Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol Catch-All (Sequel To Da Vinci Code)

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I just started to read the book and I am completely addicted to it. I highly recommend it so far. I'm hoping to get any post discussion on here about it.

Here is the synopsis:

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jHvD-ZUrL._SS500_.jpg)

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

Well, I enjoyed reading his books, not that I took them as gospel like some did. I will probably pick this one up and read it.

Aries wrote:

Well, I enjoyed reading his books, not that I took them as gospel like some did. I will probably pick this one up and read it.

Ya, I think you should never take his books as a history textbook but take a look at the stuff he points out. Like the Capital Rotunda, which has some interesting stuff going on. (I won't spoil it yet).

Crockpot wrote:
Aries wrote:

Well, I enjoyed reading his books, not that I took them as gospel like some did. I will probably pick this one up and read it.

Ya, I think you should never take his books as a history textbook but take a look at the stuff he points out. Like the Capital Rotunda, which has some interesting stuff going on. (I won't spoil it yet).

I quite enjoyed the points of interest around Rome in Angels and Demons. Even if it wasn't 100% correct, it painted a picture in my head, and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. That's what makes a good read, to me.

I finished it last night. It helps that I keep a copy on my Kindle and an audiobook copy on my iPod, so I'm basically never more than a minute away from making some sort of progress in the book.

It was good, although there were some parts where I thought it dragged, especially after the climax.

The characters aren't great, the writing isn't great, but he usually tells a good story, and makes you think at the same time.

TheCounselor wrote:

I finished it last night. It helps that I keep a copy on my Kindle and an audiobook copy on my iPod, so I'm basically never more than a minute away from making some sort of progress in the book.

It was good, although there were some parts where I thought it dragged, especially after the climax.

The characters aren't great, the writing isn't great, but he usually tells a good story, and makes you think at the same time.

I haven't got to any dragging points yet, but Dan Brown does get his books at drag points. Especially after between the parts he talks about history stuff.

Brennil wrote:

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

You might appreciate some of these gems, then. I read a couple of his books and the best I could say is that they were quick reads. The plot moves really fast and is easy to follow, but as TheCounselor says, he falls completely flat in the character and prose department. He's also completely formulaic, but I guess that's why he can churn his novels out so fast.

Where's the half-ass licensed videogame to accompany it? I could use an action figure too.

Gotta get this book. Actually my neighbor gave me one of his old ones in paperback. Just started reading it. Deception Point.

fuzzyb wrote:
Brennil wrote:

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

You might appreciate some of these gems, then. I read a couple of his books and the best I could say is that they were quick reads. The plot moves really fast and is easy to follow, but as TheCounselor says, he falls completely flat in the character and prose department. He's also completely formulaic, but I guess that's why he can churn his novels out so fast.

Churning his novels out to fast? Just to remind you that his last book, Da Vinci Code, was published 6 years ago. But then again, I have no idea if has been working on this book the whole 6 years. He's not like freaking RL Stine.

$5 says some character close to the main characters turns out to be the bad guy.

Rat Boy wrote:

$5 says some character close to the main characters turns out to be the bad guy.

(Gasp) NO WAY!

The plots interest me but then I try to read them and the writing makes me want to claw my eyes out. Perhaps we'll get a reboot sometime down the road. Perhaps anyone can recommend similar stories (might belong in a new thread) that are well written?

Crockpot wrote:
fuzzyb wrote:
Brennil wrote:

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

You might appreciate some of these gems, then. I read a couple of his books and the best I could say is that they were quick reads. The plot moves really fast and is easy to follow, but as TheCounselor says, he falls completely flat in the character and prose department. He's also completely formulaic, but I guess that's why he can churn his novels out so fast.

Churning his novels out to fast? Just to remind you that his last book, Da Vinci Code, was published 6 years ago. But then again, I have no idea if has been working on this book the whole 6 years. He's not like freaking RL Stine. :)

Touche. I wasn't really referring to The Lost Symbol, I was more referring to his earlier four novels which he produced over a period of 6-7 years. Not amazingly fast, but they still read they come from a blueprint and they have some really bad writing in them. Perhaps he's taking the time to get it right with his new book. Or maybe he's just spent the last six years making forts out of money.

fuzzyb wrote:
Crockpot wrote:
fuzzyb wrote:
Brennil wrote:

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

You might appreciate some of these gems, then. I read a couple of his books and the best I could say is that they were quick reads. The plot moves really fast and is easy to follow, but as TheCounselor says, he falls completely flat in the character and prose department. He's also completely formulaic, but I guess that's why he can churn his novels out so fast.

Churning his novels out to fast? Just to remind you that his last book, Da Vinci Code, was published 6 years ago. But then again, I have no idea if has been working on this book the whole 6 years. He's not like freaking RL Stine. :)

Touche. I wasn't really referring to The Lost Symbol, I was more referring to his earlier four novels which he produced over a period of 6-7 years. Not amazingly fast, but they still read they come from a blueprint and they have some really bad writing in them. Perhaps he's taking the time to get it right with his new book. Or maybe he's just spent the last six years making forts out of money.

Touche? Meh, I could care less if people hate the book. I don't know, I guess my ignorance to his bad writing doesn't really effect me like others. I think most people agree the the real meat isn't at the deliverer but the actually stuff content and history behind it.

I do admit that link is hilarious pointing out his flaws. Maybe I'll be more open to that now.

Brennil wrote:

I hear they're marketing this as the "hot new Brown," which seems really apt to me - his writing always did remind me of a steaming pile of sh*t.

Well played. And in total agreement.

Crockpot wrote:

Churning his novels out to fast? Just to remind you that his last book, Da Vinci Code, was published 6 years ago. But then again, I have no idea if has been working on this book the whole 6 years. He's not like freaking RL Stine.

Da Vinci Code was not his first book, nor was it the first to use basically the exact same plot.

Basically, I have very little respect for a writer whose characters are so shallow you know their roles by their physical descriptions.

It's a story and in some portions interesting. In spite of his literary failings - he is making his coin and I wouldnt be above turning out a formulaic novel that is guaranteed to net me millions of dollars. As a wise man once said "Don't hate the playa, hate the game".

Anyone else totally unsurprised when you learned

Spoiler:

that Langdon isn't really dead?

I can't stand Dan Brown. I rate him really low as a writer.

I might read this, if I have NOTHING else to read.

Personally I treat his books exactly the same as I would a standard hollywood action movie. Very easy to pick up and fast paced with enough happening to keep your interest. Usually a fun read but very little substance there, but sometimes that's what I want. I'll probably read it at sometime, especially as the price-cutting in the UK has been so fierce with the book now being sold for £5 (around $8) on amazon and at supermarkets which is less than what paperbacks sell for here.

Even ignoring the delay between this release and his last book I'd hardly consider 4 books in 6 years as churning them out and I don't actually think this would necessarily be a bad thing either (provided the author had the talent). In a similar period for example Terry Pratchett put out 10-11 books which included books I'd consider among the best I've read. Not to mention authors like Isaac Asimov who put out hundreds of books during his lifetime.

What's the story on the inexplicably hot yet brilliant female lead that's thrust in the middle of this whole thing that he bangs at the end? Is she a redhead, because I don't thing Langdon's had a redhead yet.

I'll confess that i've yet to read any of Brown's books. Not that I have any real objection to him, but the mouth breather that treat his work as some kind of gospel irritate me.

I may read his stuff if anyone who has promised to lend it to me follows through.

I read all of Dan Brown's books, for me they are airport literature - pick up at an airport, read through during flight (or two), leave on seat when you leave the plane. Based on his previous books, I'll probably buy it next time I'm flying somewhere, guess the real culprit from the first 20 pages and finish it in next two hours. Next day I'll remember almost nothing.

Really, this guy is the definition of formulaic writer - after reading two books you can guess with total accuracy who is the culprit after the first scene with him/her. The rest of the book is just padding, waiting until the writer reveals him for real. It's like a big red arrow hovering over guy's head with "That's the one!" in block letters.

Instead of assessing his prose, let me just say this: Gabriel Knight 3 is the Da Vinci Code story, only told much better.

I read the DaVinci Code and that was enough for me. It wasn't a good action novel, but I guess people really fell in love with the whole Jesus and Mary as co-partners in the church thing. He tapped into something there.

I read Da Vinci Code, and rated it as a poorly written, formulaic thriller with some really good history stuff in it. Then I found you that he'd copied all that stuff from someone else who totally made it all up and I realised that it had no redeeming features at all. He couldn't have made it less accurate if he'd gone out of his way to make everything up and then claim it was true.

Here's a question that occurred to me when reading this and Twilight saga threads: how come these mediocre books get such a huge fanatical following? Their writing and storytelling is subpar (in contrast to, say, Harry Potter saga, which is both well-written and thought out), their characters bland, their authors haven't been widely known before and so weren't likely to be followed. Yet the publication of their new books is a huge event. Do their stories fill any void the current readers have? Am I just too old and/or reading too much into it?

Anyone else totally unsurprised when you learned

Spoiler text sucks. And yes, I've refreshed my browser.

wanderingtaoist wrote:

Here's a question that occurred to me when reading this and Twilight saga threads: how come these mediocre books get such a huge fanatical following? Their writing and storytelling is subpar (in contrast to, say, Harry Potter saga, which is both well-written and thought out), their characters bland, their authors haven't been widely known before and so weren't likely to be followed. Yet the publication of their new books is a huge event. Do their stories fill any void the current readers have? Am I just too old and/or reading too much into it?

I think, as this thread shows, that people have different thresholds for what they like and what they think is good or bad.

For instance, when you wrote "how come these mediocre books get such a huge fanatical following" the first thing I thought of were the Harry Potter books which, for my money, are just fantasy-tinged Scooby Doo mysteries. And, yeah, Brown is pretty much the bottom feeder of historical action books.

I equate books of this type to the summer movies full of explosions and eye candy. You're not watching it for some in depth plot. I'm only about 25% through "The Lost Symbol" but it seems like Brown isn't straying from his formula at all.

At least this book paints a picture of actual places and includes a bit of history. I don't think it's fair to throw it into the bucket that is Twilight. For the record I've read all of those as well.

SO... I think the overall issue with books is that America in general is getting dumber by the day. The lesser intellect individuals outnumber everyone else so if your writing is simple and easily read you've automatically got a larger audience.

I am loving it so far. I am a bit tired of the over use of foreshadowing. Almost every chapter end with some kind of indication of the trouble to come but other than that it is great. I love the main character, I think the history is great fun, and while I am sure it makes me a loser, I like the writing.

farley3k wrote:

I am loving it so far. I am a bit tired of the over use of foreshadowing.

I think Dan Brown books are intended to be read with a silent-movie style piano playing in the background. Every chapter would end with the piano hammering out "Dun-dun-dunnnnnnn!"

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