Das verlorene Symbol: Thriller (Robert Langdon) (German Edition) - Kindle Dan Brown (Author) . Origin: Thriller (Robert Langdon 5) (German Edition) Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled; Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #, Paid in Kindle.
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- Das verlorene Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) by Dan Brown (1 star ratings)
- Das verlorene Symbol
I agree with those critics who claim that the God described, or implied by Brown is an idolatrous invention of man as surely as that of Odin, Zeus, Baal, or the God of the Greek philosophers whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. I cannot conceive of such a benign observation creating any paradigm shift, nor can I imagine it unleashing pent-up human capacity.
Even so, I suspect this theological critique is probably a bit over-the-top when you consider that this book is just a work of adventure fantasy. The Lost Symbol ought not to be taken too seriously. View all 48 comments. I think I finally figured out why I hate Dan Brown. Sometimes their books are entertaining, sometimes they are not, sometimes they are poorly written, sometimes they are not so bad, and I'm perfectly fine with it. The thing I can't stand about Dan Brown is his attitude. He truly believes he has been invested with the power of 'omniscience', and he looks d I think I finally figured out why I hate Dan Brown.
He truly believes he has been invested with the power of 'omniscience', and he looks down at the reader as if he were talking to a bunch of retarded individuals which we actually probably are just by virtue of the fact that we are reading his books. But this is still ok, it doesn't upset me all that much.
What I think is unacceptable is the fact that in his 'all encompassing knowledge', all we find is an endless bunch of lies, lies about the most obvious evidence anybody can prove. Angels and Demons, which takes place in Rome, is filled with sentences in Italian, except that Mr. Brown didn't even bother looking up the spelling of the words and, as if that were not enough, he invented words to look cool in the eyes of his readers which, come on, wouldn't be able to pick all the bull I'm trying to sell them in a million years!
So, I don't know if they didn't want to look stupid themselves or did it to try and give Mr. Brown a better image abroad. Just one tiny detail out of many: Classical Greek - Apo is a preposition, with different meanings but still and only a preposition, for sure not a verb. Dan Brown has to show us he knows the ethimology of the word apotheosis, and so Apo, for him, turns into a verb, and he lectures us as if he were revealing this great truth. I read on a review that his books are an insult to human intelligence.
I agree, and not because they are necessarily awful books, but because taking reality and twisting it so that it can fit the story line and, on top of that, selling it as if it were some kind or revelation we can only obtain through Dan Brown's grace, to me is unacceptable. View all 15 comments. View all 8 comments. Meenakshi, a Goodreads friend for a while now, found this review and it reminded me that I'd actually read this book 5-plus years ago. I had completely forgotten it existed, both the book and the review actually I think it's unsurprising I didn't hold onto the memory of reading the book since I review over a year and read almost three times that many.
But I also t Update But I also think it's really sad that a book's one memorable feature is how extremely annoying one of its catchphrases is. Cudgel my brain though I will, I can't recall anything I'd actually enjoyed in this reading process. It was a long popcorn book, cocktail-peanut book, an unchallenging unmemorable uninspiring this-is-my-version-of-TV book. Its factuality is of no interest to me either way. I wanted a rollicking good ride, and I got one, and I walked away a satisfied customer.
We have the elements of the DaVinci tome's megasellerdom deployed in a less intriguing plot. One of the Big Reveals is simply uninteresting to me, and the repetition of the catchphrase "the secret is how to die" no spoiler this, it starts extremely early in the book made me as irritated as any mosquito's buzzing ever has. I am fairly sure it's intended to convey malice and menace, and build suspense, but I found it jarred on me by somewhere in the 40s chapters come and go at a dizzying rate, there being of them, plus an epilogue that bid fair to make me urp in its treacly upbeatness, packed into pp of text.
So why did I read this book?
See a Problem?
A chance to poke at a hugely successful and wealthy novelist who has never heard of me and will never read this review? I think Dan Brown has his storytelling antennae tuned to a fine pitch. I think every bit of his fame and wealth is richly deserved and earned by his honest, sincere, and successful desire to tell a good story to the best of his ability.
I wanted to be gobsmacked the way I was by that DaVinci madness, that's why I read the darn book! No one could be sorrier than I am to say this. Maybe it's a case of once is enough for this reader. Maybe it's just a mood. I tend to think that, had this book appeared just exactly as it is today in , I'd be yodeling its masterful reprise of the preceding volume instead of emitting a small bleat of disappointment. And sales figures, while the subject of messy fantasies for other writers, aren't in the DaVinci league.
Others agree with me, and the chorus of "oh, well" reviews is loud. When Brown comes to write his next thriller, even if it features Robert Langdon, I hope it treads new territory. Too many other footprints on this piece of land for Langdon to stand out. Such is the penalty of leadership: You get to blaze, but not possess, the trail.
But only if you're a conspiracy-thriller fan. View all 14 comments.
Das verlorene Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) by Dan Brown (1 star ratings)
View all 13 comments. June 15 Buddy Read with Steven and Melissa! The ending felt extremely anticlimactic, and overall the book dragged ass and there were whole sections where I'm pretty sure I either spaced out or could have spaced out and not noticed a thing. The whole Freemasons storyline was done so much better in National Treasure which I'm now watching in an effort to cleanse myself of this book.
We'll go slightly in-depth with our characters for a moment. That pissed me off. Katherine asked about her a few times and then there was no mention of her ever again, poor thing. Nice of you to pretend to care, Katherine. And speaking of pretending to care, I was astounded that Peter could give Langdon a tour of DC and be so coherent after the rediscovery and second loss of his son.
I dunno, I always think that parents have a sixth sense about their kids. That in mind, I found it extremely implausible that Peter wouldn't recognize his own son in SOME capacity until the very end. Langdon just comes off as pretentious and two-dimensional. Yes, he has a Mickey Mouse watch. Yes, he's extremely claustrophobic because of an incident that happened when he was a kid. Here's hoping Inferno is better. View all 4 comments. Review as in Aura of Sleepless Dreams So then let's start at the beginning.
The fact that I got hold of this book on the very day it released worldwide and yet managed to finish reading it only about 2 weeks after, is nothing short of an odd event. That's because if a book manages to capture my interest I usually devour it within a single day at the most 2 days no matter how lengthy it might be.
But unfortunately I read The Lost Symbol over a span of 2 weeks. This probably speaks volumes of how Review as in Aura of Sleepless Dreams So then let's start at the beginning. This probably speaks volumes of how unimpressed I'm with Dan Brown this time. Anyway without digressing any further let's come to the plot- To tell you the truth this novel has no actual plot because it had no aim from the very beginning. So what does this book have then? The answer consists of - Robert Langdon, his long time friend and mentor Peter Solomon who's in mortal danger, a deluded lunatic as the bad guy just like always , Peter Solomon's beautiful sister as Langdon's companion for the night who's conducting some highly important research work on Noetic Sciences just another replacement for Vittoria Vetra or Sophie Neveu , Freemasons, the CIA and of course an all-too-familiar routine of figuring out hidden codes, symbols, puzzles so as to thwart the villain's plans and save the world from disaster before it's too late.
Okay that's all good. But what is Robert Langdon doing here? I think a man who had discovered Mary Magdalene's tomb in his earlier adventure should have a more broad-minded perspective than that. The time he spends deciphering few codes spans only pages of the page book e-book. The rest of it is filled with too much information about the Masons, Solomon family stories and the warped thoughts of the psychopath villain. Even though Angels and Demons had quite a far-fetched plot it never failed to make the reader gasp. At least it had some edge-of-the-seat suspense to offer.
Also the age-old animosity between the Illuminati and the Church provided quite an intriguing backdrop. Same with The Da Vinci Code. The controversy surrounding the Holy Grail, Mary Magdalene and the Merovingians was spicy enough to keep the reader enthralled till the very end.
But the Masons are not that interesting. On one hand they are an ancient brotherhood dedicated to searching for light symbolizing supreme knowledge amidst darkness and on the other hand they're protecting an ancient wisdom for centuries which supposedly has the power to bring about man's ultimate enlightenment.
And why keep something secret that is supposed to benefit mankind?
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Uh yea right 'cause it might fall into the wrong hands and result in disasters of unimaginable proportions. As if the world isn't already in chaos and on the verge of destruction. We could sure do with some ultimate knowledge or whatever in these troubled times. Unlike his previous adventures Langdon does not make a startling discovery at the very end. Nobody gets to know what the Ancient Mysteries actually are.
Brown only provides us with a brief overview which is not enough. And this is where the readers are bound to feel disappointed. I think maybe it's time to put Robert Langdon to rest. We've had enough of religious symbology, secret societies and historical controversies unless Dan Brown has the courage to shun his formulaic-plot-weaving habit and offer us a new concoction but with the same ingredients.
I was disappointed with this book, especially towards the end. While it was interesting to read about the Masons and fun to read about locations in DC nice pick of Tenleytown and Kalorama Heights , I found it to be very preachy, way out there, had lots of holes in the story, and not very realistic. While Mal'akh's twist at the end was entertaining, the holes in his own story didn't make it terribly surprising he happened to get every detail from Zachary in that one night that he "died" - come I was disappointed with this book, especially towards the end. While Mal'akh's twist at the end was entertaining, the holes in his own story didn't make it terribly surprising he happened to get every detail from Zachary in that one night that he "died" - come on.
I also was waiting for Brown to explain what on earth were the "dark arts" that he was practicing, and his failure to explain made Mal'akh's story even more bizarre. In fact, it ruined the story for me because I could never understand what he was trying to do and why all the fanfare was necessary except for sending the video. Like some others, I also didn't follow why this video was such an issue of national security that someone with Sato's job title in the CIA would get SO involved and be so sloppy there ARE people in DC on Sunday nights who would manage to see a helicopter dropping people off on the tops of buildings.
While I understand that Brown likes to put in a ton of information about the topics he is writing about, I doubt in reality, people would take SO much time in that type of situation talking about it and making others trying to guess at what the answer is I got tired of Katherine and Peter trying to lecture Langdon.
On top of everything else, I think Brown's point that our "minds are God" was hammered home so many times that I nearly put the book down. I get it, Brown, I'm not stupid. La premisa promete pero verdaderamente acaba haciendo aguas. En realidad es una novela que da lo que promete; entretenimiento, pero a mi no me ha terminado de convencer, de momento es el que menos me gusta del autor. I'm on the verge of kind of liking this book and feeling slightly hostile about it.
Even as a guilty pleasure, it was unforgivably formulaic. I rolled my eyes so many times that I might have temporary vertigo. Dan Brown does a good job tapping into the public question du jour. Personal empowerment and the power of thought are tenets that are very popular these days. Brown took these philosophies and wrote an interesting novel about them. Is it inspir I'm on the verge of kind of liking this book and feeling slightly hostile about it.
But couldn't Brown take his writing talent and break the mold of these characters? Couldn't he find a new plot line? Do we need 27 chapters with Robert Langdon protesting his involvement? Does every chapter have to end with a cliff hanger? I found the suspense contrived and exhausting.
I also have a slight problem with the underlying assumption that the general public is not ready for the full expression of enlightenment but I won't go into detail because I don't want to be a spoiler. It will be interesting to see how people react to Brown simultaneously challenging incumbent religions, while also appeasing their sensibilities. I found it perplexing. I'm glad to be finished with this and I doubt I'll read another Dan Brown novel unless the formula changes.
But why would he change it? This works for him. It just doesn't really work for me. Ok, I decided to give it a third chance on audio, and finally finished the thing. Here are some notes to Dan Brown: If you can't find a way to transfer info from one person to another without them "sensing" something fourteen times, then maybe you should develop your story better. It convinces the reader that you don't know how to further the plot.
Just write a damned non-fiction book about the Masons, already. He can't keep being surprised by the same lone-character-driven-mad-by-something-having-to-do-with-the-big-reveal unless he's dumb. According to note number 2, he tends to lecture a lot, so I don't think he's dumb. So why two instead of just one star? Because I honestly didn't see the big reveal coming. I want to know what happens, but I'll wait for the movie. This guy is an awful writer.
Overuse of italics to show emphasis and the repeated "why, I'm a professor so let me tell you the answer to the conveniently asked question" were bad enough, but the phrase "feminine intuition" just about landed the book across the room. I was always a fan, but this one just pushed me over the edge. Maybe it's because I bought it and was trying to read it in hardcover that the conventions were more obvious than when I read the others in paperback, but I just can't do it anymore.
Es tut mir ein bisschen weh, aber ich mochte es leider gar nicht. Vielleicht lag es wirklich daran, dass es mein 3. And the things that he got wrong are not even secrets but things that he could have simply asked. The 4th through 32rd degree are conferred by the Scottish Rite and the 33rd degree is conferred by invitation only. It is accurate however that if you have proven yourself worthy through extraordinary deeds and have gone out of your way to contribute to your fellow man that you may be bestowed with the 33rd degree.
None of this is secret Next, a "trace route" is a basic tool of any IT Professional, or anyone having problems with their cable modem who calls tech support. As a matter of fact, its a basic troubleshooting tool that everyone should be familiar with if connected to a network or the Internet allow with ping. Furthermore, Trace route is a command that anyone can do from any home computer! Brown, makes it a mystery why Trish or her hacker friend cannot complete a Trace route in the novel and any 1st level tech support rep knows that not all trace routes complete because they are often times blocked by a firewall It happens every day and is a simple tool to verify that a site is up or responding.
If a site does not respond Oh, and the lax law enforcement techniques where Langdon and everyone else touches the severed hand and Langdon is even given the ring as a keep sake. No need to test it for DNA evidence, no need to brush it for finger prints, lets all play with the severed hand and violate every fundamental rule of evidence preservation known to law enforcement! But wait, what is the CIA doing conducting a crime scene investigation? The reality is that the CIA has no powers of arrest unless a felony has been committed in their presence e.
Every other law enforcement officer at the crime scene would have told the crabby Asian CIA Director where to go since the Capitol Police has jurisdiction for the Capitol Building. Ever see a CIA police car rushing to the scene of a murder? And I could go on and on. It is hard to take any of the other "facts" seriously if he got the basic stuff wrong when he could have simply Googled the freely available information. And yeah, I know, its a work of fiction, but what if you were a pilot and I started my fictional novel on off with: And the mighty Boeing took to the skies, its mighty feathered wings flapping in the cold winter air as it strained to pull the full load of passengers airborne.
Suddenly it let out a loud screech as the the big shiny bird took to the skies, only a perfectly round egg and a few feathers remained to mark its departure. While the plot to The Lost Symbol is intriguing but really drawn out and could have been distilled down to around pages it seemed lazily researched with no heart and soul. Sep 15, K. I bought this book on the first day of its release. This is my second book read this year with as first published year.
However, it is sometimes nice to be the first one to read something. I have copy of his Digital Fortress but I am keeping it for a later date. It follows the same formula so I am giving it a star less than amaxing. I liked the energy though but it is a bit of an overkill. Everything happening in 11 hours?
Tata J, yes you can say it: Brown, however, failed to put a cap on this as I thought that Zachary would be revealed to have survived his death from the glass pieces that fell onto him from the rooftop. Among the things that I will remember from this book for sometime will be the following: Jerome's wrong translation of horned Moses so, the artists he commissioned actual put horns on Moses!
I just hope that this book will not be lost in few years to come. Brown's writing formula is not totally different from the ealier mystery-thriller big names like Leon Uris that Tata J liked when he was young and the now popular John Grisham or Dean Koontz that Bespren currently enjoys. I will be sharing this to two of my interested friends not yet in Goodreads so it will be something we can talk about later. View all 6 comments. There's no denying that Brown knows how to keep up a good rhythm and draw you along, but Robert Langdon and, consequently, Dan Brown has become -- if possible -- even MORE smugly pedantic than in either of his previous two novels.
Honestly, I was hoping for Langdon and, consequently, Brown to sustain a shotgun blast to the groin after only 20 pages. So many of the scenes are structured like the worst kind of Ronco infomercial: A major plot point deals with some kind of Masonic information being a major US security risk. And what, you might ask, is that information? It's a video-recording that reveals that some major government figures are actually Masons, and that the Masons perform somewhat strange rituals.
Yeah, it would bring the country to its knees. I could go on, but suffice it to say, my favorite part is the scene in which it seems like Robert Langdon has drowned. A real disappointment when we discover that the liquid filling the box he was held in was not actually water. The only real mystery for me is how it was possible that Langdon and, consequently, Brown had not already drowned So if you also like that kind of thing, feel free to read this latest festering turd of a novel, I love you, Bill Nighy. Well, I don't quite know how to review this book - I fully expected to like it.
I certainly liked "The Davinci Code" and figured this would be the same style. If it is, my tastes have changed. Look, "The Last Symbol" is likeable in it's own way, and it's certainly easy to read, but it is just a bit too obvious for my taste. The bad guy is covered in scary tattoos. The antagonist is covered in scars and is constantly lighting cigarettes. The conversa Well, I don't quite know how to review this book - I fully expected to like it. The conversations read more like lectures surely Mr.
Brown could find better ways of filling the reader in than by having a conversation that goes soemthing like: But what bugged me most about this book is that through the majority of it, one of the good guys father figure, rich, philanthropist, noble, pure, with a great head of thick grey hair, Does this stop Langdon and the plethora of other good guys who pop in and out of the story from waxing philosophic on science versus religion versus mysticism?
No it does not. Does it cause Langdon to shout at the priest, "If you know, just tell me so I can save my friend's life, don't give me hints and hope I will discover it myself. No, it does not. If you don't mind the good versus evil thing being painted in primary colours, than this book is for you. For me, I prefer subtelty and complex characters. Hence I could give this book an "okay" but not quite a "like". There isn't really that much I can say about this. If you've read any Dan Brown books before and I know most people have read The Da Vinci Code at some point , you'll know what to expect Encrypted messages, dramatic chases through a city at night in this case it's Washington , discussion of conspiracy theories, and a deranged bad guy; and everyone thinks obvious things in italics an awful lot.
Perhaps the source material just isn't as interesting or something, but it never quite seems to get going, although there are a few edge-of-the-seat moments and it passes the time well enough if you've got nothing else to read. The ending is pretty bad, though - I think it's supposed to be meaningful, but it just reads like a load of mumbo-jumbo - and the 'big twist' is SO obvious you'll guess it less than halfway through even if you're not concentrating. Not because she wanted to, but because she had to, as if she were a person on a quest to read all of the Most Famous Books From Each State and District , and this book was one of them, representing Washington, D.
The first unexpected thing that struck her unexpectedly was the gratuitous use of adverbs and adjectives. She was sure he would find some other word to use. Maybe an actually useful adjective. But then it happened. Jenny put her black-haired head on her keyboard, lifted it, and then dropped it again, and repeated the motion like someone frustrated with something. Jenny kept reading, and in an instant, immediately realized at once that it was true.
The brilliant, deep-voiced, undoubtedly attractive, yet somehow unexpectedly thick Robert Langdon who always happens to have the right tools turn up at exactly the right times. The super-secret, super-dangerous Asian dragonlady who brooks no bullshit. The casually mentioned minor character that Jenny right away pegged as the Big Baddy. Mikayla I'm usually the same with books, I don't tend to over analyse to much.
I just like to enjoy the book for what it is. Though I think this is due to thinking this plot was more dragged out, stopping me from reading as quickly as I'd like. But never mind, it was still overall a great book. What I like about the books the most is that rather than make you criticise religion as some people do, it just allows you to think about it a little more than usual. It just make you wonder in a light hearted way rather than punching you in the gut. This is a book to be endured rather than enjoyed. A perfunctory piece of writing. Anchit Even I'm finding it cumbersome but for a different reason.
I would rather focus on the action and get on with the plot. And this book is full or …more Even I'm finding it cumbersome but for a different reason. And this book is full or ramblings, doodlings and random musings. See all 24 questions about Das verlorene Symbol…. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Its secret society has no intriguing back-story, the villain is inappropriate and asinine, and the end revelation is lame. View all 52 comments. View all 15 comments. Rick Your review hit it on the nose. I liked his first two books because in both Your review hit it on the nose. I liked his first two books because in both, there was a payoff.
I was entertained, and ultimately satisfied. Sarah I just finished this finally and this about sums it up Sep 11, I've been trying to figure out where to start with this one for the past couple days and still haven't been able to decide. So I guess I'll start with my point. I really liked Angels and Demons, was entertained by The Da Vinci Code, and this book had half the content not to mention a sixteenth of the climax of the latter in almost twice the number of pages. Do you get Ugghhhhhh. Do you get paid by the modifier? Or the number of hits of the term "secret wisdom"?
Do you ever get sick of writing the following dialogue? He literally just keeps you waiting. He doesn't even hide it anymore. And the puzzles are even straightforward! I still contend that he made that word up. And only one revelation in the whole book is remotely shocking. And I did see it coming. The rest of them are just inane letdowns.
When I hear, "issue of national security," I think nukes-- not the pussy shit this guy is threatening. Moral of the story, please don't feed the author. And moral number two: View all 29 comments. I am so disappointed. I found Brown's other books to be captivating, if a little formulaic. This is just a blatant rewrite of his own material in a different setting. Angels and Demons set a bar for Brown, and he just hasn't been able to match it since. It's a completely improbable plot mixed with even more improbable character developments and plot twists. If I'd known, I never would have bought the I am so disappointed.
If I'd known, I never would have bought the book in the first place, and certainly not in hardcover. View all 8 comments. When I started wandering off in search of snacks in the middle of paragraphs, I knew it was time to shelve this as a "can't finish," and move on. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. He has written a book about it - now how about that! Observed behaviours such as smirking at smugness and zelotry will get you detention.
Some action, a bit of a story, some more action, a twist that we all saw coming followed by a twist I did not. Then we play something akin to hunt-the-thimble. It will have been his last if I catch hold of him AND i'd frisk the pockets of the corpse to reimburse all of us who have paid to suffer this crap. View all 44 comments. Though technically better written than Digital Fortress, this is Dan Brown's worst novel. Brown creates false suspense by hiding revelations from readers even after major characters learn them.
In most cases this is unnecessary, as the twists would have more impact if made in a timely manner. Too often, however, the revelations are obvious or anticlimactic, weaknesses that are amplified by Brown's hide-the-ball technique. Brown's penchant for dubious subject matter is well-known, but he previousl Though technically better written than Digital Fortress, this is Dan Brown's worst novel. Here he sidesteps the expected Masonic conspiracy theories, instead casting Robert Langdon as Mason apologist.
Even after the plot wraps, Brown drones on for several more chapters about mysticism and religion, with no apparent purpose but to lecture you, dear reader, for having the gall to trust science and technology. As for Brown's style, phrases like "soggy marsh" make it clear he still hasn't picked up a copy of The Elements of Style. Much like Brown's villain, I need a cleansing ritual of my own after reading this book.
My Spoiler-Heavy and Sympathy-Free Review of "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown This review is going to be riddled with spoilers, to the point where I'm actually going to tell you everything that happens in summary , because that's the only way I can express my complete and utter contempt for this book. However, due to the nature of search engines, etc. So I'll start off with a few non-spoilery things just for padding. Everything I say is based on the fact My Spoiler-Heavy and Sympathy-Free Review of "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown This review is going to be riddled with spoilers, to the point where I'm actually going to tell you everything that happens in summary , because that's the only way I can express my complete and utter contempt for this book.
The second book is a philosophy book, and that's the real source of my vitriol. You'll understand why when I start spewing, well, vitriol at it. There's a quote from one of the main characters that "Peter once compared Noetic Scientists to the early explorers who were mocked for embracing the heretical notion of a spherical earth.
Almost overnight, these explorers went from fools to heroes, discovering uncharted worlds and expanding the horizons of everyone on the planet. How can we trust someone on esoteric matters when they're wrong on mundane matters? I felt the latter was better although the ending was ridiculous , but overall they weren't bad reads. To put it a different way: Ok, one last thing before I start spoiling things completely.
If you're interested in an alternative Mason experience, I recommend either reading Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum -- which, to be honest, is a tough book to read. There's a Bible buried in the cornerstone of the Washington Monument, and Robert Langdon needs to stop a madman from tattooing it to his head and uploading a video to YouTube!
That's the first part of the book. And there was actually a moment where I was seriously contemplating giving the book 4 stars. Yes, it was almost an exact replica of the DaVinci Code. But it's better written and less didactic until the the second part. You still have the same contrivances of style that make it deliberately confusing who is doing something because of course there has to be a "mole" character although not as obnoxious this time. And frankly the factual information is interesting and not anti-Catholic like the other two books in the series. You can still foresee plot points relatively easily I'll get to the important one in a second , and you're going to get the same group of individuals who think some of the fake stuff essentially everything the female character has done as a "noetic scientist" is true because of the real stuff the book contains just like they thought the DaVinci Code was true.
But I believe I would've given the book 3 stars if it had ended at the top floor of the masonic temple. Sadly, it didn't, and that's also where the wheels fall off. So I take you to the climax of the story, and the spoilers are really going to fly fast here. The madman has taken Peter Solomon the head of the Masons, essentially to the top of the temple -- and has revealed himself to be the son long thought dead!
Of course, everyone probably figured this out about pages earlier sometimes the ambiguous writing of Brown is a giant flashing sign saying "Things aren't what they seem! And he wants to tattoo the "word" to his head, but his father gives him the wrong word of course, since it's not a literal word, it's the aforementioned bible in the Washington Monument. And then his father refuses to kill his son with the knife Abraham was going to use to kill Isaac! But he gets killed anyway when the glass above the altar is shattered by a helicopter, a perfect symbol of the novel completely falling apart, because now things get weird.
The son he thought dead is now dying on an altar, so what does the father say to him as he lies there? Oh and uh, yeah, I never stopped loving you. It's like his body was possessed by Nelson the bully, not the admiral for a moment and he said "Ha Ha! And then his son goes to hell. There's a paragraph where we're in the mind of his son as he dies and I'm pretty damn certain what Brown was hinting at was Hell. But hey, that's ok, the science of noetics has already "proven" in the book that the soul has weight.
Even though I was starting to cringe, I probably would've still given it a 3rd star there's precedence: Angels and Demons got 3 stars from me even though I cringed through most of the end. But then Peter Solomon -- who, I might add, was just tortured, had his hand cut off, and watched his son who he thought was dead die -- decides that now is the perfect time to have an "argument" from the Greek meaning "I meant you to say Arrgghh" with Robert Langdon as they go to the Washington Monument the pyramid! And Peter's argument is this: God is in us, we're all primed for enlightenment, the secret is in the bible and other religious texts , we just can't read it correctly yet look for sales of the Bible Code to spike.
And here is where Dan Brown did what made me so angry. He made Langdon the unrepentant skeptic. This is a few hundred pages after Langdon in a flashback told his students to open their minds. Now this is typical Brown anyway: Langdon has been forced to hold the idiot stick many, many times in the three books simply for plot contrivances. At first I thought that's what he was doing here, and if he had let well enough alone I'd probably wouldn't be writing this.
But the "argument" goes on for over 50 pages. In other words, Langdon isn't holding the idiot stick; Brown is putting the idiot stick in our hands and is beating us with it. It's not Langdon that Solomon is trying to convince. It's the reader that Brown is trying to convince. Why either Langdon or the reader should trust someone who believes that people thought the earth was flat in the middle ages is not answered. And here's the fun part: I actually agree with some of the philosophy that Brown is espousing here. But I strongly disagree with is manipulation.
And there is no other word for what Brown is trying to do here. Langdon's skepticism takes a long time to be overcome, but in the end, it is overcome. Brown makes sure of that. By proxy, our own skepticism should be overcome -- we've been beaten with the idiot stick long enough we're screaming "Yes! Just end the book already! It's not that I expected better from Dan Brown, it's that I didn't expect it at all.
He knew he'd never have an opportunity to reach a larger audience, and unwilling or incapable of subtletly he wrote a book designed to hit you with made-up facts to support a made-up philosophy. I can not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. If you've already read it, I'm sorry. Besides, Lennon already told us the Word is "Love" View all 5 comments.
Recommended to Elizabeth by: Morgan though "recommend" is an awfully strong word. This technique keeps the pace of the book exciting there are no natural breaks in which to put the book down, because you are right there with Langdon for each plot development and puzzle solution , but also demonstrates the kind of discipline on the part of the author also shown in a really well-rhymed sonnet that commands the respect of the or, at least, this reader. The Lost Symbol , however, is anything but disciplined.
The point of view, time, and place bounce around every one or two minutes, evincing not the well-put-together thriller of The Da Vinci Code , but rather the attention span of a three-year-old. Each scene lasts about as long as a television commercial, and juxtaposed scenes have about as much connecting them as two adjacent television commercials. Another piece of sloppiness: With all the doors that must be open for Dan Brown after the phenomenal success of The Da Vinci Code , how difficult could it have been for him to sit in on a lecture of a popular course at a prestigious liberal arts college?
I only wonder because no college course I have ever attended proceeded anything like the one shown in one of the many many, many flashbacks early in the book although, admittedly, I did not go to Harvard, but I suspect the students there would not be so easily impressed by something as shocking as gasp! So I have no doubt that, if I had read the book in its entirety, everything would turn out to be not as it seemed in a shocking plot twist near the end, but, really, there are too many good books out there for me to waste my time on this one.
The use of a large amount of symbols and conspiracy buzzwords does not excuse one from having to actually write a compelling story. The "twist" in this books was easily visible hundreds of pages out and didn't surprise a single person I know who read the book. I enjoyed DaVinci Code as well as Angels and Demons so it's not that I don't like this style of book, but it seems almost as if this particular book has no real defined style. The entire book seems rushed and forced like the publishing company just told Mr.
Brown that he had to write a new book, whether he had a good idea or not. All in all, reading this book was like finding out that the girl of your dreams in high school View all 3 comments. Ugh this was literally one of the worst books I have ever read. Just to be clear, though I'm a stickler for good writing, I recognize that previous Dan Brown books like the Davinci Code are what they are. That is, they are good stories, badly written.
And that's fine - there is a place for that - like 19 hour car rides. Unfortunately, the Lost Symbol was a terrible story, terribly written. Brown' Ugh this was literally one of the worst books I have ever read. Brown's prose has sunk deep into the depths of cliche and tired literary tropes - deeper than I thought he or his editors would dare go. What's worse, his dialogue is so hackneyed, grammatically flawed, and frankly stupid that you come to hate - literally hate - all of his characters. The book was barely edited, with repetitive passages everywhere.
If there is any one thing worse than suffering through Dan Brown's crap exposition once - it's suffering through it three times in a book because Brown's editors are too smug and lazy to edit this hack's writing. Storywise, too, the Lost Symbol bordered on pathetic. I was actually insulted by how thinly veiled this was. Do we have an American Sophie? A police inspector who is somehow connected to the unfolding events? And it was this last character - the psycho, here named Mala'kh - that really ruined the book for me. Because unlike in Angels and Demons and in the Davinci Code, this villain was just a serial killer.
Not motivated by anything particularly meaningful except his bloodlust and desire for power. The fact that Brown had to resort to hours and hours of sadistic serial killer content shows just how flimsy his storyline is. And flimsy it was. Brown's whole plotline was filled with holes and deus ex machinas. To make his implausible, illogical storyline work, he had to make his characters into idiots who failed to see the most obvious facts in front of their faces. The ending is not a thoughtful surprise, but rather a massive, laughable letdown.
Consider your worst case scenario of how you will feel at the end of the Lost series: Most of this book read like a badly written lecture from a cocky, second-rate professor from the University of Phoenix. Actually, I think that's more of an insult to the University of Phoenix. Avoid at all costs.
I changed my rating. Originally I gave it an "Ok" with 2 stars because I sort of thought that it served its purpose as a page-turner. Though even within the credit for that, I thought it also should have been about pages shorter. But now I think, I remember having to force myself to get back into the book. And feeling like I was getting bored and skimming pages. And the ending is I changed my rating. And the ending is so bad it almost cancels out everything else that was even mildly enjoyable. But anyway, here are my issues with the book. Obviously we have Langdon again, but that's not an issue to reuse the same character.
What is an issue is that there is again one single, male, psychotically evil and gruesome villain. There is also an authority figure with questionable motives. There is also a beloved old friend in trouble DaVinci it was the murdered guy at the beginning, here it's Peter Solomon. There is also the very intelligent female companion. I was surprised Bellamy didn't turn out to be a bad guy since he is the older expert helping them along for a time. These character similarities urked me from the beginning, but I will admit I did get into the story eventually.
Das verlorene Symbol
However, once I was into it, I did find myself a good few times being taken out of the story due to the unbelievability of things, especially towards the end. And I'm not talking about problems with the science or the action of the plot, but believability of emotion. After all the madness of the big climax of the story which I do admit I did not see coming - the big reveal , which is obviously a crazily emotional and draining experience for the Solomons, I could not believe that they immediately snapped back into their previous selves.
Suddenly Katharine is skipping off to go check out something interesting Peter wants her to see. And Peter is beckoning Robert to his office to have an intellectual, winking, story-telling moment and trip around DC. Didn't you just spend about 2 days getting tortured? Didn't you just almost have to murder a very important person? Didn't you, about an hour ago, believe you were about to be murdered??
Oh, but now you want to talk about how interesting history is again? I mean, I thought it was ludicrous. And that Katharine is willing to hop off and indulge Peter's suggestion instead of saying, "ummm For now we should possibly both take a trip to the hospital. And the amount of background characters give when they're supposed to be in a stressful, 'let's get a move on!
Like when they're with the priest and he's sitting there all amused with their ponderings, like absolutely every single intellectual character is written by Brown. Every one of them is given a moment where they smile as they wait and see if their companion, who they are having a teaching moment with, can figure out what they're thinking. The priest does it, Peter Solomon does it, and lord knows Langdon does it. They are intellectuals and love this stuff. But they're not sitting in a classroom.
They are on the run from the CIA and have less than a few hours to save the life of a friend. View all 4 comments. It's so cute that you persist with this writing thing, even though you are so clearly not cut out for it. This one doesn't even have that going for it. Formulaic would be a compliment. And Brown needs to step away from the Wikipedia. I actually created a file on my computer called "Stupid book" to document all of the stupidity I found.
Here's my favorite part: Langdon Oh, Dan Brown. Langdon stood up and watched in disbelief. Langdon stared in disbelief Sato and Anderson stood in stunned silence Robert Langdon stared at it with surprise. Langdon watched as if in a dream. Langdon could only stare. Langdon listened in utter shock. Shocked but apparently he still believes. Katherine stared in bewilderment. All three of them immediately stopped and stared.
Katherine stared dumbfounded at the reverend. He stared in horror, unable to look away. Langdon and Katherine were dead silent, no doubt staring in mute astonishment. Langdon stared up in panic. He completed the entire decryption and stared in disbelief Her eyes widened with disbelief. The most depressing part of the book?
The author's blurb that states "The Davinci Code is one of the best-selling novels of all time. View all 6 comments. May 23, Serena.. Per non parlare dei dialoghi e dei pensieri dei personaggi, piatti e banali anche se Mr Brown ce li spaccia come intellettualoidi e decisamente cazzuti. La faccenda inoltre, era risolvibile in una ina di pagine ad essere generosi , e invece no..
Robert Langdon is lured to Washington to hold a lecture. Once he arrives he realizes he has been duped and is taken on a roller coaster ride through Washington and its masonic symbols. It takes about a hundred pages before the book picks up speed and it never becomes gripping. It's an average thriller, a "snack", utterly immemorable.
I only gave it one star because zero wasn't an option. I am quite seriously ashamed of myself for reading this poorly written, horribly plotted, pointless attempt by Brown to squeeze still more blood from that horrid mess "The Da Vinci Code. Robert Langd I only gave it one star because zero wasn't an option. Robert Langdon continues his work as the "symbologist" who can't actually decode or explain any symbols without help from smarter people, usually the one's who've hired him, some woman is in danger, time is running out, and Brown continues writing 2 page chapters with lots of adverbs, people running down dark halls, predictable "twists", one dimensional supporting players and a mish mash of historical "facts" that he's smooshed together into some sort of hidden conspiracy that managed to bore me and insult my intelligence at the same time.
Sitting on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, I found this book on a communal shelf in the resort and thought, "Books like this are made for beach reading. In spite of the fact that Dan Brown is a no-talent, amateur hack, whose previous novels were seemingly typed out by a crew of rabid monkeys working in shifts, I've been to D. I could go on at length about the dreadfulness that was this novel, but let me try to keep this somewhat succinct through the careful use of bullet points: Dan Brown continues to be a no-talent, amateur hack.
Only somehow, he's managed to become more of one. Seriously, making your chapters three pages in length max--I was literally up to Chapter by the end of the book and ending each chapter with a "stunning" cliffhanger does not an enjoyable thriller make. And let's take a second to remind ourselves that sentence structure and design is key. It's OK to use big words or write a sentence that's longer than 10 words. If you ran this through the Word Count function in MS Word, it would give you a reading level of somewhere close to the 3rd Grade. I think I'm being generous with that estimation Also, adverbs ceased being a useful literary device when I was reading things like Superfudge.
While we're talking about Dan Brown villains, let's go to Why are Dan Brown villains always naked all the time? Every single villain from his last three novels the only ones I've read love to get naked. And they all have supremely sculpted bodies they stare at in the mirror and think things like, "I am perfection. Never before has something as awesome as me been created. If I could, I'd sleep with myself.
The only thing I can think of is that Dan Brown thinks that making his villains superficially creepy somehow makes them more evil. What it actually makes them, though, is hackneyed. See number 1 3. Robert Langdon is the lamest hero of all time. I mean, he's a Harvard professor who wears tweed and a turtleneck. He whines his way through the novel.