THE LOST SYMBOL BY DAN BROWN

Has anyone read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown? This is another great thriller with Robert Langdon as our favorite symboligist. The story unfolds beautifully and the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. As you get to know the villian in this story I guarentee you will not feel any sympathy for him. He is a certified nut job!

I have nearly completed the book. Anyone finish it and would like to comment?

I'm in the first quarter and don't know how I feel about it yet. I'm not to keen on having every chapter--really short ones--from another POV, but I believe having Tom Hanks in my head doesn't help move Langdon's cause forward. I feel like I AM standing in the middle of the Capital floor waiting to do something with the tattoos. I hope the action begins to flow soon.

More later.

I've almost finished the book. Only have a few pages left. I found the action pretty thrilling from the beginning. Brown really knows how to unfold the story. But that's just my opinion.

Actually, the paragraphs are not from different POVs. Brown still uses the third person POV, but allows the reader to see what's happen somewhere else because it progress the plot.

Wait until you get more into the book. There is a twist. See if you can discover the twist before the reveal. I didn't see it coming.

Sorry for the confusion. I'll clarify about the POV. Yes, he tells it third person and uses the short chapters and location changes to advance the story, but my issue is with whose head the thoughts are coming from. I'm satisfied with the switch if it's between a few of the characters, but personally, I really am not interested in knowing what the police chief or Trish, or Sato is thinking. When they're beneath the Capitol I really want to know Langdon's perspective, etc ... I was just a bit frustrated with the head-hopping at the beginning. I'm used to it now, and it seems that Brown's writing will eventually whittle things down to just Langdon and Mal'akh.

I'm just at the point where he is going to meet Katherine. I agree, I do feel the plot moving a bit more now. How far until the twist?

How are you pronouncing the bad guy's name? Mal-ack-h with the 'h' silent?

I understand. To me the thoughts and emotions of Trish, Sato, etc. develop characters which unfolds the plot.

The twist comes near the end. Since I'm nearly finished with book and only have a few chapters left, the big "reveal" came to light. However, please pay attention to a particular incident which is constantly brought up in the story. Nothing to do with the Masons, myths or magic. If you pay attention to a certain incident which is brought up a number of times, you should see the twist before it hits you. I confess, I didn't see it coming. I guess I was just thrilled about the ride.

The name Mal'akh is actually pronounced much like Moloch, the same as the demon. This is what the nut job considers himself, the perfect and soon to be all powerful demon...did I mention ceritified nut job?

The only thing about this book they don't travel like they did in the Da Vinci Code or move around as much as Angels and Demons. I like the codes being in the artwork, whereas this one the codes are within science, myth, legend and a lot of detective work. Don't get me wrong, it's still an excellent thriller, but I enjoyed the scenery of Europe and the challenges Langdon faced there. (Although in the film Angeles and Demons Langdon really had no challenge and the assassin was a whimp).

Smooth nut job. It just gets me that there really are people who have no conscience, creepy.

After I posted last night I did some additional reading and hit chapter 45. Now the action is moving for me. Looking forward to the ride.

Fin! I enjoyed the (puzzles) and since I just returned from a visit in VA and in DC I was picturing the setting quite well. I even got a kick out of the meaning of the word 'sincere.' No kidding! My son, just a few days before I crossed those pages, told me about the painters and 'without wax.' (He was writing his acceptance letter for his mission to England and threw out that bit of trivia.)
I found some portions hard to wade through though, the mythology/science, and I agree with you that I would have liked to see them move around more than up and down through the buildings in DC. Ah ... well. The twist you mentioned. I suspected the connection when Langdon/Katherine were heading for the house. They had to find something more there (big time), too many pages left for everything to be resolved. Bellamy was the key to my ah ha moment, and your alert kept my mind working all the angles. Because I was actually in the place that Solomon took Langdon to, I was all over that. My husband heard an 'I knew it' blurt out. After that the book coasted to the end.

What did you think of the last few chapters?

Have you read Brown's other books? Deception Point and there's another lying around here somewhere. Hmm ...

Overall, it was an all right read.

What got me was the identity of the Mal'akh. I never saw that coming. Bellamy's role was not surprising, but the loony tune floored me. That's why I said watch for a particular incident that keeps coming up.

See, you could envision the locale better than me, since I've never been to D.C.

The Egyptian myths I knew about because I enjoy Egyptology and hieroglyphs. The details of Noetic Science I was not familiar. You have to remember Brown loves to dance around religion and science.

I have only read the three novels that involve Robert Langdon. I do have Deception Point and Digital Fortress, but have not read them. I tend to like the symbols and codes the best.

The last chapters after the untimely demise of Mal'akh were weird. The answer was ambigues and odd. I assume the Lost Symbol was the circumpunct or God and the lost word is the Bible. The words Praise God on the Washington monument? Not sure. Still scratching my head on that one.

Inside the Washington Monument are inscriptions from many of our forefathers so if you consider the height and all of the stones engraved on inside, that makes quite a bit of advice from those who established our country. Knowledge? I'm left scratching my head on the Praise God segment too. I do agree that Brown does like to dance the subjects around because I sure would like to know what became of Mal'akh after he was impaled. Did the authorities take care of the body? The last chapters seemed to be Brown's moment and not Peter's. Langdon felt very lax, like he was in a dream and couldn't focus, except for when he was in the basement of Mal'akh's home. That was eerie.

Can you imagine the disconnect Mal'akh had to evolve through to be able to do to himself and his own family members what he did? Interesting how the situations with Langdon/Kathering can be made to appear to relieve him of responsibility, that he really did not intend to 'kill' them but put them in 'potential' danger. I think the best character in the book is Mal'akh.

The background on the Masonic brotherhood was interesting to me. "The Word" kept registering in my mind as scripture ... wonder why? Hmm ... And the Noetic Science was interesting only at the end when we got to read HOW it was applied. Measuring the weight of the body before/after death. But after traipsing through that football field of darkness so many times, I really wanted to know what the layout of the place was like and why such a huge distance? Did I miss something at the beginning?

I, too, like the puzzles and codes. I try to figure them out before I go on reading, just to see if I got them right. The Lost Symbol really didn't tax the mind until the end when the hieroglyphs made their appearance. Did you understand them?

You'll have to try out Brown's other books. They're okay. Digital Fortress was the one I couldn't remember.

Some day I hope to visit D C and see the Washington Monument up close and personal. Especially after reading the inscription of all in Brown's latest.

At the end, Langdon really wasn't clear on the meaning of anything. The winding staircase going into the earth left him wondering as well as us. The Great Mysteries are really only what God has not yet revealed and what he has already revealed. If Mal'akh had only read the scriptures instead of living the fast life of a party boy, he would have known that.

Why do people lean toward evil for happiness and a great reward? Evil never was happiness. And the "reward" from evil, if you can call it a "reward" I want no part of. I've read what the 16th Century Solomon's Key or Clavis Salomonis is. This is why Brown mentions Aleister Crowley, the most evil man in the world. Solomon's Key is an ancient text which is said to contain the spells King Solomon used against evil things. The 17th Century manuscript called Clavicula Salomonis or The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon gives an account of King Solomon imprisoning 72 jinns or demons in a brass bottle, sealing it with a special seal.

Don't know if you can see this one very well. I cannot get the background to be white.







Or this one:




Accordingly, the seal was on a signet ring which Solomon dipped in wax and sealed the jinns in a brass bottle.

Yes, Brown likes to dance around legends and mystical subjects.







The Star of David is known as Solomon's Seal. In essence, the seal has many forms, all with a six pointed star and some within a circle, yes a pentagram or pentacle. This comes from the Kabala or Jewish mysticism.

This last one I've seen in some horror films. It is said to give the one who makes it power over the 72 jinns Solomon sealed in the brass bottle.





Indeed, Brown did a magnificent job with Mal'akh's character. He cared the daylights out of me. And I really had no sympathy for him.