The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol
by Dan Brown
Robert Langdon series, book three

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.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

Robert Langdon returns in another intriguing, complex Masonic adventure. This particular addition to the series starts off a little slowly, but gains speed quickly. This book once again blends organized religion, secret societies, mysticism, and science.

The science introduced, noetics, is really fascinating to contemplate...and to read about on the internet. The idea that you can actually use your mind to affect the world around you is very cool - I loved the correlations to group healings, prayer circles, and ultimate creation...wow. Very interesting!

The science I think really brought this whole book together, though I also really liked the way that Brown brought people from Langdon's life in closer to the storyline. His relationship to the Soloman family made the story more complex and drew me further into caring about what happened to each character. Smart!

Overall, an entertaining and thought-provoking read.