"The Lost Symbol" (Book One)

Dan Brown's newest book. Now don't get me wrong I love Dan Brown. All his books are wonderful in their details and thrilling to read. This one however has had a slow start. I know it's not going well when I start noticing the chapter numbers.

I began to notice the chapter numbers on Chapter 8. when I began asking my self wow I'm on chapter 8 and nothing has happened. The book begins to pick up after chapter 30. But did you hear that chapter 30. This 639 page book has 132 chapters not including the epilogue. That is an average of 4.8 pages per chapter. Those are really short chapters.

I realize that is his way of changing the character perspective. However I find that there are too many characters to keep track of. Some of them never seem to reappear. He makes a background for them and then kills them off or never comes back to them. What is their point.

The female co-lead character that seems to always be a part of these Robert Langdon Books gets on my every nerve. She is suppose to be this hard core scientist type but all I find her is annoying. She has no real insights to add to the plot line other than to spur Langdon to break promises to her brother and make a mockery of what her family has strived to guard for many generations. Her reoccurring mantra is I don't care what my brother and generations of my family was trying to protect I just want my brother back alive. However, she has no proof that her brother is even alive.

I mean come on people. A mad man demands you break an ancient and secret code in exchange for your friend/brothers life. And the only proof you have that he is alive is his severed hand. A severed hand can kill a person. And a mad man is not going to exchange anything. He is going to kill your friend/brother and you are going to hand him the secret that the friend/brother died for?

The motivations of the characters through out this book are dubious.

So either I have out grown Dan Brown or this book is just not well constructed. Both is possible. I'm usually not this picky about plot points.

Though, during a conversation last night, I was trying to explain about the character Robert Langdon to someone who has never read the books. And I came to the conclusion that Dan Brown either needs to explain more about this character to the reader, if her is going to continue having him as his main character or move on. Most authors give background and flesh out their main characters if they are going to be writing multiple books about them. These three books don't do this. These three books are just snapshots in time about this character. I want to know what happens in between. What happens to the women he encounters? Why are they no longer in his life?

Really, I just want Dan Brown to write a book that does not involve the character Robert Langdon. I want something new and fresh from this author. I wanted a long time for him to finally write this book and I'm disappointed in it. I'm glad now I waited a year to finally pick up the book and read it.

In the end I did not dislike the book. The message that God is within all of us is intriguing and has made me ponder reading the bible all the way through. However, one must always remember that this is a work of fiction.

As always, I appreciate your comments or book recommendations. ~Dianna