Author:Dan Brown
The author’s first novel in eight years sees the welcome return of long standing character Robert Langdon. Accompanying his partner, a celebrated academic, to a lecture in Prague, events suddenly spiral out of control when she disappears without trace from their hotel room. His investigations lead him into the depths of a city steeped in mystery and ancient folklore, a city dominated by its castles, churches and labyrinthine catacombs. As you’d expect, there are plenty of arcane puzzles, hidden clues and cryptic codes to work out as he seeks to solve the mystery while fighting not just for his own life but also for the future of humanity itself. This is an entertaining and enthralling read where every chapter seems to end on a cliffhanger, imploring you to read just a few more pages before putting out the bedside light. Brown certainly knows how to keep the tension and excitement building, with the pages virtually turning themselves, and if you enjoyed his previous novels you’ll find lots to like here in what will undoubtedly be one of the year’s best sellers.
Length of Read:Long
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Earlier books in the series, thrillers.
One thing you’ve learned
A good read during which you’ll learn plenty about the secret history of Prague!
Have to say that, despite the rather thin veil of literacy and scientific believability of Dan’s books, I really enjoyed the Da Vinci romp and the Antimatter one. They are a hoot, but I left it there after the second one. However, your kindly review makes me think that the next time I’m looking for something entertaining to while away a longish journey, I’ll be very likely to grab this one.
I gave up after the one in which some chalk symbols scrawled around a university campus are revealed to be crucial to the plot, and Robert Langdon, university cryptographer and a man who’s ability to read symbols borders on a super power, casually mentions that he hadn’t paid any attention to them because he thought it was just students mucking about. That stretched my credulity more than any number of atomic bombs exploding above the Vatican.
I think that might be The Lost Symbol, the one that made me think “Dan Brown’s never getting any more of my money.”
I was with him for The DaVinci Code and a couple of others – I know the writing wasn’t Shakespeare, but he really knew how to end chapters with a cliff-hanger, and I liked the mix of history lesson (or maybe “history” lesson?) and ticking-clock thriller.
But I drew the line after TLS, and having gone “Really? Oh, come ON!” too many times as the plot made one silly turn after another.
There’s no change of style here so if you’ve read any of the previous books you’ll know whether or not you want to dive into this one.
It’s long and I did find myself thinking “is it nearly finished yet” towards the end, but maybe that says more about me than DB.
Some interesting concepts touched on, mind you, if I could be arsed to look into them further.
I thought ‘The Lost’ Symbol’ looked liked something the graphic designer used on the mock up as a generic Dan Brown-style title until the confirmed proper name was faxed across. ‘The Secret of Secrets’ gives similar vibes.
I had one of my student’s parents go straight to the Principal to complain that my ‘dismissive’ and ‘elitist’ assessment of The Da Vinci Code as an “airport novel” cost his daughter’s analysis of the text one or two marks. Ended up being a bit of a kerfuffle and I haven’t read him since.
What’s that old saying about not judging a book by it’s cover….although no one would suggest these are great literary works, they are a good read.
….. He stepped forward, tripped over a rug, and fell into the darkness.
…. He spun around, heart pounding like a drum solo at a mediocre concert. The briefcase was gone.
…. Suddenly, a shadow moved. Or did it? He couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was just his imagination. Or maybe it was THEM.
…. The “statue” turned slowly, dramatically.
“I’ve been expecting you,” he said.
…. She opened the ancient book and gasped.
Inside was a single word: “Pudding.”
…. Then he rallied , and he said in a hoarse whisper, “Tell Brenda….”
This book addresses, to quote:
“Precognition.
The ability to sense or foresee future events before they happen.
From the stage in Vladislav Hall, Katherine had recounted some of history’s most famous instances of precognition, including the clairvoyant dreams of Carl Jung, Mark Twain, and Joan of Arc. She explained that Abraham Lincoln, three days before his assassination, had shared a dream with his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, in which he saw a covered corpse guarded by a soldier who announced, ‘The president, he was killed by an assassin.’
Then Katherine went on to describe the strangest case of all—Morgan Robertson—an American author who published the 1898 novel Futility, which he based on a vivid nightmare he had about an unsinkable ocean liner—The Titan—striking an iceberg and sinking on one of its first voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Incredibly, the book was published fourteen years before the Titanic disaster. It so specifically described the ship’s construction, navigational course, and sinking that the coincidences had never been explained.”
This book was released on September 9. Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10. Much discussion ensued revolving around the 1998 film Snake Eyes. Not to mention September 11 and the myriad accounts of “precognition” from Supertramp’s Breakfast In America, Back To The Future, and The Simpsons.
Secretum Secretorum. Fractals. Wheels within wheels. Dan Brown is what some might term “An Asset”.