The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown - Book Discussion

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New York Times review is actually favorable although the critic doubts the book will have near the impact of "The Da Vinci Code." That story did have the clever element of being almost a lampoon of a suspense thriller novels which this one may lack, so maybe not as fun to read. I'm getting this from the reviews of the movie, which I did see on cable, because most of the film critics alluded to Ron Howard surgically removing that element and playing it straight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/books/14maslin.html

I was about to link that, thx, LW.

i just finished listening to this, and loved it



“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman. Release Date: August 6, 2009. Published by Viking. Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, “The Magicians” boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price…

It's 30 % off at Borders. Right on the cashier's counter, big display. I was tempted but fought the temptation successfully yesterday.

It's $ 16.17 at Amazon and $ 9.99 in Kindle, no sales tax or shipping on the hardcover if you add enough for $ 25.00.

Well it certainly starts off with a bang!

I found a copy for 40% off at the grocery store today! (No sales tax in Oregon!)

I'm trying not to get too far into it since I bought it to read this weekend while we're away. Luckily I've got a lot going on this week so I should be safe. I know I shouldn't have started it yet but I just finished up my last book so.....

Thanks for the recommendation, marporche!

Gee, was it in the produce or meat department?

I kid you not, my grocery store sells almost everything you'd need to live a content life - Levis, Converse, socks, underwear, t-shirts, books, food, medicine, sporting goods, and hardware. With them, Goodwill, Craigslist and Powells City of Books, my life is complete. I'm a simple girl.


(Until I need eyeglasses. Grrrrrr.)

Powell's, I'm very envious.

Powell's totally rocks. It's dreamland for the book lover.

I bought seven books today at goodwill, six best seller type (grisham, crichton, grafton, rankin, - who I place above those three though I haven't read crichton lately), the second Updike Rabbit book (he's rich) and as a topper that I was lucky to find, Herodotus' The Histories. I'll probably read that one last, but will get to it.

I like Powell's better than Amazon, but the books tend to be more costly - whole different system, of course. I'm also toying with the idea of selling some of my books to Powells.

Okay. I finished it today and it truly was a page turner. I enjoyed it up to a point......

I was chatting with my back fence neighbor (BFN) today. We swap books (or we did until she got that damn Kindle thing) and she asked it I'd read it yet. I said that I'd just finished it and so had she...... except for the last 50 pages -- at which point she just quit.

We laughed because I had plodded through the last 50 pages. Neither of us were sure why they were there. It reminded me of reading Ayn Rand where she went on those ranting monologues that went on for pages and pages <snore> explaining some clumsy philosophy <double snore> for the "enlightenment" of the snorers among us.

Anyway.....

I mostly enjoyed it. I love puzzles and it was a pretty good puzzle. To me, "puzzles" are always more interesting than "mysteries". While I certainly don't take the story seriously I did come across a few thing that I'll probably Google. I spent too many hours in art history classes and some of the things he talks about captured my fancy. I thought it was a fun, quick read.

But all that aside, are there certain plot points that you wanted to discuss, marporche?

I enjoy Dan Brown's books alot. The reason that i like them is that i understand and he isnt the best writer out there but he keeps his readers waiting and excited for his new book.

He does write about conspiracies, but his main character is more skeptical of any of these conspiracies than the reader could ever possibly be. All of the content of his books is true fact, he offers a disclaimer in all of his books at the beginning, if he was lying about anything it would be against the law.

I enjoy his books because they bring forth an idea( not a new idea, just one that many have not heard of) and allow people to open their minds.

Unfortunately i see that many have not seen his books as a metaphor for opening your mind and allowing you to comprehend that other things may be going on in this world that we have no control over.(ie conspiracies and other organizations within his novels.)

none of these theories are new, he is just speaking about them, whether or not you enjoy his books he does bring forth ideas and theories that have long been forgotten.

with that said. I enjoyed the da vinci code, angels and demons and the lost symbol. The lost symbol wasnt the greatest read but it introduced me to some ideas that got my brain running and led me to purchase a whole bunch more books. i believe that more people should read this book and be unbiased about it because it offers us good ideas that more people who believe.

i really enjoyed the way the masons were used in this book, they were not villains like the counter part in his other stories. i also enjoyed the aspect of mysticm and neuroscience.

This is what bothers me about Dan Brown.

Boloney!

The current book says that all "rituals, science, artwork and monuments.... all organizations..... and a mysterious document" actually exist. Other than a few places and things his books are entirely works of fiction.

Man, you sure know how to make a person laugh, alibabie! I damn' near spit my coffee all over the monitor screen. That's really funny!!!

And Dan Brown desperately needs a new editor. On page 109, we are told that Kathy Solomon has an iPhone. Several chapters later we have her panicking because she wants to turn off her phone, but doesn't want to give up her location by opening the phone and illuminating the display. Even if Dan Brown doesn't know that iPhones don't open, shouldn't his editor have caught it?

I'm trying to read it . . . but it's got to be one of the most boring books i've come across in a long time. I keep dozing off before i get two pages read. I hate to start a book and not finish it, but i'm beginning to wonder if i'll ever finish this one.

ha, the editor should have caught that, in browns defense, books are sometimes written in bits and pieces over time, but somebody else should be checking for continuity