So yes, I read Dan Brown’s follow up to The Da Vinci Code. Luckily I work in a bookstore and therefore was able to read it without having to buy it (you should be jealous of this “library” privilege that comes with working there.)
This will be a short review, because frankly, Dan Brown doesn’t deserve a long review in my opinion.
The Lost Symbol can be summed up with some simple math:
Take The Da Vinci Code, subtract Europe, add ‘Merica, the ‘land of the free!’ add heat-vision goggles as the main gadget keeping the plot rolling, subtract one Albino, substitute in a “tattooed freak,” and all this equals what is quickly becoming the same old Dan Brown formula.
Now I will give Brown credit, he meticulously researches his background information, although I have not fact-checked his work so it could be a total crock, but he sounds so confident that I’ll dangerously assume he’s correct.
In reading this book though, it really wasn’t anything new. The use of heat-vision goggles definitely made it feel like the whole book was just following the trail of a hot item before (such as the hot sales of The Da Vinci Code? Maybe.)
Overall, this book is a pass on the reading list. It could have been exciting had the main villain’s story not been so easy to guess (or his name so ridiculous.) Actually I take that back, there was no way to make this exciting unless Dan Brown had the balls to kill off his main character and avoid coming off as a greedy man flogging a dead horse for the cash to add another tower to his mansion.
In conclusion, if you feel you must read this, save your money and just get it from the library. And if Dan Brown reads this, please feel free to send me some of your fortune so I can afford to move out of my parent’s house. Thanks.