The Lost Symbol

by Dan Brown

          In this third book we again follow protagonist Robert Langdon on another academic adventure, this time in Washington D.C.  The book begins with readers looking into an ancient ritual as a man becomes a part of the brotherhood of the Masons.  As this chapter unfolds it becomes clear that this man is lying in order to go through this ritual and his intentions are misleading.  This chapter serves as the reader's first introduction to the subject of the Order of the Masons and it continues to be an instrumental subject as the book continues.
         When readers meet up with Langdon, he has been called by his longtime friend and mentor Peter Soloman to fill in as a keynote speaker at a gala in Washington D.C.  When Langdon arrives, he is confused to find that there is no gala.  When he calls Peter's office to inquire about the mix-up, he finds out that he has been lured to Washington on false pretenses.  The man on the phone pretended to be Peter before and also explains that Langdon is here is because he orchestrated him to be.  He also says that he has kidnapped Peter, and will release him after Langdon has solved a series of puzzles having to do with the Freemasons.  Right after Langdon hangs up with this mysterious man, the screams of a young boy have him running into the rotunda.  In the middle of the floor he discovers a severed hand.  Recognizing the Masons ring on the hand reveals that it is the severed hand of his old friend Peter.  This is all the proof that Robert needs to understand that the voice on the phone has truly kidnapped Peter and that he needs to solve the puzzles of The Masonic Pyramid in order to save him.
         Meanwhile across the city, Peter's sister Katherine is waiting for her brother at the laboratory in one of the Smithsonian buildings.  Katherine is a Noetic Scientist and her research of the mind and intellect has recently had a breakthrough that could change the world and world's view of everything including the afterlife.  Katherine doesn't realize that her brother is in danger, and his kidnapper is soon coming to destroy her and her research.
        As I continue to read Dan Brown's books one of the things I appreciate the most about him is his ability to create such a cruel and hated villain.  The way he develops these evil characters makes the book even more thrilling and interesting.  They always have such a great back story and are so vastly different.  While Dan Brown's books have an obvious commonality, (i.e. Professor Langdon helping solve academic and historical mysteries), you can count on his antagonists being completely different in each of these books.  I also love how these fictional books are created around factual places, buildings, and events.  Readers are given an adventurous tour of whatever city the setting is, and given a history lesson as well around the symbols and rituals of the a historical group, such as the Masons.
       This particular book was probably my least favorite of his books so far due to some information and some really unlikely parts to it, although I found it worth reading all the same.  It kept my interest and I still enjoyed reading it for the educational facts and intriguing fictional events.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Up Next: Al Capone Does My Shirts (Young Adult) by Gennifer Choldenko

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