Grant Newman-The Lost Symbol

Grant Newman
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown
Historical Fiction
Just Right
P. 466

1. Right now, the main characters, Robert Langdon, and Katherine Solomon are in a masonic temple in Washington D.C. The villain, named Mal'akh, has just been killed. He actually killed himself, hoping that a miraculous transformation would occur. However, he was wrong, and everything went wrong. He cut off his hand with a very expensive and famous knife that he bought for $1.6 million. It was supposed to the the knife Abraham used to kill (almost) Isaac from the Bible. Mal'akh ended up being Peter Solomon's son. (Peter is Katherine's brother). Solomon, a very elite mason, is the head of the Smithsonian, and a very wealthy man. None of the characters had any idea that Mal'akh was Peter's son until too late. Mal'akh/Zach explained that when he was in a Turkish prison, and his father couldn't save him from it, he changed his name from Zachary to Andros, and then to Mal'akh, and lived in Greece for a while. He transformed himself, becoming obsessed with tattooing himself, because he wanted to become a "masterpiece" when he left his body (AKA dying). They ended up in this place because Mal'akh was looking for "The Lost Word" which was supposedly the key to a level of knowledge on par with a god. However, he was given false information by his father, and thus, he prematurely killed himself. There are still many questions to be answered, including what the word acutally is, and why all of this happened.

2. I like this book a lot. Like other Dan Brown novels, it is very fast-paced, and has many unforseen plot twists. But, I actually don't feel as engrossed in the story as I have with his other novels, including Angels & Demons, and The DaVinci Code. The hunt for this symbol is still very engrossing, however I don't think he did as good a job developing the plot and giving the reader a sense of urgency in this novel. It was still fast-paced, but there wasn't an aspect of fear that he was able to bring out in his other novels. He brought another group, the CIA, into play in this novel, but they really didn't do much, and were more of a distraction than a help. It made the novel slightly more confusing than it would have without them. But, his characters are very good, and the background on new characters, especially Mal'akh is very good. Knowing this background gives insight into why they are doing what they're doing now. To conclude, I do like this book a lot, just not as much as his other novels.

3. A theme I've noticed so far is the quest for knowledge. The whole goal of the book, as far as the villain is concerned, is to decipher a Masonic pyramid, which will lead him to a secret symbol. The symbol, supposedly, gives him knowlege to become a person equal to a god. But, this whole adventure is centered around a pyramid. The pyramid is encrypted, and needs to be deciphered like in Brown's other novels. Langdon is called upon to decipher it by Mal'akh because Peter Solomon, who he is holding hostage, said that he thought Langdon could crack the symbols and read them. So, the entire novel is based on one man's quest to gain knowledge that no one knows yet. This theme isn't as prevalent right away (first 150 pages), but more after that, as the novel delves deeper into Mal'akh and his background. This is the whole reason for the adventure and quest of the novel, so it is a very important component.

4. My favorite character is Robert Langdon. It's easy to feel bad for him, considering he's been trapped in a box that makes you feel like you're dead, and has been drawn into decrypting a pyramid for a man who he had no idea of beforehand. The villain lured him into this, because he thought he'd be the best man for the job. He proves that he is an asset, and that he has value, using his academic personality. He's very knowledge-oriented, and knows what he's talking about. It's amazing some of the things he's done, like decoding this incredibly old pyramid, evading CIA capture, and figuring out why all of this has happened. He's an easy character to relate to, and his determination and perseverance make him a very good person for this job. Overall, he uses his skills, and personality to help himself in these situations, and is a very good person, especially in this situation.

5. My least-favorite character is the CIA director, Inoue Sato. The novel describes her as a tiny oriental woman, who runs the CIA with a short-temper. She smokes as well. She's very irritable, and is very business-like. She chases Langdon and Katherine around D.C. because she thinks that they're trying to keep the pyramid from her. She's right of course, but she doesn't need to use helicopters and GPS to track them and find it. She should have known how to deal with people better, and she would have gotten the information she wanted. She's not very friendly or social at all, and has a very cold personality, making her my least favorite character in The Lost Symbol.

6. My prediction is that some of the questions remaining at this point in the novel will be answered, and Robert will have a conversation with Peter Solomon about this whole proceeding. I also think that Robert will end up back in Boston after this is all over.