Book review: "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

This is the third in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown.  If you've read Dan Brown's other Robert Langdon novels, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code", you're probably expecting the third in the series to be a fast moving, tour-de-force of ancient wisdom and secrets. You would be 100% correct.

"The Lost Symbol" reads like a movie with colorful characters and Robert Langdon is again running against the clock. This time he finds himself in Washington, D.C. in search of the Ancient Mysteries hidden by the Masons. As in the other Dan Brown books, this is a matter of life and death with his mentor, Peter Solomon, in dire need of Robert to solve the puzzle before it's too late.  Oh yeah, and of course the love interest for Robert as well.

While reading the book I felt that it was great, but that it seemed too close to the other two in the series. But with further thinking, I came to the conclusion that how else could he do it?  To make his stories as interesting and heart-stopping as possible he needs to have a unique and controversial topic, a life-or-death situation depending much on time, new and smart characters and a pace that rivals any other novels.  He has done that again with "The Lost Symbol", a great page-turner that has many unforeseen twists.  It makes you think about your beliefs and the need for more research on the matter

There are however, two things you need to know and do before reading:

1) Remember that this is just a novel and nothing to take personally.  He says he writes his stories to push readers to open their eyes to other possibilities and to get people to discuss these topics.  This book may make you want to research Masons more as well as the Bible.

2) Have a pencil and paper handy.  There may be items you will want to look up as well as puzzles and other little things you may want to solve or figure out for yourself.

All of that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who liked the other two books in the series.  As long as you follow the above 2 "rules" you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.  The only thing that took away from this great read is previous reading the first two in the series, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code".  They are so good and cast such a big shadow, it is hard for Dan Brown to escape from it.  He has done a remarkable job in doing that with "The Lost Symbol" and after reading it you can see why it took him years to get it finished.  We will probably have to wait many more years until his next one.  Be patient.

Book Review: The Appeal by John Grisham

John Grisham delves into the legal system after a jury finds for a widow against a large company. She lost her husband and her son to their chemicals. The owner of the large company doesn't want to pay the damages so he comes up with a ingenious plan: to buy the appeals court by creating a new judge.

As a "constant reader" of John Grisham I was going to read this book no matter what. It is a little different than his other novels. The beginning makes you think of "The Rainmaker", but the rest of the book is new to Grisham readers. The dirty world of politics is on display, from campaigns to elections. Can someone create a new judge out of thin air? Will the company receive the justice they deserve?

I would say that this is an average Grisham novel. There are some twists and turns and an ending that I liked and that is surprising. If you are a Grisham fan or like novels on trials or politics this may be for you. "Politics has always been a dirty game. Now justice is, too."

Book Review: This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes

A day-trader who has made a good living finds himself totally lost in his current state in the world. He feel so alone with no family, friends or companions of any kind. He feels he's just wasting away. Everything changes when he starts having major house problems and has to temporarily move out. He runs into all kinds of characters and odd happenings. Can he find peace with his new surroundings or will it be more of the same?

I only heard of this book from Stephen King. He wrote in an Entertainment Weekly column that he loved this book. So I gave it a try. I can't say that this book saved my life, but it can make you think of things differently. The book can be entertaining at times, but it also can be over-the-top. It had some moments as in the book Forrest Gump where the main character gets thrown into extraordinary sequences that can seem silly. Hey, Bob Dylan makes an appearance.

This book is for those who like or are interested in California living and self discovery.