Knopf, September 2009
The first print run of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was five million copies. One million were sold the first day. Sales may ultimately equal the eighty million that The Da Vinci Code sold. There must be something to this Dan Brown phenomenon; he must have struck a chord in the American reading public. One of my best friends was a non-reader until he read The Da Vinci Code. He then read Angels and Demons, and later read Andre Dubus' The Garden of Last Days. He is still reading. Others have reported similar progrressions. I point this out to note that Brown has opened a rich vein of new readers.
Does the literary merit of this genre, of The Lost Symbol in particular really matter, then? I think not. It requires a ripping good story with believable characters who have a remarkable trait or two. It is their humanity, their doubts, their curiosity that endears such characters (Robert Langdon in this case) to readers. Reading the The Lost Symbol's jacket description and noting certain unexpected twists, brutality, and a quixotic need to follow where an invitational symbol leads the hero reminds one of those romance novels with heaving bosoms and ripped bodices - without the heaving bosoms and ripped bodices.
The first print run of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was five million copies. One million were sold the first day. Sales may ultimately equal the eighty million that The Da Vinci Code sold. There must be something to this Dan Brown phenomenon; he must have struck a chord in the American reading public. One of my best friends was a non-reader until he read The Da Vinci Code. He then read Angels and Demons, and later read Andre Dubus' The Garden of Last Days. He is still reading. Others have reported similar progrressions. I point this out to note that Brown has opened a rich vein of new readers.
Does the literary merit of this genre, of The Lost Symbol in particular really matter, then? I think not. It requires a ripping good story with believable characters who have a remarkable trait or two. It is their humanity, their doubts, their curiosity that endears such characters (Robert Langdon in this case) to readers. Reading the The Lost Symbol's jacket description and noting certain unexpected twists, brutality, and a quixotic need to follow where an invitational symbol leads the hero reminds one of those romance novels with heaving bosoms and ripped bodices - without the heaving bosoms and ripped bodices.
A pre-Prologue "fact" claims that much of what is in this novel is true. Perhaps it is; perhaps it is true only within the world of the novel. It is a work of fiction after all. Nevertheless, this thriller grabs the reader immediately and refuses to let go. Each chapter's mini-cliffhanger pulls the reader onward deeper into the labyrinth Brown so expertly weaves. There are memorable characters and generally realistic situations, but like Theseus we need some thread to ensure that we can wend our way back from the abyss. That thread is the element of real world truth running across many pages. This gives the novel a sense of verisimilitude that makes it even more interesting and intriguing.
Robert Langdon has been invited to Washington at the last minute to make a speech about the fraternal order of Masons and to bring a certain box entrusted to him by a 33rd degree Mason. This box allegedly holds the secret to the Ancient Mysteries. A very real angel of death is searching for it; indeed, he has made all the arrangements that have brought Langdon to Washington. The story unfolds at breakneck speed, the main action taking place in less than twenty-four hours.
Robert Langdon has been invited to Washington at the last minute to make a speech about the fraternal order of Masons and to bring a certain box entrusted to him by a 33rd degree Mason. This box allegedly holds the secret to the Ancient Mysteries. A very real angel of death is searching for it; indeed, he has made all the arrangements that have brought Langdon to Washington. The story unfolds at breakneck speed, the main action taking place in less than twenty-four hours.
All seems to be going according to plan, both for the good guys (Langdon and Katherine Solomon among others) and the clearly bad guy (Mal'akh). The CIA is a player in this, but on which side is Director Inoue Sato? Why does she think involvement with the Masons is a national security issue? The Masons figure heavily, of course. Is one of them playing a double game in the best traditions of Le Carré? The suspects are riddles wrapped within an enigma, and this both propels the story and keeps the reader engrossed in all its potential outcomes. At one point Brown writes his story into a box that seems to have no solution - an appropriate situation given the emphasis on ciphers and symbols. There is even a helicopter involved.
But, incredibly, all of this fits together to create a credible thriller. Few thrillers have so cleverly "fused scientific inventions with mythical gods and human apotheosis." The Lost Symbol works within the world Brown has created. Read this novel and you will never look at Washington, D. C. in the same way again.
But, incredibly, all of this fits together to create a credible thriller. Few thrillers have so cleverly "fused scientific inventions with mythical gods and human apotheosis." The Lost Symbol works within the world Brown has created. Read this novel and you will never look at Washington, D. C. in the same way again.
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