The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I just finished this book and it's been a long time coming.  I think my dad got it for me about 3 months ago, and I've been dying to read it.  Dan Brown is probably my favorite contemporary mystery thrill writer.  I absolutely love his writing style.  He keeps his chapters short and each one ends in a cliffhanger that keeps you reading and wanting more.

The Lost Symbol is a continuation of the series involving the character Robert Langdon, a Cambridge professor of symbology.  The first two books about Langdon were Angels & Demons and the world famous The DaVinci Code.  Both are excellent and I recommend that you read them.

In the Lost Symbol, Langdon is tricked into coming to Washington D.C. were he brought into a world of world of secrets by an ancient symbolic invitation.  With the government breathing down his neck and his friend facing imminent death, he is forced into a crazy thrilling journey into conspiracy theories and ancient wisdom.

The book is excellent.  The villain is the craziest one yet.  A man so smart that he has gone off his rocker just a little bit.  There are more puzzles, intrigue, and death than ever before.  The twist at the end, no one will see coming.  The only problem that I had with the book is that the plot and the mystery ended at around page 450 but the book continued on for another 50-60 pages trying to explain stuff that wasn't relevant to the plot.  Up until then, I was completely hooked.

Rating: 4.5★ stars (out of 5)

Recommendation: This book is awesome.  I think everyone should read this book and it's predecessors.  The only reason the book loses half a star is for the drawn out 50 last pages.