A review by tanyaaugust
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2.0
Alright, I admit it. I went looking for this book with the wrong idea. With all the hype around Dan Brown, I has somehow figured that any one of his books would be brilliant and memorable.
It's. Well. Not.
The Lost Symbol is sloppy. It's a low-calibre book, with an over-dependency on mysticism. While it's action scenes are adequate enough, it's wow-factor relies way too much on half-hearted, mystical beliefs, and vague sentimentalities. It's puzzles are barely stimulating. It's antagonists are terribly dull. Unlike James Rollins, Dan Brown seems to rely too much on urban legends, playing to the popular conspiracies, rather than more historically-sound and rational ideas. His conclusion was staggeringly weak - and if the movies are anything to go by, a bad pattern. Dan Brown seems to rely heavily on exploiting popular sentimentality - he always throws in the god card, to the point that it seems to be an overused gimmick, rather than an actual theme.
Don't get me wrong. I understand and even admire his use of a sound pattern. Relying on such gimmicks has obviously made his books extremely popular, and him rich. But by god, let's not call Dan Brown books' good literature, because that they most certainly are not. The Lost Symbol is just a simple, pulp, overrated novel, whose existence proves that not all popular books are actually genuinely good ones. So read it, if you will, but with a pinch of salt. Don't expect much, and you'll do just fine.
It's. Well. Not.
The Lost Symbol is sloppy. It's a low-calibre book, with an over-dependency on mysticism. While it's action scenes are adequate enough, it's wow-factor relies way too much on half-hearted, mystical beliefs, and vague sentimentalities. It's puzzles are barely stimulating. It's antagonists are terribly dull. Unlike James Rollins, Dan Brown seems to rely too much on urban legends, playing to the popular conspiracies, rather than more historically-sound and rational ideas. His conclusion was staggeringly weak - and if the movies are anything to go by, a bad pattern. Dan Brown seems to rely heavily on exploiting popular sentimentality - he always throws in the god card, to the point that it seems to be an overused gimmick, rather than an actual theme.
Don't get me wrong. I understand and even admire his use of a sound pattern. Relying on such gimmicks has obviously made his books extremely popular, and him rich. But by god, let's not call Dan Brown books' good literature, because that they most certainly are not. The Lost Symbol is just a simple, pulp, overrated novel, whose existence proves that not all popular books are actually genuinely good ones. So read it, if you will, but with a pinch of salt. Don't expect much, and you'll do just fine.