Yep - I got sucked in by all the hype and bought (and actually read) this book. To be fair (to myself!) I am one of those people who really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code - while I don't think it was great literature by any stretch of the imagination I thought it was a great entertaining read. As I've mentioned before I am one of those readers who is pretty dense when it comes to guessing endings so The Da Vinci Code was a real treat for me - I never saw what was coming! Unfortunately I can't say the same for The Lost Symbol - I saw everything coming - and none of it was good! If I hadn't been on holidays while I was reading this book and in need of something VERY light to read I would have thrown this book out the nearest window - it really was that bad.
I read one of the reviews on Amazon where someone had written that they feel Dan Brown had written this book only with the future screenplay in mind - and I completely agree. The book did not read like a well constructed novel at all - it was clunky and descriptive - two of my pet hates in books. The characterisation, if you could even call it that, was basic and formulaic - not one person in the book was well rounded - I felt like I was watching a computer game being played out before my eyes.
I'm normally quite reserved when talking to other people about books I have not liked or enjoyed. I usually tell them the reasons I did not like it but they might see it differently. The Lost Symbol is another case altogether - I am openly telling my friends and family to not even bother reading this book - it is woefully terrible!!! Even though I paid good money (pounds none the less!) for this book I left it sitting on the table in a hotel room - maybe the person who picks it up next will enjoy it more than I did.
