This is set in D.C. and is a true cliffhanger. Short chapters, snappy, quick, always some action and always a cliffhanger at the end compelling you to read the next short section. Brown does a good job of mixing actual symbolism and giving insights like Amen derived from the Egyptian god Amon and other good trivia. At the end his last few pages sound more like a sermon than a conclusion. Too much writing after the events are over and once you know the final information you do not want to think about all that they good through, because they are essentially protecting something that needs no protection and some of the mysticism is removed, but I still recommend it as a pager turner.
The Freemasons are the central source of the story and the symbols being used. Brown treats the group well, but they decided to put out a website to help keep their story “accurate”. From that is the following excerpt describing their organization:“Freemasonry is the world’s largest, oldest, and best-known fraternal organization. Mythically descended from the builders of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, Freemasonry is believed to have developed from the craft guilds of European stonemasons who built castles and cathedrals during the Middle Ages. Temporary buildings called lodges were built next to the cathedrals, and the Masons used them to meet, receive their pay, plan their work, train new apprentices, and socialize.
Although individual Scottish lodges predate it, the first official Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717, transforming the craft from “operative” masons who constructed buildings, into a “speculative” fraternity that used the symbolism, tools, and terminology of the medieval masons as illustrations of character building. Masonic ceremonies use legendary tales of the construction of the biblical King Solomon’s Temple as symbols for building an inner temple in the hearts of men.
By the 1730s, Freemasonry had spread to the American colonies. Freemasonry circled the globe on the colonizing ships of the British, the French and the Dutch. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and many other Founding Fathers were among the first Masons in the United States. After the American Revolution, grand lodges were established in each state.
Freemasonry is based on the belief that each man can make a difference in the world by improving himself, and taking an active role in his community. It is a charitable, benevolent, educational fraternity. Yet, Freemasonry forbids the discussion in Masonic meetings of religion, creeds, politics or other topics likely to excite personal animosities.
Now a movie with Tom Hanks as professor Langdon again, here is the movie trailer:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZIO_CE_cmc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgVYdjcuGfg&NR=1
The books website is: http://www.thelostsymbol.com/main.html
“This room was a perfect square. And cavernous. The ceiling soared an astonishing one hundred feet overhead, supported by monolithic columns of green granite. A tiered gallery of dark Russian walnut seats with hand-tooled pigskin encircled the room. A thirty-three-foot-tall throne dominated the western wall, with a concealed pipe organ opposite it. The walls were a kaleidoscope of ancient symbols . . . Egyptian, Hebraic, astronomical, alchemical, and others yet unknown.
Tonight, the Temple Room was lit by a series of precisely arranged candles. Their dim glow was aided only by a pale shaft of moonlight that filtered down through the expansive oculus in the ceiling and illuminated the room’s most startling feature—an enormous altar hewn from a solid block of polished Belgian black marble, situated dead center of the square chamber.
The secret is how to die, the initiate reminded himself.”