The Lost Symbol

Sachin Tendulkar after being conferred the honorary title of Group Captain by the Indian Airforce said "Dream, because dreams do come true". It was coincidental that I finished reading the Book of Dan Brown " The Last Symbol" at around the same time, in which Katherine Solomon studies Noetic Sciences, the study of power of mind. Incidentally Inception was also about dreams. Well too much of the subconscious mind for now... maybe that is quite another discussion altogether but then I cant think of starting to write without the mention of the Great Master. Coming back to the Book, it is Robert Langdon all over again studying the symbols and codes of the Masonry to unreveal the Last Word or the secret of the wisdom of the ancients. The book starts promising enough with Langdon being tricked into coming to Washington DC to meet his friend Peter Solomon only to find his dismembered hand. As he goes about trying to figure out what Mal'akh, the perpetrator of the crime wishes him to decode, Robert's tangle with Sato, the director of CIA adds to the suspense. As Mal'akh makes an attempt to kill Katherine Solomon, the sister of Peter Solomon, the story became quite engrossing. Dan Brown continues to impress me on his ability to research on topics and write. He has quite apparently read a lot about Freemasons and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. He draws references of cultures or practices followed by various countries as he draws parallel to the Bhagvad Gita, Vedas and the Bible amongst other to describe Katherine's work. Langdon's attempt to decode the messages ultimately leading to the masonic pyramid was interesting enough. However, Dan Brown somehow seemed to lose the momentum and it appeared that he did not know how to end it. Towards the end, it appeared to move on relentlessly trying to find a way to end. And the anticipation of the end was quite anti-climatic. The book ends with apparently the secret being revealed - That God lies within all of us. Many of my friends did not like the book because they perceived the ending to be quite tame. Maybe I am biased towards Dan Brown (enjoying both Da Vinci Code and the Angels and Demons equally) or maybe because I do believe in the ultimate message that was revealed, I did not quite dislike the book. You could read it if you are looking for some thriller and have time in your hands to KILL.