The Lost Symbol

By: Dan Brown

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The Lost Symbol, the stunning follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, is a masterstroke of storytelling - a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes and unseen truths...all under the watchful eye of a terrifying villain. Set within the unseen tunnels and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object - artfully encoded with five ancient symbols - is discovered in the Capitol Building. The object is an ancient invitation, meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom. And when Langdon's mentor Peter Solomon - prominent Mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon's only hope of saving Peter is to accept this invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon finds himself plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations...all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

The Lost Symbol is exactly what Dan Brown's fans have been waiting for...his most thrilling novel yet.

©2009 Dan Brown (P)2009 Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"[I]mpossible to put down....Mr. Brown was writing sensational visual scenarios long before his books became movie material. This time he again enlivens his story with amazing imagery....Thanks to him, picture postcards of the capital's most famous monuments will never be the same....In the end it is Mr. Brown's sweet optimism, even more than Langdon's sleuthing and explicating, that may amaze his readers most." ( The New York Times)
"Thrilling, entertaining....Robert Langdon goes for another roller-coaster ride - this time in a hunt for a Masonic treasure in Washington, D.C." ( Los Angeles Times)

things to learn but a bit repetative

Like US documentaries the book repeats itself too often. Interesting things to learn though about places and symbols. I didn't realise the magic square was in painting.

A Lecture with a plot... not a novel

I really enjoyed the previous 2 books... this one, however, was a real disappointment.

17 hours to tell a "fast paced" 10-hour story. Every few chapters we are treated to half an hour of history and lecture material, and the once "Brilliant" professor, seemed to have become a first year student.

One of those books that makes me wish I could exchange audio books.

Why did I do this to myself?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Having it been written by a different author

Has The Lost Symbol turned you off from other books in this genre?

Only if I see the name Dan Brown as the author.

What about Paul Michael’s performance did you like?

He imbued emotion and read well, with clarity and didn't just use a dull plodding monotone, would happily listen to him as a reader again.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really, it was pretty much utter bilge from start to finish. The only redeeming quality is that I didn't pay full price for my misery!

Any additional comments?

I wish that I had just read this book instead of listened to it, as it would have been over in a far shorter time.

To be honest I am not entirely sure why I bothered with it in the first place, it was either idle curiosity or masochistic tendencies...or most likely both!

Any book which has you expleting audibly in exhasperation more then once (even just once would be bad enough) really cannot be recommended.

Waste of time, a piece of junk.

Although Paul Michael narrated well, this book lacks of depth in all aspects. Story is very predictable, and it's more or less just a repeat of Da Vinci Code. A piece of rubbish by Dan Brown.

16 hours you'll never get back ...

I enjoy some good old airport fiction as much as the next person, but there is a limit. The characters are one dimensional - which is fine - the plot however is tissue paper thin, and this is a problem for a book that is entirely plot driven!

We stumble from one poorly realised "revelation" to another under an avalanche of portentous prose that completely fails to deliver anything like excitement or tension.

The narrator does an heroic job, but there are only so many times you can say "the ancient mysteries" and "the wisdom of the ages" before you sound like you're taking the mick. So run don't walk and look elsewhere!

dissapointing... very

a half decent listen until the final 1/4 of the book. the climax and ending is both predictable and very weak. obviously written to cash in on DVCs popularity, it stuggles to be either entertaining or engaging. a poor effort and i cant stress enough how disapointed I was with the concluding chapters.

perhaps the most annoying part of the actual audio is the readers attempts to pronounce most of the more obscure names and regilion related words as well as the extremely grating female CIAs characters voice... i actually couldnt make it to the very end and had to turn it off.