The Lost Symbol - Bev Russell, Library Director

(This column appeared in the March 7, 2010, Star-Herald)

The Lost Symbol – review by Toby Wolfe

Dan Brown has followed up his previous best seller, The DaVinci Code, with another adventure for Professor Robert Langdon, the Harvard expert on symbols, with a faster paced, less convoluted story line in The Lost Symbol.

While I don’t think Dan Brown is a particularly great writer, he does tell a convincing story that keeps you interested until the final pages. This time the hero is involved in finding a secret symbol or word that is supposedly going to solve many of the world’s problems through ancient wisdom.

The story opens with an invitation to present a lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building, but becomes a search for the victim of a brutal kidnapping. The kidnapper is a Mason who wants to gain secret wisdom for his own evil ends.

The hunt involves a maze of twists and turns along with an exploration of the history, legends and symbols of the Masonic Order.

The kidnapped man, Peter Solomon, is a noted historian and philanthropist. Langdon’s partner in the search is the victim’s sister, Katherine Solomon, a scientist whohas made an amazing discovery through secret experimentation.

In the process of finding the secret, she is places herself in danger and her experiments are threatened.

The story takes place over a period of twelve hours and, as such, is very fast paced. Brown fills the pages with avid descriptions of various Washington landmarks, all having to do with locations in which Langdon and Miss Solomon might find the clue to the secret and, at the same time, save her brother from a painful death.

What I particularly liked about this book was that is was a faster read than The DaVinci Code, with fewer red herrings and extraneous characters that lead the reader astray. I think it would make a better film than The DaVinci Code, which I found murky and confusing, even after having read the book. The story line in The Lost Symbol is less confusing. I had seen The DaVinci Code with some friends and those who had not read the book could not understand what the film was about. They found it confusing. The goal of the search in The Lost Symbol is much less obscure than the ultimate goal of The DaVinci Code.

Dan Brown writes books that hold your attention and challenge your ability to solve puzzles. There are several puzzles that have to be solved in order to come to the proper conclusion and they are illustrated in the book. Part of the fun for the reader is trying to solve these puzzles given the clues that are supplied. Of course, the puzzles are solved for you, but it is fun to try it for yourself.

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