Review: The Lost Symbol

Title: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Source: I read this one on my boyfriend's Kindle
LendMe Status: Unavailable

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble):

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.

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Okay, yes, I read The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, and yes, I was expecting this novel to top those in every way - but, although the story was very intriguing and the characters just as well developed as one would expect from Dan Brown, I wasn't as enchanted by this novel as I was with his other Robert Langdon books. Generally, I like Brown's style. He definitely knows how to write a cliff-hanger, I'll give him that. Though, as a departure from his other novels, this time - I felt he used the cliff-hanger inappropriately, leaving the character not only for another story, but another time - often unnecessarily. Let me rephrase. There were a lot of flash back sequences in this novel, and they were often inserted in a strange place for me as a reader. For example, when a character we're currently following is about to bleed to death... is not the time for the narration to shift focus and talk about something that happened 25 years prior in the character's life. It just didn't have the same effect for me.

That said, I still really enjoyed the world Brown creates for his readers by mixing real science and history with fantastical insider information readers should feel privileged to hear. This book does offer what's expected of a Dan Brown novel in this sense and is well worth the read.

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Now, another type of review: Since I read this novel on my boyfriend's Kindle instead of on my Nook, I feel I should comment on the use of this device in comparison. I have to say, I did sort of miss the interface I'd gotten so used to on my Nook. The look and feel of the Kindle does vary enough to make the experience very different. I mean, obviously, there was a reason I picked the Nook over the Kindle and it wasn't purely aesthetics. He made his choice, and I made mine. But... I'm glad to have my Nook back!