Disappointed with “The Lost Symbol”

I really liked Dan Brown’s novels “Angels and Demons” and “The Da Vinci Code,” so I was eagerly looking forward to his newest work, “The Lost Symbol,” was which just released this past September. I was sorely disappointed though :( The plot seemed like a repeat of the last two novels I just mentioned with Robert Langdon being mysteriously summoned somewhere, lots of unnecessary details about secret sects and their rituals, a female heroine, and an overly dramatic villain. Not to mention I could see the plot twist about the villain coming from a mile away.  I would say half the book was fluff writing, describing how the characters were moving to some new location or giving the villain a chance to monologue (The Incredibles, anyone?). I like this quote I found from the blog “Fantasy Debut:”

Either way–and let’s face it–the villain monologue is simply a way to infodump the reader with any missing pieces to the plot puzzle.

But Dan Brown couldn’t even do that! His villain monologues were always something along the lines of, “I am powerful. Look at me thump my manly chest while I talk about how I’m going to destroy you.” Cliched much? The characters and dialogue also seemed rather silly and overwrought at times. When I finished the last page and closed the book, I felt cheated of my time. “The Lost Symbol” definitely did not meet my expectations in terms of writing or plot; it seems like Dan Brown is stuck in a rut writing the same kind of stories every time. If he hopes to keep producing best-sellers, he needs to find a new writing strategy, because you can only read about the same character finding himself in the same kinds of situations again and again for so long. The only positive thing I can say about the book is that it inspired me to go do some Googling of my own to satisfy my curiosity about some of the people and trivia mentioned. Other than that, don’t waste your time reading this book.

Rating:

Tweet This Post Share on Facebook