I'll be buying it. Can't wait to read it!!

Short Book Review
The Lost Symbol
By Dan Brown

"The truth will be twisted, Langdon knew. As it always was with the Masons."

There has been much anticipation, and perhaps trepidation, on the release of Dan Brown's latest mystery-detective novel "The Lost Symbol" which uses Freemasonry as a critical plot device.

Readers will remember this author also wrote "The Da Vinci Code" - a book I enjoyed, appreciating how Brown wove alternative history, myth and (often distorted) fact into a fast paced ripping yarn. The cental recurring character, "Symbologist" Robert Langdon described in reviews as "Harrison Ford in tweed", reappears drawn into a vortex of dark forces his expertise can decode and unravel. Both these books firmly stand in the 'fiction' (but not the 'classic') section of our local books stores.

Knowing Brown's latest effort focused on Freemasons, I was keen to read his depiction of our Order. Yes, the villain is an initiate to the 33rd Degree, but most unmasonic. Yes, he is evil, but perhaps not in the exciting way the albino monk of the Da Vinci Code is, but the villain is clever, armed, dangerous and deluded. And despite some small irregularities, the plot is good as are the characters, but the book is no enduring masterpiece, nor would Dan Brown expect it to be, but I found it entertaining light reading. That is the whole point? Yes?

The novel is not the disaster to Freemasonry I feared. It certainly takes liberties with fact, but overall it is not antimasonic. On the whole, it is generally respectful of our Fraternity, but there will be sections of the book that might make Freemasons shift in their seat in uneasiness.

On the whole the book was okay, but perhaps does might not fulfil readers expectations nor create the sensationalism the Da Vinci Code produced, but still, it might make some folks as some questions of Freemasonry, and maybe that is what we want and need.

Here is an extract;

"My uncle is a Mason", a young woman piped up. "And my aunty hates it because he won't talk about it with her. She says Masonry is some kind of strange religion."
"A common misperception"
"It's not a religion?"
"Give it the litmus test," Langdon said. "Who here has taken Professors Witherspoon's comparative religion course?"
Several Hands went up.
"Good. So tell me, what are the three prerequisites for an ideology to be considered a religion?"
"ABC", one woman offered. "Assure, Believe, Convert."
"Correct," Langdon said. "Religions assure salvation; religions believe in a precise theology; and religion convert nonbelievers." He paused. "Masonry, however, is batting zero for three. Masons make no promises of salvation; they have no specific theology; and they do not seek to convert you. In fact, within Masonic lodges, discussion of religion are prohibited."
"So…. Masonry is antireligions?"
"On the contrary. One of the prerequisites for being a Mason is that you must believe in a higher power. The difference between Masonic spirituality and organised religion is that the Masons do not impose a specific definition or name on a higher power. Rather than definite theological identities like God, Allah, Buddha, or Jesus, the Masons use more general terms like Supreme Being or Great Architect of the Universe. This enables Masons of different faiths to gather together."
"Sounds a little far-out" someone said.
"Or, perhaps, refreshingly open-minded?" Langdon offered., "In this age when different cultures are killing each other over whose definition of God is better, one could say the Masonic traditions of tolerance and open-mindedness is commendable." Langdon paced the stage. "Moreover, Masonry is open to men of all races, colors, and creeds, and provided a spiritual fraternity that does not discriminate in any way."