Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
Hardback, paperback, ebook, discounted, pirated, whatever; *The Lost Symbol* is a waste of good reading time. I finished it last night and feel cheated of several hours that could have been better spent.
On top of Brown's usual carboard characters and unbelievable dialogue, the story is impossibly unlikely with no real motive for anyone being involved, the boring and obvious 'clues' lead nowhere, and the tale doesn't climax -- it merely peters out.
How the heck any editor could let this roll beats me. Utter tripe. Should never have seen the light of day, far less been hyped to high heaven as 'the publishing event of all time'.
I've read all Brown's earlier work and -- although not exactly high literature -- I've always thought him a sound, workmanlike author who turns in a good job. Not any more. *The Lost Symbol* reads like a rough first draft that needs drastic revision on all fronts -- especially the storyline itself.
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I'm about a half the way in, so maybe I should withhold judgement, but I keep waiting for it to start. At this point in
Angels & Demons and
The Da Vinci COde I was rapt. I expected, as you say, "cardboard characters and unbelievable dialogue", but I expected an exciting plot and adept, vivid descriptions of art and architecture. So far it's just an annoying overuse of italics and mini-cliffhangers where the "cliffs" are so small you can step off them. *sigh*