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The Lost Symbol |  | Author: Dan Brown Publisher: Transworld Publisher Category: Book
List Price: £18.99 Buy New: £9.00 as of 9/3/2010 22:11 UTC details You Save: £9.99 (53%)
New (41) Used (51) Collectible (6) from £4.65
Seller: Amazon.co.uk Rating: 605 reviews Sales Rank: 50
Media: Hardcover Pages: 528 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8 Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.8
ISBN: 059305427X EAN: 9780593054277 ASIN: 059305427X
Publication Date: September 15, 2009 Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description Book with masonic content
Amazon.co.uk Review Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, it’s actually how reviewers such as myself obtained our copies of the much-anticipated The Lost Symbol, the follow-up to the Da Vinci Code. And as we read it in (literally) the cold light of dawn, we wonder: is it likely to match the earlier book’s all-conquering, phenomenal success? Firstly, it should be noted that The Lost Symbol has incorporated all the elements that so transfixed readers in The Da Vinci Code: a complex, mystifying plot (with the reader set quite as many challenges as the protagonist); breathless, helter-skelter pace (James Patterson's patented technique of keeping readers hooked by ending chapters with a tantalisingly unresolved situation is very much part of Dan Brown’s armoury). And, of course, the winning central character, resourceful symbologist Robert Langdon, is back, risking his life to crack a dangerous mystery involving the Freemasons (replacing the controversial trappings of the Catholic Church and homicidal monks of the last book). And while Dan Brown will never win any prizes for literary elegance, his prose is always succinctly at the service of delivering a thoroughly involving thriller narrative in vividly evoked locales (here, Washington DC, colourfully conjured). Robert Langdon flies to Washington after an urgent invitation to speak in the Capitol building. The invitation appears to have come from a friend with copper-bottomed Masonic connections, Peter Solomon. But Langdon has been tricked: Solomon has, in fact, been kidnapped, and (echoing the grisly opening of the last book) a macabre mutilation plunges Langdon into a tortuous quest. His friend’s severed hand lies in the Capitol building, positioned to point to a George Washington portrait that shows the father of his country as a pagan deity. The ruthless criminal nemesis here is another terrifying figure in Brown’s gallery of grotesques: Mal’akh, a powerfully built eunuch with a body festooned with tattoos. Mal’akh is seeking a Masonic pyramid that possesses a formidable supernatural power, and a pulse-pounding hunt is afoot, with Langdon stalled rather than aided by the CIA. Caveats are pointless here; Dan Brown, comfortably the world’s most successful author, is utterly review-proof. And there's no arguing with the fact that he has his finger on the pulse of the modern thriller reader, furnishing the mechanics of the blockbuster adventure with energy and invention. Like its predecessor, The Lost Symbol will unquestionably be--in fact, already is--a publishing phenomenon. --Barry Forshaw
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 605
Not as good as previous Dan Brown books... March 8, 2010 Barf (Anchorage, AK) 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.
Disappointing but not surprised. March 8, 2010 C. J. Drysdale (Manchester) 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.
As new March 8, 2010 Mr. D. Park 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.
The Bored Symbol March 3, 2010 Reshmi Goff (Ireland) 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.
A generous 1 out of 5 March 2, 2010 1138 (Ireland) 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!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 605
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