally, from page 240 I predicted the twist that is revealed on page 500!
I'm sorry Brown fans, but the first two books, were just way better.

Well, after two fantastic "hook and chase" novels like the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons (I haven't read his other novels) expectations were high for the The Lost Symbol. In the third of the professor Robert Langdon series, our favourite symbologist gets wrapped into the heart of Masonry lore and the secret location of the Ancient Mysteries. The city of choice this time is Washington D.C. Langdon has gone to Washington to help his mentor, Peter Soloman, who is a high ranking Mason, and gets involved in a plot to steal the Ancient Mysteries, a secret, higher knowledge and truth that is only known to the highest of ranking Masons. Langdon must race against time, deal with a moody CIA agent named Sato (the most interesting character in the book) and Mr. Soloman's sister, celebrated scientist Katherine Soloman.

As in typical Brown form, the location of where the book takes place is equally, if not more, important than the story. As he did with Rome, London and Paris in his previous aforementioned novels, Brown intertwines the story with the most prominent monuments in Washington, weighing rumours and myths along the way.

While the book can still be classified as a "page-turner", as Brown has a way of adding suspense to every page, the book was a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe masonry folklore and the Ancient Mysteries just didn't stir any interest in me. I felt the book was flat and often repeated at nausea the same theories of the Ancient Mysteries. I recall in the Da Vinci Code, when the "version" of how God was a mortal was discussed, it was only referred to thereafter, we didn't hear the story over and over again throughout the book. In this book, it felt the like the secret meanings, etc. were repeated over and over again. The last 30 pages of the book was simply a repeat of earlier dialogue. Maybe Brown expected only stupid people to read this book, with short memories.

My biggest issue with this book is it seems that Brown made Langdon far less intelligent than in the two previous writings. While Langdon's character has always been suspect of ancient rumours and myths, he never simply ignored them. In this novel, it seems Langdon is somewhat of a snob, failing to even consider ancient legends and is not nearly as intelligent in his earlier dealings. In fact, he was a bit annoying at times.

Overall, the book, while thrilling and entertaining at times, was disappointing. Of course, maybe I expected too much.

3.5 stars

Robert Langdon is called to Washington, D.C., seemingly by his friend, Peter Solomon. Langdon soon discovers that it was a ruse and Peter is, in fact, missing. He must work with the CIA and security to help find Peter, until things take a turn for the worse and Robert must run from the CIA, as something there appears fishy.

I liked it, just not as much as his other books. It wasn't as much of a page-turner as the others and it took longer to get going and a bit too long to wrap up at the end. I listened to the audio, but by doing so, you don't get a picture of some of the symbols. Mostly it was fine, as it was described well; there were only a few times that I wanted to see a picture.

I was wary when I read mediocre online reviews about this book, but I read Lost Symbol anyway and really enjoyed it. Dan Brown does not waver from his tried and true formula, by blending seemingly unlimited non-fiction content into a fictional storyline.

I think more experienced readers overlooked the depth of the book and criticized his writing style, which they find to be too easy. They may have also set expectations too high with the fame he has gained from his previous books (Da Vinci Code; and Angels & Demons, one of my personal favourite books). However, as an intermediate reader I was comfortable with the reading difficulty of his style of writing.

I have previously read all of his other books, including Deception Point and Digital Fortress, and they're all excellent, very similar in style and content. The Lost Symbol is not his best work, but it is vintage Dan Brown and did not disappoint. If you expect this novel to be a similar reading experience to his previous books, you should not be disappointed either.