Mark Anderson

An interesting tribute to 80's and 90's pop culture, video games, and pencil and paper roleplaying games. Set in a semi-dystopian future where most people live in poverty and escape to a virtual reality universe called the OASIS. It has funny moments, somewhat epic moments, and some decent attempts at being heart-warming. Would recommend.

A very prototypical post-Tolkien start to an epic fantasy series. Small town youngsters embark on an adventure where they learn about themselves, grow up, find relics, gain power, etc.Lagged in the first third of the book and a little in the middle. It finished well and it did leave me wanting to read more of the series. This book felt longer than it was. I recently read [b:Words of Radiance 17332218 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659905768l/17332218.SY75.jpg 16482835] by [a:Brandon Sanderson 38550 Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1394044556p2/38550.jpg] which was longer but felt shorter because it was more intriguing and had more action. It's not that I need my books to be action packed, but I'd expect more than a handful in a 700+ page book. I've heard that this series does pick up in books 2-6, so I am excited to read them, just not right away.

I read the first two Robert Langdon novels, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. After these books, you develop an expectation for a story involving the tweed-clad symbologist. You have a treasure hunt through an significant city (or cities) filled with secrets, an intelligent woman that is emotionally tied to the plot, and a game-changing plot twist.

The Lost Symbol delivers on these three expectations, but does not live up to the other two books in other ways. First of all, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, while somewhat controversial, still seem somewhat grounded in comparison to The Lost Symbol. Without giving anything away, The Lost Symbol is extremely mystical in tone, from the exploration of the “science” of Noetics to the conclusions reached during the conclusion of the story.

Also, the two main plot twists were pretty clear to me from about halfway through the story. I'm not sure if I have just adjusted to Dan Brown's writing style after reading two of his other books, or whether he just dropped way too many hints in this story. Obviously you don't want plot twists to come out of thin air, but at the same time if they are totally transparent there is no point in presenting them as shocking plot twists.

In conclusion, this book wasn't terrible, but it doesn't live up to the former two books. If you really enjoyed those two books, then this book will not waste your time. I enjoyed the ride while it lasted, but it definitely left a sour taste in my mouth at the end.