Welcome to the world of Robert Langdon , the legendary character created by Dan Brown. He is nothing short of a combination of James Bond and Indiana Jones. Here too he undergoes utmost inhuman torture but comes out alive and kickin’. That is all fine but what really got to my nerves this time was that the author was too deliberate to create a situation of bloodshed instead of concentrating on the flow of the story line. The villain here is definitely the most powerful amongst all those that we have seen in all the Dan Brown books. But he lacks the impact of the assassin in Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code.
Anyway getting to the story; One of Langdon’s oldest friend, Peter Solomon is kidnapped by a powerful man who claims that Langdon has a key to unlimited power and wisdom to which Langdon has no idea about. The story starts off well and is successful in building tension and enough of suspense to make you believe that you are reading yet another masterpiece.
But when your expectations are sky high, you realize that there are so many characters and organizations in the story line after one thing, that unlike the author you lose your focus on the storyline mid way.
Moreover unnecessary twists and turns in the story can be easily compared to a botox job gone bad. Then you realize that the escapist drama which triggered your interest has become a never ending cat and mouse chase which ends up testing your patience. Another point here is that there are unnecessary characters like Warren Bellamy and officer Sato who did not have any clearly defined role in the book. Making them just run here and there isn’t worth reading about.
Also, in the climax, when the identity of the villain is revealed, you would be shocked and at the same time squirm in the seat to realize that the story was nothing more than a revenge drama instead of mystical powers and all the jazz that was intriguing. Reading the final pages really tests the readers patience and sensibility.
Finally when the lost symbol is revealed you neither have interest nor any energy left. And even if you have read it, it doesn’t make any sense.
In a nutshell, the book starts well and has some riveting chases and some interesting concepts, but over all it is disappointing
2/5