Imagine an ancient mystical power that has been guarded by a secret society.  Now think of an evil villain that wants this power for their own nefarious reasons.  Add intricate puzzles, a Harvard symbologist, and a plot-twist and you have just written a Dan Brown novel.  

The Lost Symbol is no different.  Although a formula book and in no way a departure from Brown’s other work it is a good adventure story.  Action-packed and easy to read, the story is a page turner.  Filled with the interesting puzzles and bits of history that Brown is famous for, The Lost Symbol is entertaining and worth reading.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  19 religious exclamations; 30 mild obscenities; 11 religious profanities; 3 derogatory names; 10 scatological words.

Violence/Gore:   A character’s hand is severed; scary scene in a basement involving hidden room with skulls and other spooky items; extended scene where character is chased in a completely dark room at the end of chase the building is destroyed in an explosion killing a character; character is held in vat of chemicals until drowned, descriptive violent death; characters are shot at killing one, wounding another; characters are killed with a knife–one is graphic in nature, another is implied; scary scene where a character is locked in a coffin and then the coffin is filled with water thus drowning the character; character is constrained and then wrists are cut, slowly bleeding to death; character is killed by falling glass.

Sex/Nudity:  Male character’s nude body is described in detail, the character is castrated; implied sexual activity; implied homosexual activity.

Mature Subject Matter:

Murder, death of family member, drug use, torture, occult, human sacrifice.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Adults drink wine and smoke; a character tells of his illegal drug use and addiction.