THE LOST SYMBOL.

THE LOST SYMBOL by DAN BROWN.

Washington DC: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned at the last minute to deliver an evening lecture in the Capitol Building. Within moments of his arrival, however, a disturbing object - gruesomely encoded with five symbols - is discovered at the epicentre of the Rotunda. It is , he recognises, an ancient invitation, meant to beckon its recipient towards a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's revered mentor, Peter Solomon - philanthropist and prominent mason - is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes that his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept this mysterious summons and follow wherever it leads him.

Langdon finds himself quickly swept behind the facade of  America's most powerful city into the unseen chambers, temples and tunnels which exist there. All that was familiar is transformed into a shadowy, clandestine world of an artfully concealed past in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth.
...... From the inner front cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (from the prologue): The secret is how to die.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: The library's closed lady.
But the woman didn't seem to care. She seized one of the heavy ring-shaped handles, heaved it backward, and let it fall with a loud crash against the door. Then she did it again. And again. And again.
Wow, the homeless man thought, she must really need a book.

Almost a year since The Lost Symbol was released and still there is a list of people all wishing to reserve this book at our library.

What can I say? Wonderful, fascinating and totally unputdownable even if it was a bit unbelievable with cheesy dialogue in places. How I wish I knew where fact ended and fiction began in this masterpiece by Dan Brown.

Full of twists and turns, this was a roller coaster of a ride with wonderful characters throughout. I especially liked the female leads, Katherine Solomon and Sato, both driven and intelligent, they were wonderfully written. And as for the 'baddie' Mal'akh? Perhaps my favourite character of all, evil genius (his torture of Langdon was truly chilling) and yet, a strangely sad character - some of the best written parts, I firmly believe, involve his story.

A great read, I'm sure this will also be made into a film.

The Lost Symbol was a library book read, read as part of the SEPTEMBER SPECTACULAR READING CHALLENGE it is my fifth and final book. Click HERE for links to the other books read for the challenge and HERE to see what other books bloggers have been reading/reviewing as part of their challenge.