Book Review: The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3)
by Dan Brown
published in 2009 by Double Day

Summary: Well I continue to be behind in posting book reviews as I have read three or four more since I finished this one.  It is amazing how much you can get read on a treadmill early in the morning.  This is Dan Brown's fifth book, the third in the series of books involving Robert Langdon.  The story opens with Langdon aboard a private jet descending upon the Washington D.C. landscape.  He is being hosted by his friend and mentor Peter Solomon, a man of notable wealth and a 33rd level Mason, who has asked him to come in a speak at a Smithsonian function, so he thinks.  The plot begins in earnest as soon as Langdon discovers that his host is not Solomon, but a calculatingly, patient and evil man who is determined to use Langdon to decipher ancient Mason symbology to reveal their most ancient, hidden secret.  Working with Peter's sister Katherine, a beautiful and brilliant noetic scientist, the architect of the Capital Building and very "interesting" CIA director Langdon sets out to rescue Peter and protect both the Masons and the nation.

Review: I have read all of Brown's Robert Langdon books and found them to be quite enjoyable reads.  They intertwine history, philosophy, religion and conspiracy theory and if one will always remember first and foremost that they are works of FICTION then you can enjoy all of them.  The subject of The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3) is the Masons.  I am not sure there is a religious organization with public perception that is more one of secrecy and misunderstanding and Brown crafts a novel that makes use of all the mistrust that has been bread over the ages, while at the same time casting them in a very positive light.  The story line is very tight and moves at such a pace that you don't want to put the book down.  All of the events of the book take place in basically a twenty-four hour period.  Langdon continues to be an engaging, likable, intelligent character but with great depth of personality.  Katherine is a nice addition as the beautiful, yet brilliant side kick and one can't help but like Peter Solomon, wealthy, smart, dynastic yet humble and serving.  The character kudos, however, goes to the villain of the novel.  There is a depth of layers that unravel of this devious, manipulative, calculating sociopath that draws you deeper into the story truly hating him.

Brown has once again done his homework and the book is full of rich descriptions of Washington D.C. and Masonic legends and history.  Not being a knowledgeable scholar on Masonic history I cannot comment about the factuality of some of the material, but I can offer comment on how he used similar material in The Da Vinci Code .  This book like the Code, opens with a note about a factual historical document; what he does not tell you in the Code is that all of historical documents are products of the heretical factions within the church.  They have never been considered authoritative and are nothing more than legend and bad theology that has been rejected by the Church from early on.  The challenge of conspiracy theorists is that anything can be used to fuel their beliefs.  One could even use the Bible to craft conspiracy theories, anything can be twisted to an alternate purpose.  I share that to again reiterate that it is a great FICTION read, enjoy it as such and if you want to learn more about the Masons go get a scholarly history on the Masons.

Reading Recommendation: Yes, a great FICTION read!