Lost Symbol

[JesusA (imported)]

I just received a longish email from one of the prominent sex researchers, most of it personal as he’s a good friend. The second paragraph read:

How is life treating you and how is your project going? A bit of sidebar trivia; Dan Brown's latest novel, The Lost Symbol, which I read when I had a nasty cold last week, is constructed around an anti-hero who has created a super-body covered with tattoos and who has had himself castrated--there is a brief history and cultural tour of eunuchs at that point for the American mainstream!

Has anyone here read the novel? If so, what is your take on the castration/eunuch theme? Is this a part that will make it into the film version?

[EunuchAusTX (imported)]

I've never gotten around to any of Brown's novels, but now I'll have to check this one out for sure, just to see how he presents the eunuch angle. Hopefully it's respectfully done and not sensationalized.

[Dave (imported)]

Not yet. It is sitting in my "TO READ" pile of books. From the raging reviews in the newspapers, ezines and magazines, I expect to enjoy every word of it and will end up believing nothing in it.

I'm a contrarian about book critics.

[chilliwilli (imported)]

I'm not usually into fiction, but this may be able to hold enough interest.

chilli-

[Slammr (imported)]

Not yet. It is sitting in my "TO READ" pile of books. From the raging reviews in the newspapers, ezines and magazines, I expect to enjoy every word of it and will end up believing nothing in it.

I'm a contrarian about book critics.

I thought his last book was crap - didn't even think the first one was particularly good - and wasn't going to read this one. Now, maybe I will.

[twaddler (imported)]

Meh.. I found the protagonist in the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons to be rather annoying and poorly crafted.

[joydivision_27 (imported)]

Plot summary of The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol:

Symbologist Robert Langdon summoned to the famous international city of _______ by the wealthy and mysterious Mr. _________, to explore occult secrets in aforementioned famous city, accompanied by sexy female scientist ___________, while pursued by nearly superhuman, freakishly obsessive male __________, who is always a step ahead of Langdon, while they all race against the clock to find the mysterious __________ before it is too late.

The eunuch character in the book is the freakishly obsessive, superhumanish villain who castrated himself for psychotic, apocalyptic reasons. He is an unfortunate caricature of a eunuch, penned by an oddly sexless writer. Brown sees only sensationalism in the idea of a eunuch - and completely misses deeper spirituality, mysticism, and self-control/actualization in the motivations of a real eunuch.

Clumsy and redundant writing aside, Brown does manage to show a mainstream audience that there really are dark, weird, and densely intriguing underpinnings to both historic Christianity and the American republic.

Too bad his prose is composed with the linguistic equivalent of a magic marker:

"I'm angry!" she said angrily, as his deft fingers typed deftly.

[Slammr (imported)]

Plot summary of The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol:

Symbologist Robert Langdon summoned to the famous international city of _______ by the wealthy and mysterious Mr. _________, to explore occult secrets in aforementioned famous city, accompanied by sexy female scientist ___________, while pursued by nearly superhuman, freakishly obsessive male __________, who is always a step ahead of Langdon, while they all race against the clock to find the mysterious __________ before it is too late.

The eunuch character in the book is the freakishly obsessive, superhumanish villain who castrated himself for psychotic, apocalyptic reasons. He is an unfortunate caricature of a eunuch, penned by an oddly sexless writer. Brown sees only sensationalism in the idea of a eunuch - and completely misses deeper spirituality, mysticism, and self-control/actualization in the motivations of a real eunuch.

Clumsy and redundant writing aside, Brown does manage to show a mainstream audience that there really are dark, weird, and densely intriguing underpinnings to both historic Christianity and the American republic.

Too bad his prose is composed with the linguistic equivalent of a magic marker:

"I'm angry!" she said angrily, as his deft fingers typed deftly.

Thanks...I think you've saved me from what I already knew - after reading the others - was going to be a waste of time.

[twaddler (imported)]

Plot summary of The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol:

Symbologist Robert Langdon summoned to the famous international city of _______ by the wealthy and mysterious Mr. _________, to explore occult secrets in aforementioned famous city, accompanied by sexy female scientist ___________, while pursued by nearly superhuman, freakishly obsessive male __________, who is always a step ahead of Langdon, while they all race against the clock to find the mysterious __________ before it is too late.

The eunuch character in the book is the freakishly obsessive, superhumanish villain who castrated himself for psychotic, apocalyptic reasons. He is an unfortunate caricature of a eunuch, penned by an oddly sexless writer. Brown sees only sensationalism in the idea of a eunuch - and completely misses deeper spirituality, mysticism, and self-control/actualization in the motivations of a real eunuch.

Clumsy and redundant writing aside, Brown does manage to show a mainstream audience that there really are dark, weird, and densely intriguing underpinnings to both historic Christianity and the American republic.

Too bad his prose is composed with the linguistic equivalent of a magic marker:

"I'm angry!" she said angrily, as his deft fingers typed deftly.

"Stupider? Pah! This opera's as lousy as it is brilliant! Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel. That makes me feel angry!"

[transward (imported)]

Given that the book has been number one since it came out and that it seems none of us has read it makes me suspect that we are outside the mainstream in areas other than the contents of our trousers,