The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This is going to be very quick since I am trying to catch up. I have been desperate to read this book since it came out, but it was always out at the library. A few weeks ago, I thought to check the Large Print section and there it was, in fact they had two copies. So, now I know what to do in future.
Robert Langdon, a renowned symbologist is asked by his mentor to give a lecture on very short notice. He rushes off to Washington only to find that his mentor, Peter Solomon has been kidnapped by Mal'akh and his right hand left in the Capitol building for Robert to find. Robert then teams up with Peter's sister Katherine to find the lost Masonic Pyramid and discover the lost word which will obviously solve all mysteries. Of course, nothing is as easy as it sounds and they are continuously chased and hindered by the CIA as well as being sent around by Mal'akh.
I enjoyed the book,however, it really follows the same old Dan Brown formula (not necessarily a bad thing) and I really didnt feel it was his best. Having said that there is a lot of action, twists and turns and enough historical information to keep me hooked throughout. What really frustrated me about this book was the CIA agent, Sato. She was so arrogant and obnoxious, and refused to give anything out. As a result she appeared to be the bad person and infact I thought she was in cahoots with Mal'akh in the start. I realise that obviously this is part of the plot, mystery etc, but in this book I thought that it was taken to such an extreme that it didn't really help the story.
Anyway, all in all I did enjoy the book and will be looking out for the next one.

Zambesi by Tony Park

I read Zambesi on the recommendation of my friend, whose husband adores these books.
The Story is about Jed Banks whose daughter Miranda is apparently eaten by a man-eating lion. Jed, an American soldier, goes off to Zimbabwe to investigate the incident. On the way he of course encounters great danger and meets many people, who both hinder and help him. He teams up with Christine Wallis his daughters boss and they attempt to resolve the mystery, having many shocking discoveries along the way.

I am really in two minds about this book. I loved the idea and the plot, the story was great. Fast paced with lots of action, many twists and turns it really kept me glued to the end. Although I had kind of guessed some parts of the ending there were enough surprises that it didn't really matter.
What I found difficult about the books was the way he wrote. I wouldn't like to say it was a badly written book, because I really don't think it is. He keeps the story going, there is not too much extra stuff happening in the book and the pace is excellent. It is more the feelings I got when reading the book. I really didn't like any of the characters, there was nobody who stood out. The hero came across as the typical arrogant American*, come to save the world. Christine Wallis was even worse, I wanted to give her a slap, she refuses to co-operate at all, even when being secretive and difficult very obviously makes things worse. Obviously you can't like the bad guys, lol. Maybe I am a romantic, but I find that I can identify with the book more if there is at least one character I do like. Also, having read that the author was an Australian who had spent some time in Southern Africa I thought he would have more of an understanding about the area. He painted it in a very bad light and didn't seem to like it at all. It was full of stereotypes and seemed to only scratch the surface. I know that South Africa has an extremely high crime rate, but the parts set in Johannesburg made me laugh. He makes it out to be the Wild West, I have spent a lot of time in Johburg and never seen people behave the way he made it out. I just wondered why if he seemed to dislike a place so much you would bother to write a book about it? In the interests of fairness, he was writing from the perspective of a newcomer to Africa, so it could be that he was trying to bring that out.
Having said that I did enjoy the book and did finish it, and will definitely read more of his books.

*(Please don't anyone get offended about me talking about the "typical American" I know that 99% of Americans are not like that, I was just talking about the way they tend to be portrayed in a lot of movies and books)



 

Chunkster challenge

Another challenge I found today is the Chunkster challenge. I love reading big books, so this is perfect for me. I have read quite a few this year, but will only include those that I finish after this.
I commit to the Plump primer challenge which is to read 6 books of more than 450 pages.
I could probably have gone for more, but since I have got quite a few challenges on the go, I dont want to over extend myself.
If you would like to have a go at this, just click on the picture.

1. Zambesi by Tony Park
2.The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
3. Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
4. Empire of Gold by Andy Mc Dermott
5. Jump by Jilly Cooper
6. New York by Edward Rutherford
7. Getting home by Celia Brayfield
8. Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
9. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
10. The black sun by James Twining
11. Duncton Found by William Horwood
12. The secret servant by Daniel Silva
13. The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen
14. The return of the King by J.R.R Tolkien
15. Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein
16. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
17. To dream of the dead by Phil Rickman
18. The lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski
19.The eye of the world by Robert Jordan
20. The Forest by Edward Rutherford