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The Lost Symbol

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The Lost Symbol
The Lost Symbol
AuthorDan Brown
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime, Mystery, Thriller novel
PublisherDoubleday (US)
Transworld (UK)
Publication date
September 15, 2009[1]
Publication placeUnited States
United Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardcover), eBook, audio book
Pages528
ISBN9780385504225 (US) 9780593054277 (UK) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded byThe Da Vinci Code 

The Lost Symbol, formerly known as the working title The Solomon Key, is a 2009 novel by American writer Dan Brown.[2][3][3][4][5] It is a conspiracy theory thriller, set in Washington DC.

Released on September 15, 2009, it is the third Brown novel to involve the character of Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon, after 2000's Angels & Demons and 2003's The Da Vinci Code.[2] It had a first printing of 6.5 million (5 million in North America, 1.5 million in the UK), the largest in its publisher's history. On its first day the book sold one million in hardcover and e-book versions in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, making it the fastest selling adult novel in history.[6]

Plot

The story takes place over a period of 12 hours in Washington, D.C., with a focus on Freemasonry.[7] Langdon is summoned to give a lecture in National Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol, with the invitation apparently from his mentor, a 33rd degree Mason named Peter Solomon. However instead of an audience for his lecture, Langdon finds the severed right hand of Peter Solomon tattooed into a Hand of the Mysteries and pointing upwards, to the fresco The Apotheosis of Washington on the inside of the Capitol dome. This leads to a game of cat and mouse throughout the museums and architecture of the city. Langdon joins forces with Solomon's sister, Noetic scientist Dr. Katherine Solomon, while matching wits with Mal'akh, a tattooed, self-castrated and brilliant villain who is in search of an ancient source of power.[8] Mal'akh has taken Peter hostage, and demands that Langdon unlock the Ancient Mysteries in return for Peter's life. Langdon is also apprehended by Director Inoue Sato of the CIA Office of Security, who demands that he solve the mystery since it is a matter of national security, as the villain is planning to release a clandestine video of Washington powerbrokers engaged in secret Masonic rituals. The chase and the clues to the puzzles lead through the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museum Support Center, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Freedom Plaza, the United States Botanical Garden, and Washington National Cathedral. Some ciphers in the book use magic squares such as those in the 1514 work Melencolia I, and an Order 8 Square created by Benjamin Franklin. Processes of alchemy are also described to reveal some of the clues.

In the climax in the altar room on the top floor of the Masonic headquarters House of the Temple, Mal'akh reveals that he is in fact Peter's son Zachary. Unhappy with the way he was treated by his father, he faked his own death in a Turkish prison and experienced a religious epiphany, finding the need to learn the Word and complete his transformation into a godlike being. Trying to re-create the Biblical story of Abraham on the verge of sacrificing his son, Zachary tries to goad his father into killing him with a special sacrificial knife on the altar of the Freemasons. But Langdon intrudes, a CIA helicopter disables Zachary's laptop with a targeted EMP pulse to prevent the distribution of the video, and Mal'akh is killed when the helicopter shatters a skylight above him.

Peter then takes Langdon to the Washington Monument, saying that the Word that Mal'akh was seeking was actually in books such as the Bible, Koran, and Bhagavad Gita, and that the true Ancient Mystery is in fact the realization that people are not God's subjects, but in fact possess the capability to be gods themselves. Once they realize this fact, they will open the gateway to a magnficent future.

Characters

  • Robert Langdon, Harvard symbologist
  • Dr. Katherine Solomon, noetic scientist
  • Peter Solomon, Freemason
  • Mal'akh, tattooed and brilliant villain
  • Inoue Sato, gnomic director of CIA's Office of Security
  • Trish Dunne, Katherine's assistant

Development

The book had been in development for several years; originally expected in 2006, the projected publication date was pushed back multiple times.[1] The book was published on September 15, 2009 with an initial print run between 5 and 6.5 million copies, the largest first printing in publisher Random House's history.[9][10] Electronic versions such as eBook[11] and Audible book versions[12] were also made available on the same date.[13]

Release

Sales

The hardcopy book was on pre-order lists for months leading up to its release, being heavily ordered both in the United States and Canada.[14][15] According to the publisher, on its first day the book sold 1 million in hardcover and e-book versions in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, prompting the printing of an additional 600,000 hardcover copies to the 5 million initially printed.[6]

On its first day the book became the #1 bestseller in amazon.com,[16] and the Amazon Kindle e-reader edition became the top-selling item on Amazon.com, outselling Amazon's sales of the hardback copy of the novel, which is the sixth best selling book of 2009 on pre-publication orders alone.[17] The Lost Symbol also ranked as the #1 bestseller in Amazon's Canadian and British sites.[18][19] Both Barnes & Noble and Waterstone's reported the book has broken all previous records for adult fiction.[20][21]

Reception

The New York Times praised the book as being "impossible to put down" and claimed Brown is "bringing sexy back to a genre that had been left for dead". Nevertheless, it noted the overuse of certain phrases and italics, as well as the lack of logic behind characters' motivations. It also likened one of the characters to Jar Jar Binks.[22] Los Angeles Times said, "Brown's narrative moves rapidly, except for those clunky moments when people sound like encyclopedias."[23] Newsweek called the book "contrived", saying that to get through The Lost Symbol, just like The Da Vinci Code, it was necessary to swallow a lot of coincidences, but the book was still a page-turner, and that Brown "is a maze maker who builds a puzzle and then walks you through it. His genius lies in uncovering odd facts and suppressed history, stirring them together into a complicated stew and then saying, what if?"[24] The National Post's review called it a "heavy-handed, clumsy thriller" and that the character of the villain (Mal'akh) "bears an uncomfortably close similarity" to the Francis Dolarhyde character in Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon.[25] The Daily Telegraph said the novel was "not quite the literary train-wreck expected."[26] TIME said the plot was fun, if bruising, but "It would be irresponsible not to point out that the general feel, if not all the specifics, of Brown's cultural history is entirely correct. He loves showing us places where our carefully tended cultural boundaries — between Christian and pagan, sacred and secular, ancient and modern — are actually extraordinarily messy."[27]

Leak

The novel was leaked to popular torrent sites in less than 6 hours of the official release of the book.

Adaptations

According to Variety, the book is expected to be made into a movie by Columbia Pictures.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Italie, Hillel (2009-04-20). "New Dan Brown novel coming in September". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-04-20. Cite error: The named reference "Bookseller1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Carbone, Gina (2009-04-20). "Dan Brown announces new book, 'The Lost Symbol'". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  3. ^ a b "ET Breaks News: Dan Brown Has Finished New Book" ETonline, February 12, 2009
  4. ^ "Report: Dan Brown has finished his book". Seacoastonlone.com. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  5. ^ "Dan Brown is ready with new book (Swedish: Dan Brown klar med ny bok)". E24 Lifestyle. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-02-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Dan Brown's 'Lost Symbol' Sells 1 Million Copies in the First Day". The New York Times. 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  7. ^ "Keys to Dan Brown's Solomon Key". Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  8. ^ De Vera, Ruel S. (September 15, 2009). "Dan Brown's 'Lost' is no 'Da Vinci Code'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  9. ^ "A New World: Scheduling E-Books". New York Times. 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  10. ^ "Dan Brown moves to Washington for new thriller". Reuters. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  11. ^ "The Lost Symbol eBook (Kindle Version)". Amazon.com. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  12. ^ "Download The Lost Symbol - Preorder". audible.com. 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  13. ^ Irvine, Chris (September 14, 2009). "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol 'will be biggest selling adult fiction novel of the decade'". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  14. ^ "Dan Brown returns with Da Vinci Code sequel, The Lost Symbol". The Guardian. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  15. ^ "New Dan Brown book offers industry hope". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  16. ^ Amazon's Bestsellers in Books (accessdate 2009-09-16)
  17. ^ "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol on Kindle is Amazon top seller". The Daily Telegraph. 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  18. ^ Amazon.ca Bestsellers in Books (accessdate 2009-09-16)
  19. ^ Amazon.co.uk Bestsellers in Books (accessdate 2009-09-16)
  20. ^ "To No One's Surprise, Dan Brown Books Are Flying Off Bookshelves". The New York Times. 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  21. ^ "Dan Brown's Lost Symbol sets adult fiction sales record". The Guardian. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  22. ^ Maslin, Janet (2009-09-13). "Fasten Your Seat Belts, There's Code to Crack". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  23. ^ Owchar, Nick (September 14, 2009). "Book Review: 'The Lost Symbol'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  24. ^ Jones, Malcolm (September 15, 2009). "Book Review: Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'". Newsweek. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  25. ^ Wiersema, Robert (September 17, 2009). "Review: Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol". National Post. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  26. ^ Jehu, Jeremy (September 15, 2009). "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  27. ^ Grossman, Lev (September 15, 2009). "How Good Is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol?". TIME. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  28. ^ "Columbia moves on 'Symbol'". Variety.com. 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2009-09-01.

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