The Lost Symbol (2009) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Robert Langdon: A professor on Symbology at Harvard University. He came to D.C. to give a speech. He is the protagonist of the story.
• Mal'akh: The villain. A very clever yet misguided born-again believer. Has infiltrated the Freemasons for his own purposes. He is a Mason whose body is covered with tattoos.
• Mr. Peter Solomon: A Smithsonian secretary, a billionaire philanthropist, Free Mason and a close friend of Robert Langdon. His kidnapping sets in motion Langdon's race to find the Mason's pyramid and the Lost Symbol.
• Ms. Katherine Solomon: Noetic scientist, sister of Peter Solomon, aunt of Zachary Solomon, mother is Isabel Solomon.
• Trish Dunne: Katherine's Lab assistant. Who falls victim to Mal'akh.
• Warren Bellamy: Architect of the Capitol, Freemason.
• Inoue Sato: Scary female Director of CIA's Office of Security from whom Langdon must flee after she accuses him of criminal acts .
• Nola Kaye: Sato's analyst at the CIA.
• Rick Parrish: Security specialist at the CIA.
• Turner Simkins: Field operations leader at the CIA.
• Reverend Colin Galloway: Dean of the Washington Cathedral, Freemason. Blind.
• Trent Anderson: Police chief at the Capitol.
• Alfonso Nuñez: Security guard at the Capitol.
• Jonas Faukman: Editor.
• Omar Amirana: Cab driver in Washington DC. Ends up assisting the Feds.
• Zachary Solomon: Peter Solomon's son.
• Dr. Christopher Abaddon: Mal'akh assumes this identity to fool Katherine and her brother Peter.
• Agent Hartmann: CIA agent who accompany Katherine and Robert at the house of Mal'akh. died there by Mal'akh, too
• Dean Galloway: one of the 33rd degree brotherhood and a priest.
• Isabel Solomon: Assasinated by Mal'akh on a Christmas Eve. Mother of Katherine Solomon and Peter Solomon.
• Mark Zoubianis: Systems security specialist.
• Albrecht Dürer: A German artist of the Melencholia I.
• Moses: He is very parting
• Andros Dareios: Add a description of this character.
• Anthony Jelbart: Peter Solomon's assistant
• Pythagoras: Pythagoras of Samos (b. about 570 – d. about 495 BC) was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist, but he is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name.
• Michelangelo: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.
• Lynne McTaggart
• Constantino Brumidi: an Italian artist who painted "The Apotheosis of Washington" in the US Capitol Rotunda
• Aleister Crowley
• Isaac Newton: Sir Isaac Newton PRS MP (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727) was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution.
• Pierre L'Enfant: American architect and civil engineer best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C.
• Katherine Melencolia
• William Webster: Director of the CIA from 1987-1991
• Kyle: front desk guard at SMSC
• Francis Bacon: British philosopher and scientist
• George Washington: George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also presided over the convention that drafted the Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution established the position of President of the republic, which Washington was the first to hold.
• Minerva
• Robert Boyle: a 17th-century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor
• James Smithson: a British chemist and mineralogist. He was the founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution.
• Benjamin Franklin: Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'. He facilitated many civic organizations, including a fire department and a university.
• WAREN BELLAMY
• Dr. Sienna Brooks
• Dante Alighieri

Quotes edit see section history

• “He gazed up through the rain-speckled glass ceiling at the mountainous form of the illuminated Capitol Dome overhead. It was an astonishing building. High atop her roof, almost three hundred feet in the air, the Statue of Freedom peered out into the misty darkness like a ghostly sentinel. Langdon always found it ironic that the workers who hoisted each piece of the nineteen-and-a-half-foot bronze statue to her perch were slaves — a Capitol secret that seldom made the syllabi of high school history classes.”

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• McTaggart’s book The Intention Experiment, and her global, Web-based study—theintentionexperiment.com—aimed

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• Since the days of Michelangelo, sculptors had been hiding the flaws in their work by smearing hot wax into the cracks and then dabbing the wax with stone dust. The method was considered cheating, and therefore, any sculpture “without wax”—literally sine cera—was considered a “sincere” piece of art. The phrase stuck. To this day we still sign our letters “sincerely” as a promise that we have written “without wax” and that our words are true.

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• Phaistos Disk, the Dorabella Cipher, the mysterious Voynich Manuscript.

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• Masonry is a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.”

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• “Living consciousness somehow is the influence that turns the possibility of something into something real. The most essential ingredient in creating our universe is the consciousness that observes it.”

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• The religion of the future, Einstein had predicted, will be a cosmic religion. It will transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology.

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• ‘That which is impenetrable to us really exists. Behind the secrets of nature remains something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion.’ ” “Who said that?” Langdon said. “Gandhi?” “No,” Katherine interjected. “Albert Einstein.”

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• From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to American politics—the name Jesus had been hijacked as an ally in all kinds of power struggles. Since the beginning of time, the ignorant had always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding. They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand. They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their convictions. Now, after all these years, mankind had finally managed to utterly erode everything that had once been so beautiful about Jesus.

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• The Complete Zohar. Although Katherine had never read the Zohar, she knew it was the fundamental text of early Jewish mysticism, once believed so potent that it was reserved only for the most erudite rabbis.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Washington, D. C.: Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States.
• U. S. Capitol Building, Washington, D. C.: The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall.
• Masonic Pyramid
• Washington Monument: The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first American president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 51⁄8 inches (169.294 m).
• Capitol Rotunda: The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."

Organizations edit see section history

• Freemasons (Order of the Free and Accepted Masons, Freemason Brotherhood): Freemasonry is an international fraternal organization that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century
• Invisible College: The Invisible College or "philosophical college" consisted of a group of natural philosophers that work to acquire knowledge through experimental investigation.
• Office of Security: Division of the CIA, focus on homeland security.
• SMSC: Smithsonian Museum Support Center - located in Suitland MD, the SMSC is the main off-site conservation and collections facility for multiple Smithsonian museums.
• Institute of Noetic Sciences: Founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell. Their mission is to support individual and collective transformation through consciousness research, educational outreach, and engaging a global learning community in the realization of our human potential.
• Order of the Eastern Star: A fraternal organization that allows both men and women to become members. This organization is open to all Theistic beliefs.

First Sentence edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• symbolon: From the Greek, symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half.
• apotheosis: When man makes his final step to being godly.
• circumpunct: A circle with a dot in the middle. This symbol represents the highest deity in all religious aspects.
• Elohim: Hebrew word for god or gods
• noetic science: The study of mind and intellect connected to and in relation to modern science.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Science: Science is seen to be moving mankind closer to a period where science will bring about a modern age of enlightenment.
• Religion: Many references to Noetic Science, Freemasonry and mystical rituals throughout the story.
• The Importance of Faith: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Da Vinci Code, and followed by Inferno.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Dan Brown (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Paul Michael (Narrator)
2. Jason Kaufmann (Editor)
3. Miguel Batista - Reviewer
4. Carlos Pereira (Translator)
5. Ester Cortegano (Translator)
6. Fernanda Olivera (Translator)
7. Marta Teixeira Pinto (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Fiction & Mystery/Thriller (2009)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3552.R685434 L67
• Dewey: 813.54 22

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Authors, A-Z › ( B ) › Brown, Dan
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• The Lost Symbol: Author's official website with additional details on this book.

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