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The Lost Symbol

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hariharan1972

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Dan Brown doesnt disappoint.

I waited for the next release of DB almost with the same fervor with which kids (and some grown ups ?) expect the Harry Porter release. (I hate HP)

DB pitches his protagonist, Robert Langdon (professor of symbology) in yet another 'game' of unravelling symbols. He packages it nicely using the backdrop of neotic science.

I am yet to read the book fully (blame the terrible timing of critical work at office) but i am making use of every possible break to finish a chapter or two.

It is a certain page turner for those who like DB.

Infact the most i like in DB, apart from the intelligent fusion of fact and fiction, is the little snippets of information that he slips in throughout the novel (something akin to an easter egg of a program) and his wry humour at places.

DB's template (science-symbology-mystery-murder) succeeds again.
 
Yeah, i am in the midst of reading the same. quite interesting and so far so good :)
 
hari,

it might be a month before i get my hand on this book.

to be frank, i was not impressed by his previous two books.

i read the da vinci code first, and found it ran out of steam around midway, after a great beginning.

the first one, angels and demons, did not, i felt ever generated steam.

two other popular books i read in the last week:

carlos ruis zafon's 'the angel's game' - thrilling, in my opinion, for about 75% and then the author lost track as to how to close the book.

the same went for 'the defector' by daniel silva. it is a 462 page book, and again i read non stop for about 300 pages, before i felt, the book dragging, in its repetitious format...

personally, i am of the old school le carrre fan, the smiley books, still being my favourite, and a consolation to a troubled mind. carre always keeps up the momentum, with the end sounding like the clash of cymbals, at the end of a concert.

perhaps, it shows the generational gap between us old fogies and the young bucks.

will put my cent and a half worth here when i complete the lost symbol.

meanwhile, happy reading to you and praveen :)
 
Ok. over the weekend (esp saturday) i sat up all night and finished this book fully :)
i must say, i am quite impressed with this one.
there are quite a few references to hinduism, vedas, upanishads and does in a subtle way potrays them as superior. (ofcourse there are references to others also)

But this one is pretty good and does say that various teachers and religious people have interpreted the ancient wisdom for their own benefits.

over all , 4.8/5
 
Shall try to get a read of this...

Thanks Shri Hari.

P.S. I like HP!
 
just completed this book.

the elapsed time was about a week, because this book is not a page turner, to me.

the plot is highly unbeleivable and yarn not of high quality either.

the manipulation of evil towards the good, as seen in chapter 22 is far fetched. it would not even convince a child.

also in chap 23, with reference to arabic numerals, it falsely shares the origins between arabs and hindus. this is one instance where it has been proved, that the concept of zero and the numerical system of today had its origins in the hindu culture.

the last 60 or so pages was all garbage homage to the old testament, with fragments of acknowledgement thrown in to other religions. the author trying to please all his readers i guess.

none of the characters shine. the hero robert langdon appears wimpish, a good repeat role for tom hanks and another $50 million in his pocket.

which ultimately comes to moola. the author sold 2 million copies in the first week. based on royalty of $10 a copy, that is $20 million dollars.

not bad for a third rate imaginative fiction.

it is surprising that this is all that takes to earn so much money.

the rest of us are all in the wrong professions. :)
 
I bought the hard bound version as I am a fan of Dan Brown but this did not impress as much as Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons. For me, the best is Deception Point. The ending of The Lost Symbols was very tame. If this book is made into a movie which I surely believe will be, the climax has got to be more interesting than the book. What i did like in the book is its message of hope for the mankind and the fact that the Scriptures have a lot of hidden truth and messages. Agree with you Shri Kunjippu, modern day fiction authors cannot construct plot lines like a Alistair MacLean, Ken Follett or a Robert Ludlum. Have not read much of John LeCarre.
 
Is this book available for download in the website?

what website?

please note that this is a public forum, subject to verification of copyright laws.

so, any reference to 'free' downloads, will be removed from this forum, as we respect copyright laws and cannot be deemed liable to legal action.

i am quite sure the lending libraries will have authentic copies, and be willing to lend for a few ruppees.

enjoy the book, and tell us how (much or less) you enjoyed it :)
 
Kunjuppu ji

I am not for any illegal downloading. Since most of the books are available for downloads, I just wanted to know whether some website is there. I respect copy wright very much and I don't want to violate it.

All the best
 
Shri Venkataramani,

It isnt too expensive a buy. Indiaplaza offers a package wherein you can get a free DVD of Da Vinci Code along with the book.

'Enterprising' guys from my office, though located the book in the net and sent it to me on the day the book was launched.

I agree with the sentiment that copyright, however terrible the work is, is to be respected.

I have to admit that i was a bit hasty in saying that Dan Brown doesnt disappoint. As noted herein before, the last 50 or so pages are a drab. The 'grave danger' to national security also turned out to be a damp squib.

The template has succeeded perhaps for the last time and Dan Brown has to look outside of christiendom for his next venture. Many may not like TLS but who cares ! Dan Brown is laughing all the way to the bank.

Also sir, the book has already hit the "platformguin" of many cities in India, which even Jeffrey Archer admitted to be the true barometer of an author's success in India.

Ebook for a supposed thriller isnt a good idea according to me, it's ok for some pedantic reading.
 
Thanks Hariharanji,

Don't worry. My daughter is coming another week and she is bringing the book.

All the best
 
anandb

John le carre’s the george smiley series are my favourite books ever.

I like george smiley, because in many ways I identify with him. George believes in his essential goodness, and aware of his flaws. His sense of humanity is strong enough to excuse his flaws.

Even more so, as a front line fighter in the cold war, he is a ruthless executioner. But always with doubts. He believes the soviet system to be evil. But only more so than the capitalist system that he is deemed to defend.

There is no melodramatism in his work. George smiley the spy master is a mundane and many a times a boring and trudging bureaucrat, at odds with his bosses and the back stabbing environment of the u.k. intelligence.

He is a cuckolded husband. Which only endears him to his readers like me.

I think of all smiley books, the last of the karla trilogy, ‘smiley’s people’ is the best. This book, to me is also a comfort mental food, many a times, to dispel the cobwebs resulting from the blues.

This is a book about meticulous planning, laying the trap, and ultimately achieving victory of an adversary, who has bested george smiley in every encounter before, and often to humiliating levels.

The good supremes over the bad. But the beauty here, is that the good itself has doubts, and the only the conviction that the other side is worse, gives it the momentum and determination, to venture forth to destroy it.

A great and ever green book for me.
 
dont want to open a thread exclusively for another book and hence reusing an old thread.....

am currently reading 'black swan' by nassim nicholas taleb.

it is a brilliant book about how we live out lives ignoring the 'black swans'...

first a brief about what is a 'black swan' : before black swans were discovered in australia, it was a widely held belief that 'all swans are white'. so the 'unexpected event' of finding a black swan changed the whole belief about 'all swans being white'.

the author uses the metaphor of 'black swan' to discuss the problems in our thinking

-- how we believe that we can use the 'past' to 'accurately predict' the 'future'

-- how we 'rationalize' an unexpected event once the event is behind us..(oh, that was only expected)

-- linearity in our thinking process

this book is brilliant ; a must read in my view.

by nassim nicholas taleb (but whenever i read it, couldnt help get the feeling that it could have been written by prof nara as well :))
 
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