BREAKING NEWS: Dan Brown's New Book

Dan Brown's new novel is almost here, titled The Lost Symbol. It will be released sometime in September.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/20/dan-brown-the-lost-symbol

Dan Brown's suave symbologist Robert Langdon, star of the international phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, is set for a return to the literary stage in a new thriller this autumn.

The long-awaited novel – one of the most anticipated in recent publishing history - will be called The Lost Symbol, and will take place over a 12-hour period. No more details were given about its content, but persistent rumours have suggested it will be set in Washington DC and will focus on freemasonry. It will be published on 15 September with an initial print run of 6.5 million copies – the largest first printing in publisher Random House's history.

"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," said Brown. "Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."

Fans of Brown's rapid-paced, page-turning novels kept The Da Vinci Code at the top of bestseller charts around the world for over a year when it was published in 2003. Today, it is the UK's bestselling adult paperback novel of all time – ahead of Brown's other titles Angels & Demons, Deception Point and Digital Fortress, which take second, third and fourth place.

Announcing publication plans for The Lost Symbol today, Brown's US publisher Sonny Mehta described it as "a brilliant and compelling thriller" which was "well worth the wait".

"Dan Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book," he said. "This is a great day for readers and booksellers."

Brown's longterm US editor, Jason Kaufman, promised that, as ever, in The Lost Symbol "nothing ever is as it first appears". Brown scandalised Catholics in The Da Vinci Code by having Langdon discover that Jesus fathered a child with Mary Magdalene.

A film of The Da Vinci Code was released in 2006, starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. It will be followed up on 15 May this year with the film of Angels and Demons.

Review 21: The DaVinci Code

**Part of the Dan Brown Month**
Title: The DaVinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Pocket Books
Rating: 8/10
The Lowdown:
Robert Langdon's most adventure- the one that takes him all around Europe in locating the infamous Holy Grail.
The Good:
A. Introduction of a few quirky/cool characters.
B. The mystery part
C. Awesome facts/tidbits about Jesus Christ and Christianity that I never knew. I'm not a Christian, so I didn't look at the book hypercritically; it was more like an enlightening experience for me.
D. Short and sweet chapters.
The Bad:
A. The ending. I seriously did not get it/ was not satisfied by it.
B. The romance. Seriously, Robert Langdon is such a player! He's always messing around with other girls SO MUCH younger than him. Ew. Gross!
C. Shifting perspectives.
The Consensus:
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but it did have boring parts. Sometimes, I got confused when Brown changed the perspective of the speaker. Overall, the book was enjoyable but not as good as Angels and Demons.

Review 20: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

** Part of the Dan Brown Month Series**
Title: Angels and Demons
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Pocket Books
Rating: 9.5/10
The Lowdown:
Robert Langdon is solving a case for CERN/ the Vatican as their Pope candidates are kidnapped and brutally murdered as the legend of the Illuminati resurfaces.
The Good:
A. I really enjoyed the narration of Dan Brown. There was always something intriguing about the story that kept me awake.
B. I loved the puzzles as well as the little illustrations. They were all extremely enjoyable.
C. I loved the mystery aura with the whole who-killed-the-candidates.
D. The papal history was great.
E. The ending was unpredictable. If you guessed the killer, I will be in awe.
F. I liked the journalist guy. He was a great comic relief character!
The Bad:
A. The length. Honestly, I think that sometimes authors write too much and isntead of being edited out it ends up being included in the story. No, I do not want to read extraneous stuff that doesn't contribute to the plot but instead just fills up the pages. No thanks.
B. The shifting perspectives. I was definitely confused in the beginning but then I understood the story.
C. The ending. I had a few issues with the ending, but I can't really explain it without giving it away. But I can say one thing: even though it was unpredictable, it was too... grandesque. No one can actually believe that it would happen.
The Consensus:
Although the story gets confusing at some parts, I loved this book. It is page turning and addictive. Read it, love it, comment on it! It is definitely well worth the recent hype, no matter how unrealistic the ending is.

Dan Brown Month

This month is officially (you guessed it) Dan Brown Month. We'll be featuring a full review of all four of his books, latest news on his new book, as well as a review on the new Angels and Demons movie. So stay tuned, because you don't want to miss it! :) Here's my personal story of how I got hooked onto Dan Brown. It started with the general Dan Brown fever. But I was skeptical. So I read the book. I never watched either of the movies. But I loved the books. So there you have it folks, even I take recommendations! I think it's great how most popular movies originated from books. Personally, I liked Angels and Demons over The DaVinci Code. What do you think? Post your opinions!

I'm Back....

Hi all,
Personally, I'd like to apologize for leaving without any sort of notice. I've been extremely busy with stuff and have clearly neglected my readers. I will truly apologize :(
This summer, though, I will revamp the blog and make it better than ever. But first, 800 hits? That's amazing.... thanks to everyone who read it! This gives me great support for the future!!!!
Thanks a lot!
~Bookielicious