The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I previously mentioned Robert Langdon had come to the realization the certain someone who tricked him into comming to Washington D.C. is Peter Solomon's captor. Robert, the CIA, and capitol police decipher an encoded message tattooed on Peter's severred hand that leads them all the way into the Senate's sub-basement, a long-unexplored area beneath the capitol. Upon entering the room of the captor's instructions, the team discovers a Masonic shrine containing a pyramid, supposed to decipher the ancient mysteries that this captor desires with the help of a package Solomon gave Langdon to protect. However when Langdon begins to try to crack the pyramid's engraving, Warren Bellamy, the capitol architect, enters suddenly and knocks Langdon's CIA and capitol police companions unconcious. The duo then make their way to a safe refuge inside the capitol reading room to discuss the prestige and power of this pyrmaid, as Bellamy is a masonic brother himself. While this side of the story is unfolding the captor is up to his tricks once again, yet this time with Katherine Solomon; fooling the scientist into thinking he is her brother's therapist she invites the man to join her at her research lab, but who he actually turns out to be from her past and what he does to wreck all her work is unimaginable. Langdon and Katherine are united midway through the book and embark on a journey with the common goal of saving Peter by decoding the Masonic messages of this pyramid and package. Along the way they encounter many other Masonic brothers, learn a great deal about Peter's past and the power of the ancient mysteries among modern men. Care to see how the duo will eclipse the captor's sly ways and save Peter? Want to find out just what this pyrmaid says for yourself? pick up a copy today.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

If you've read Dan Brown's other novels The Davinci Code and Angels & Demons, you'll love his newest work featuring beloved character and Harvard Professor, Robert Langdon.

One day out of the blue Robert Langdon receives a phone call from the office of his good friend and high-ranked mason, Peter Solomon. Peter's assistant informs Langdon that Peter is hosting a dinner for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., which he is very involved in, but unfortunately their speaker dropped out at the last minute and Peter thought a speech Langdon had given on television a few years back would be perfect. Of course, Langdon agrees to help out his dear friend and is flown by private jet to D.C. that evening. However, upon his arrival to the capital building where the event is supposed to be held Langdon realizes things have gone terribly wrong and he has fallen into a tricky trap; when he can't find the location of the dinner and hears the scream of a child coming from the rotunda, Langdon rushes to the scene and finds out he has made a terrible mistake by going to D.C. that night. Peter's so-called "secretary" was not a secretary at all, but his captor for reasons beyond Langdon's understanding. This clever and creepy captor uses the symbols of the ancient mysteries to guide Langdon, the capitol police, and the CIA on a quest for Masonic secrets he believes are uncover-able based on information he got out of Peter. The cause of the child's screaming was the severed hand of Peter Solomon, with his Masonic ring still on his finger, pointing to the top of the capitol rotunda and tattooed with some unknown symbology. Peter's captor contacts him by cell phone and gives a choice: solve the mysteries of the masonic legends by the end of the night and share them with him or Peter and his sister will cease to see the light of day. The story tracks Langdon, Peter's Captor, the CIA, the capitol police, and Peter's sister as the events of the night unfold, leaving the reading aching for more.

Brown's unique style of alternating perspectives every chapter makes the novel interesting and easy to read, just like two of his very popular others. Though I have to say out of the 3 Langdon-centered novels this extra captivating one is by far my favorite.

Care for find out more about how Landgon will deal with his options and who else comes into play throughout the novel? Pick up this newest edition to the Robert Langdon trilogy and you won't be sorry.

Quarter 1 Reflection/Quarter 2 Goals

After looking over all my blogs since the beginning of this quarter I have noticed that I usually discuss more about the book's/author's writing style than the plot, which I mostly give a brief but informative synopsis of. In the majority of my blogs I included quotes that I particularly liked from the books or thought showed evidence of a repeated theme. I also realized that I often like to compare the books I have read to other books or even different types of media such as movies or television shows. The book blogging experience is a very unique one; it is different than just writing a summary of your independent reading book because it allows you to really include your specific take and perspective on the literature, which I quite enjoyed because of being able to voice my own true opinion.

As a blogger I would like to accomplish gaining a greater understanding of the books I have read and will read through my blog by perhaps asking questions I have about the book or character's actions to help me grasp main points and maybe get some advice from anyone who might become a follower of the blog. I could probably work on making my blog a little clearer and including more about the plot and characters in my entries for the next quarter. I have found that if I am blogging about a book I really enjoyed then I tend to be very interested in what I have to say, however not so much if I have to blog about a book I didn't quite like as much. I might feel differently about these books if I looked for more positives while writing my blogs. Overall I enjoyed writing independent reading blogs for the first quarter and am excited to continue it for the next marking period.