The Lost Symbol

There has been such a lot of hype surrounding this books release that in anticipation of it I ensured I had finished my previous read so that on release day I could dive straight in.

The book begins when Robert Landon is called to Washington DC to deliver a key notes speech for his old mentor Peter Solomon, but when he gets there he finds his old friend has been kidnapped and possibly killed by a phsychotic madman who wants Langdon to dechiper an ancient mystery that is hidden in the city......sorry is this sounding familiar. Yes it probably is and that's because in no way is The Lost Symbol anything new, it is very very firmly written in the same formulaic manner as both Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

It is almost as though off the back of the massive money spinning success of those two books his publishers have got in touch and said can you do 500 pages in this amount of time for $XX million, be sure to include the ususal old favourites such as intelligent damsel in distress, Robert Landon trying to unravel strange old mystery, phsychotic madman on the loose threatening and chasing said Professor Langdon, old friend with mysterious past linked to ancient organisation, police detective who seems to be helping/hindering the investigation for unknown reasons. When I write it down in as simple a way as that it becomes evident that Brown is fast running out of creative ideas.

I am sure that a big budget blockbuster of this movie starring Mr Hanks will be along in around 18 months or so, it will probably translate well onto the big screen. It will no doubt sell billions of copies worldwide by the time it's paperback release takes place. I find it dissapointing however that this now ranks as the fastest selling book of all time - this is a diservice to the outstanding work that JK Rowling produced in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows which was a truly awe inspiring novel. In no way is this book evidently produced for the quick sell mass market a patch on Rowlings last Potter book which previously held that accolade.