1188. The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)

Synopsis:
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly 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.

My rating: 2 stars

My review:

Dear Dan Brown,

Please get over yourself and your inferiority complex from not having been accepted to Harvard.

Sincerely,

The Literate Public

347. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

Leonard da Vinci, self-portrait

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A murder in the silent after-hours halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching not only for Neveu's grandfather's murderer, but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England and history itself.

My rating: 3 stars

My review: Fun to read (which made it a best seller) but in no way justifies the incredible press that it received and Brown's subsequent pomposity about his "theory" regarding the Holy Grail.

186. Angels & Demons (Dan Brown)

St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati -- dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism -- is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared -- only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization. Brown seems as much juggler as author -- there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances -- readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read.

My rating: 4 stars

My review: Better than The Da Vinci Code.