The Lost Symbol

Yes folks, Dan Brown's latest thriller-novel is out! Or rather, it has been out for a good 2 weeks already, but I just finished reading it yesterday coz I only unwrapped the packaging and unveiled this juicy, "cryptic" book a few days ago due to the tumultuous frenzy and hustle-and-bustle of med school life!

Don't worry, this post is not going to be a spoiler... nor is it going to be anywhere near it! Briefly, this good 500 plus page-turner is suspense-filled on every level for most of the plot, and once you start reading it, you won't want to put it down, EVER! (And even then, I think I'm selling it short!) New York Times praised the book as being "impossible to put down" and claimed Brown is "bringing sexy back to a genre that had been left for dead (or L4D-ed =D)". Fans claim that it is essentially brain candy for the "initiated", as there are lots of references to historical places, symbols, religion, mysticism, science and so on. Brown loves showing us places where our carefully tended cultural boundaries — between Christian and pagan, sacred and secular, ancient and modern — are actually extraordinarily messy. WARNING: Again, as with many of Brown's previous novels, there is a great need to be able to discern the facts of reality from the frailty of fiction when reading this book, especially when it involves the Christian faith. Still, the book provides insights and challenges its readers to think and ponder over controversial issues. Don't say you weren't warned!

Anyway, let me juz give you folks a brief summary about the book. This is the 3rd Brown novel to involve the character of Robert Langdon, a Harvard University symbologist that many fans have grown to love from his first two books. Brown even put a disclaimer at the beginning of the novel stating that many institutions and places referenced in the book are non-fictional. Again, he proves his genius lies in uncovering odd facts and suppressed history. Unlike his previous books (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons) where most of the scenarios takes place outside the United States (e.g. the Vatican, Paris), the setting of the story takes readers on a breathtaking journey that many fans will deem "closer to home": the most powerful capital city in the world, Washington D.C.

So for those who have not laid their hands on the book yet, I truly wonder whether your gluteus maximus' muscle functioning needs to be examined! On its first day (15 September 09), the book sold one million in hardcover and e-book versions in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, making it the fastest selling adult novel in history! After only 10 days in the market, it topped the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction.

There is a famous saying: Time and tide waits for no man... Go get it now!

~Tim~