The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
by Dan Brown
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Book Reviews of The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
Book Review: Book Review - The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Summary: 1 Stars
Dan Brown has done it again. And I mean really done it. The Lost Symbol has received huge amounts of publicity and has been highly promoted, largely due to the overwhelming success of The Da Vinci Code, and the surrounding controversy.
The Lost Symbol promises to be no different. It's already sold over a million copies, and that's just on its first day of sales!
At the very front of the book, just before the Prologue begins, Dan Brown makes a statement very similar to the one found in The Da Vinci Code. He says that there is a cryptic document locked away in the personal safe of the director of the CIA tat has Masonic implications. Is this true? Hard to tell. Brown also states that all organizations mentioned in this novel exist, as well as all rituals, science, art and monuments. Ok, easy enough to verify.
But what he doesn't say is crucial: This is a fictional story. While the setting and locale are based in reality, the simple truth is this: This story is just that, a story. It is fiction. It is the product of Dan Brown's (very creative) imagination. Just like The Da Vinci Code. But so many people read his fiction, and are convinced that it is real. We need to wake up and take a look around us. We need to stop accepting the truth of a statement, simply because it is in print.
The story itself is gripping, though. I have to admit, I've read all of Dan Brown's novels. He is a very talented author. He spins a tale full if intrigue and suspense. I had a hard time putting down The Lost Symbol, or any of his other works. The story is well written. Brown has achieved literary excellence, in that regard at least.
However, his fiction contains highly inflammatory and controversial elements. If you remember that these are simply part of the plot of the fictional story, you're ok. But if you start to believe that these statements are true glimpses of a dark and hidden reality, you've stepped out of the world the rest of us live in and entered Dan Brown's fictional realm.
The Lost Symbol contains several of these un-truths. And I'm convinced that these reflect the author's own opinions, since they can be found to varying degrees in most of his other books as well.
Some of these frightening deceits include: We have the potential to become gods. We have the capacity with our own minds to harness the cosmic power of the universe and make our own reality, and hence or own morality. Jesus was nothing more than a man who had harnessed the full power of his mind. And all world religions essentially speak the same truth: that we make our own destiny, and once we reach enlightenment, we become gods.
Brown claims that the Freemasons are the protectorates of these frightening "truths" and will one day allow them to be revealed to the world, which will cause the Apocalypse (which he defines as "unveiling" or "revealing") and usher us into a new age of Enlightenment.
The Lost Symbol is frightening at best. Downright terrifying at worst.
Not because of what he claims is in the near future for humankind. But because of the twisted web of deceit that he has spun. And the fact that so many people are going to buy into this as truth.
The Lost Symbol is full of twisted lies and untruths. I lost count of how many times he "quoted" Scripture, only to look up those passages for myself and see how he had twisted the words around to say something completely different than what was there.
And if he misquoted and misrepresented the Bible, which I know and trust intimately and implicitly, I can only guess that he misquoted and misrepresented the texts of other major world religions (not that they are true anyway...).
Dan Brown has effectively removed God from his throne and set ourselves up in His place. He leads us to conclude that we don't need God, because, we are, in fact, God ourselves.
This is blatantly the opposite of biblical reality. And we have been faced with this temptation since the very beginning of time, in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, being told by the deceiver that "in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).
We have been faced with the temptation to become "like God" ever since. Mankind has struggled to lift ourselves up and take the place of our Creator ever since that fateful day in the Garden.
The Lost Symbol takes us right down that same unfortunate road. And instead of helping us to draw closer to God and become more like Him, Dan Brown has taught us (once again, like so many other examples in human history) to draw away from God, dethrone Him, and become Him.
As I finished reading The Lost Symbol, I was almost physically sick; distraught over the fact that so many people will be led further astray by this hugely over-popular author. Dan Brown has displayed the capability to sway the opinions (or solidify the defiance) of millions of people with The Lost Symbol. And he has the potential to destroy the faith of countless people who don't know the truth of God's Word very well. God's Word says that Dan Brown will one day be held accountable for the false teachings he has propagated within his stories. My prayer is that he leaves this path that he is on, and turns in a new direction, one that leads him closer to the ultimate Storyteller.
Lord, help us to speak Your Truth to a lost and confused world. Lord, help us to the Your Word for what it is, Your love letter to us, sharing your desire to save us and bring us into a right relationship with You.
Lord, help us to seek You, and not seek to become You.
Book Review: Why Dan? Why?
Summary: 3 Stars
3 years in the making The Lost Symbol is probably the years most anticipated book. After the Sucess of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, most of us were probably ready for a new Langdon adventure. I know I was. I finally grabbed my copy and I was really excited to read it, but shortly after I began wondering why. While the book starts off with Dan Brown's usual fast paced story telling. I feel as though the 3 years it took to write this book, really were a waste. I feel like a majority of this book was written over a weekend, and that Brown just borrowed from the already successful well he has been pulling from. While I wasn't expecting something entirely new Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code were each unique and compelling, The Lost Symbol is just more of the same. Robert Langdon recieves a phone call from a friend, flies to D.C., and then poof get's drawn into the middle of a conspiracy. While I knew this formula would be present, I was hoping for the same unpredictable and crazy adventures Langdon always seems to go through. While for the most part it is there, the sad part is that with each revelation and question answered you are left feeling, jipped. Nothing is really shocking, or suprising for that matter. The big twist towards the end you know about 4 chapters before it actually happens leaving you feeling let down. Then the final "big" revelation which the entire story is surronded, is the biggest jip in history. I won't spoil it but when something goes from being one thing, to another thing, to another, to let down it kind of sucks.
Brown introduces readers to the same cast of characters he always does. An old friend, a woman who has stake in what Langdon is chasing, a villian who while mysterious (is pretty much straight from the Da Vinci Code, only with tattoo's and less christian), mysterious people helping Langdon along the way, and the shady one's who seem to have no allegiance, but are somehow tied into the story. Langdon goes through the same trials of wracking his brain to figure out symbols and codes to eventually lead to something that if man possessed would "tear the fabric of existence!" The chapters like usual are short and push the reader to try and get a few more chapters under their belt before closing the book. But, where Brown seems to fall way short in this book, is an overuse of information, and constant repeating. I feel like for every 5 lines of dialogue there about 4 paragraphs about the history of whatever the hell they are talking about. Yes, it's always helpful to know little things, but when a majority of your book ready like a history book it kind of steers you away from the action and suspense. Alot of informatin is common knowledge to anyone who watches the history channel, or has heard the word Freemason. But, Brown insists on leading us around like we are 3 and telling us in detail everything there is to know about everything he talks about. While it shows that he did his research, and maybe that he is trying to avoid alot of the fire he has taken in the past, but it still just really breaks it up too much to follow sometimes. I found myself skimming to get back to the story at times.
The villian in this book really isn't likeable or warranting of sympathy what-so-ever. Usually there is something in them, that is redeeming, this guy is just an idiot. Apparently he is also super-human because he survives some of the most retarded things, and is able to take out anyone and everyone relatively quickly. Also I kind of got the feeling that everyone in the book was really really gullible. *SPOILER ALERT* Langdon never talks to his friend before bringing something of great value to D.C., everyone seems to notice the make-up that the villian wears but trusts him anyways, everyone let's this man into anything, even knowing that her brother never texts and doesn't know how she still accepts the fact that all of the sudden he figured it out, after the big deciphering they just up and believe that everything has been solved by a security person, and even upon pulling into the driveway with a CIA agent no one realizes that there isn't a single police car.** It just really got to me all these stupid avoidable mistakes. Langdon is supposed to be a professor and Katherine (the friends sister, and langdons leading woman for this book) a scientists and they made stupid mistakes the whole book.
Where Brown could have completely redeemed everything was the ending. With everything calming down and full decipher it could have been the ultimate revelation in the book. Instead we get a shot of religion and the end. This makes me really sad. Usually when I reach the end of a Dan Brown book I feel really satisfied, even with the earlier ones (Deception Point and Digital Fortress were excellent) I felt good about reading them. They kept pace, gave you crucial info but always kept things moving. I feel like after all of the success and two movies under his belt, he has gotten comfortable. That is a bad thing in this case. If he had lost alot of the un-necessary history lesson's the book could have been shorter and read better. The ending definitely could have been a ton better. All in all the book wasn't terrible, but it definitely doesn't live up to his previous efforts. If this was his first novel it would have been forgiveable. But after everything I'm really not all that excited for another Langdon adventure. If you have some spare time, or like his previous works, or just masons, by all means atleast give it a read. But if you are looking for the next Da Vinci Code this isn't it.
**Spoiler Alert** was I the only one who was really frustrated by the deprivation chamber, where Brown makes you think that langdon is dead? I really thought that was un-necessary!!!***
Book Review: shallow characters, terrible theology, but some good twists.
Summary: 2 Stars
Dan Brown's latest novel spins a good tale with some good twists. It's also a great read before visiting D.C., and will help you narrow down the myriad of places to tour. That's all the good I have to say about it.
The characters are shallow. The pace of the book is so unrealistic that it pulls you from the dream we usually enjoy while reading a novel. You would think they evacuated Washington in order to do all that is done in this book. I don't care if it's midnight - there are always people everywhere in D.C. You can't blow up the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress and then expect to drive across town without seeing ten million emergency vehicles, and at least that many tourists. But that's not what bothered me.
First, let me say I could care less about the controversy of The DaVinci Code. I didn't read the book and didn't follow all the clamor. I thought the counter-publishing of works like The DaVinci Deception were reactionary and overkill, not to mention probably did much to promote anything Brown subsequently wrote.
Second, it's a novel - got it. The views expressed herein don't necessarily reflect those of the author, bla bla bla. But there's no way you can read this and not sense that the philosophy within the writing goes far beyond backstory, character or scene development. It sounds more like soap boxing. So, what philosophy?
Brown levels the differences among religions, stating that they all have value and originate from some ancient, vague mysticism. The book is gnostic, wrapped in the most recent package. "Truth" originates from secrets kept from centuries past within a small circle of Masons, or other secret organizations. Even within those groups, only a few people really understand the truth, which is guarded within enigmatic symbols to protect the world from the destructive effects that would come should the unworthy gain access to these powerful secrets.
Hold on a second - I've got a fair question: what secrets? What exactly is the secret? Well, he never says. At the end he references (and, baby, does he twist Scripture here...) the Logos (see John 1:1). But even here he takes what Scripture makes fairly clear, and casts a cloud around it in order to manufacture a mystery.
This reminds me of Finding Forester, which was a wonderful movie. In this flic Sean Connery plays a famous, best-selling author in the vein of Harper Lee, who only wrote one novel. Connery mentors a talented kid from a poor, inner city neighborhood. Throughout the movie your told how incredibly talented Connery is, how wonderful his book was, and you wonder what else he has published, and how good it is. The problem - you can't demonstrate how good literature is in a 90 minute movie. So you have to believe that Connery is that good, because they're never going to prove it through prose.
Brown does something similar when he spends an entire novel debunking orthodoxy while lauding gnosticism that he refuses to explain.
It's a secret. If I tell you I'll have to kill you.
Yeah, right. I find the novel arrogant. I had to exert will power to finish the book after the third time one of his characters pontificated on how `simple minds actually take the Bible literally.' What does he mean by literally? Well, for starters he's not just talking about believing in a seven day creation, or a literal flood, or some other doctrine typically held by fire-breathing fundamentalists. He extends it to include believing in a literal resurrection, a literal Christ, etc.. He places Jesus on the same level as Mohammed and some obscure prophets from religions known only by Harvard anthropology professors, in spite of the fact that they teach contradictory things. (e.g. did Jesus die on the cross? Koran says no, Bible says yes. It can't be both. Was he resurrected? Koran, no, Bible, yes. They can't both be correct. And the entire religion of Christianity hangs on the answer to these. They are not trivial doctrinal issues.) Jesus (and Mohammed) for Brown are just good folks who had a better grasp on some grand ancient mystery than most people. Unfortunately most of their followers have twisted their teachings by actually believing them, rather than grasping the enigma behind what they actually taught. Oh - if only Brown had gone so far as to draw a cartoon of Mohammed, we might be spared some future experiment in thrashing Orthodoxy!
Such is gnosticism redressed, a heresy dealt with centuries ago by the early church. It basically says, "I have a secret, and if you have the secret, you can know salvation. But to really be saved, you have to know the secret.
So I find it arrogant and frustrating that he insults Christians (and most other faiths) for being simple-minded because they believe their Scriptures. If you shoot down one answer, you should at least offer your alternative. He doesn't. Instead he offers vague references to some hidden mystery. He can't disclose the mystery because he misses the point.
Christianity is a mystery. The Logos he refers to is certainly mysterious, but not in the way he intends. He is guilty of his own lust for enigma, claiming Christians were staring straight at the answer and yet miss it. I would say this is the case for Mr. Brown, since we stare at the mystery and walk away with the answer. He twists the mystery and walks away with another mystery of another mystery of another... He walks away with air. Nothing. Gnosticism. Humanism. Weak philosophies build on shaky foundations.
Still, it could be a good book if you took all the empty philosophical trash out of it, built more complicated characters, and adapted the setting to more accurately reflect a really cool capital city.
Book Review: some great, some good, & some awful
Summary: 3 Stars
I have incredibly mixed feelings about this book. If you asked me my thoughts while I was reading it, they varied among "I love it!," "It's really good!," "I can't stop rolling my eyes!," "When will it end?," and "Well, it's not very good, but I really like it." I completely understand why the ratings at Amazon are so disparate. There are parts of this book I would rate 1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars, 4 stars and 5 stars. Different readers will place more importance on some parts than others, and with this book more than any other book I've read, I would find it impossible to predict a reader's reaction. Here's how I viewed the book:
1 star elements: The ubiquitous italics; there are other ways to emphasize things you want the reader to pay attention too. As a reader, I abhor this technique. My eye tends to glance around the page and picks up on things that are different. The italics distract me, and they really serve no literary purpose here.
The watches. I get it; Langdon has a Mickey Mouse watch. It's important to him; it's irrelevant after the first mention, and it's annoying in a suspenseful scene. The fact that Katherine also has a very special watch given to her by her parents is laughable, but at least it was only mentioned once. I suppose she wasn't as concerned with time as Langdon.
The formulaic romance. I loved Angels and Demons (and I want to read it again to see if my opinion has changed), and I thought The DaVinci Code was mediocre at best (I credit growing up in both a church and intellectual community, but I found nothing shocking or outrageous in the book, and after Angels and Demons, it seemed formulaic). I am willing to suspend my sense of reality for the sake of a good mystery or adventure story. I am not willing to overlook the fact that for three books now, Robert Langdon happens to end up solving a very important mystery with a ridiculously intelligent, articulate and attractive woman who has some very close relation to the man (whom Langdon is also closely related to somehow). At least there was a quick mention of what happened to the Angels and Demons woman in The Da Vinci Code. Here: nada. As a woman who has a fondness for intelligent, worldly men, the idea of these women falling for Langdon seems improbable at best and laughable at worst.
The sexism. Hearing alleged intellectuals walk around talking about "man's secrets" is infuriating. Hearing Katherine talking about mankind rather than humanity is worse. For a book so concerned with being forward thinking, Dan Brown could use a seminar in appropriate language and gender bias.
2 star elements: The villain (I'll avoid specifics in case you haven't read it). He's too unbelievable. He's so unbelievable he wasn't scary. I like a villain with a few doses of humanity or something about him or her I can relate to.
3 star elements: Although I liked parts of it, it was all too much. It was too long, too hard to maintain that much intensity for that many pages. The resolution was unsatisfying.
4 star elements: The idea of this book is cool. I like adventure stories. The thrill of the chase was fun. For 80% of the book, I really enjoyed Katherine as a character. She was intelligent, open-minded and inspiring. I appreciate she got to make some discoveries instead of our intrepid hero, but as I said earlier, her use of mankind instead of humanity rubbed me the wrong way, and I don't think she would fall for Robert Langdon.
This paragraph: "Is there? Is it not possible that we are still living in the Dark Ages, still mocking the suggestion of 'mystical' forces that we cannot see or comprehend. History, if it has taught us anything at all, has taught us that the strange ideas we deride today will one day be our celebrated truths. I claim I can transform the pyramid with a touch of my finer, and you question my sanity. I would expect more from an historian. History is replete with great minds who have all proclaimed the same thing...great mind who have all insisted that man possesses mystical abilities of which he is unaware." p. 308
5 star elements: Whether you consider it science fiction, science, an interesting religious view, or just unsettling, noetic science is intriguing and fascinating. The ideas in this book made me think, even if the book also made me groan. I'll give you this point, Dan Brown, I didn't tweet about noetics, but I am blogging about it.
Will I read the next Dan Brown novel? Probably. Here's what I would like to see Dan Brown do: first, write children's books. Wouldn't it be fun to see a sixth-grade Robert Langdon solving little mysteries? The problems could be more elementary too, and it would fit perfectly. Another option would be to have Langdon have a daughter who suddenly appears and wants to get into symbology. A young adult heroine is born. She could follow him around the world learning and solving little puzzles. These formulas would work for children's books, but I find them getting old in adult books.
I'm pretty much done with Langdon as a hero. If he comes back, I'd really like to see him in a more supporting role, or at least an equitable role. Katherine had the most to do of his female characters, but she still felt too much like a sidekick for someone who knew more than Langdon in many pivotal scenes. If Langdon comes back as the hero, and he inevitably will, can one of his three female sidekicks also return? I can't stand adding another one.
I loved parts, and I enjoyed parts, but as a whole, it's mediocre and likable. Am I glad I read it? Absolutely. Would I recommend it? Only if you'll talk to me about it.
Book Review: Biblical Themes in The Lost Symbol
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is a review of a key themeof Dan Brown's bestselling novel, "The Lost Symbol".
Around Chapter 82 Reverend Dean Galloway - dean of the cathedral enters the story and we are told, "looked like he had been alive forever." We then go through a, "discreetly hidden door that lead into an administrative annex." Interesting. Then out of the blue in big print in brass nameplate, it's announced his title, "The Reverend Dr. Colin Galloway Cathedral Dean." We know here is a very important person. Then we find Mr Langdon, a doubter, of the Ancient Mysteries, "you do not believe in such things." Wow, a symbiologist, without answers. We then find, "The Secret hides within the Order" and the words order are capitalised, so we know we are dealing with the very Special, Highest of All.
We are then asked the question, "know ye not that ye are gods" and "Man created in God's image" introduces new themes...Psalms 82:6 "Ye are gods!" We are then forewarned of the great pending change, "The religion of the future, Einstein had predicted, will be a cosmic religion. It will transcend personal God avoid dogma and theology." This is astounding, one could say clairvoyant statements, which are likely to be true. The seal was broken, by Ms. Solomon, setting in motion a series of events from which there is no return. Katherine stared dumbfounded at the reverend, as he was referring to the Seven Seals of Revelation. The reverend tells Langdon, "You do not have eyes to see." Will Langdon understand there are Seven Messages, Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets and Seven Plagues of Revelation?
Next we move to Chapter 84....something is pending..."I never imagined I would live to witness this moment"..."The Mysteries are moving out of the inner circles...out of darkness...into the light." The pew warmers are wondering what's going on. Peter Solomon senses the danger of this time, "He sensed something was watching him...waiting...intending to do him great harm." There is no easy road to travel. Change never just happens. But a, "catalyst...has the power to transform this world" awakens us to something is going to happen....and the, "new development occurs incredibly fast." This is real telepathy working globally, the noetic world. We await the, "transformative moment of enlightenment"...at-one-ment of mind and soul.
Chapter 85 is Transformation.....with Langdon stating, "I had no idea" as two symbols fused to create one. Man and God are one. The devil in Chapter 86 states, "In order to create, I must destroy." Will good triumph over evil...does good eventually triumph?
The establishment in Chapter 86 is shaken, "Dean Galloway felt a lightness in his step that he had not felt in years"..."He had spent his life straining to be heard above the din of ignorance"..."They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand"..."filled with the false life of the theological vine." Dan Brown states, "It is always darkness before the dawn." How can these statements be made, "we have the truth", haughty, confident, I stand unchallenged. Chapter 88 warns, "Time is running out." Know thyself is the word. There is no intercessor. Each must stand alone.
Chapter 89, we are told "The pyramid is a real map, Galloway had told them, and it points to a real location." This is recognition of the divinity of each person, life is real, each moment is to be revered. Each story is real. There is no aborting life as respect becomes integrity. We are all with God without religion. Without wax our words are true....there will none that "preferred their own feeble gestures of personal sacrifice...fasting, Lenten renunciation, tithing." It is recognised sacrifice is daily, in all actions, sabbath continually one might say
In Chapter 98 Robert finds his birth outfit, "Where the hell are my clothes?"..."I'm in a box!" is a fitting methaphor. "I have been buried alive"..."I am going to suffocate alone in this box." Skipping along to Chapter 107, the question starst flowing, "Does heaven exist? What happens when I die?"...and then, "pure consciousness" is recognised, now.
Chapter 108, wow, a short Chapter..."the physical world had ceased to exist."
Chapter 110 the "bell began tolling" and by Chapter 111 we are at, "wonderful new age of enlightenment." No one knows quiet what is going to be the spark, but we are learning, "I create as I speak." Then the pathway opens, "Your passion is an important catalyst in the coming change." "Study the Bible"...especially the final pages as the 7Angel Messages, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets and 7 Plagues are going to be known, I suppose..."a reveal-ation. The Book of Reveal-ation in the Bible predicts an unveiling of great truth and unimaginable wisdom." The students give Peter Solomon applause.
Scenes of action follow. No sleeping here.
By Chapter 126 we are told, "You have walked past it and never seen it." No one is going to tell you, you must find out for yourself. No one can do it for you.
Read and reread chapters 130-133...."Concealed within those pages there hides a wonderful secret"...talking of the Old and New Testaments..."the Word has been the Bible"..."which awaits in darkness at the foot of the staircase"...scythe...hourglass..."index finger was extended, pointing directly at a large open Bible as if to say, "The answer is in there!"..."a vast collection of untapped wisdom waiting to be unveiled."
Twitter, Google, Wikipedia...the noetic world..."Out of many, one." Pure consciousness...hope.
Well worth a read.