Freemasons NZ reviews Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol

Media Release
24 September 2009

A Review - The Lost Symbol

Laurence Milton, Grand Secretary, Freemasons NZ

Fact or Fiction? That is always the question when thinking of a Dan Brown novel as there is no doubt that he writes his novels in the hazy twilight-zone in between. So, as a Freemason I was quite concerned at what this new book with our logo on the cover might portray. Would we be angels or demons?

The pre-release of the Prologue did little to temper my fears. A daunting ceremony complete with a candidate dressed as a penitent and drinking blood red wine from a skull. Certainly great drama but it is not modern freemasonry. The specific ceremony described by Brown appears to be adapted from a sensationalized exposé, “Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated”, published in 1887 by the Reverend John Blanchard. Blanchard's description of a supposed 33rd degree Masonic ceremony has been repeated by many anti-Masonic authors over the years, even though it is not accurate. So Brown’s use of this document was not encouraging.

“Demons then”, I thought, as my mind raced away with thoughts of ceremonies involving bloody rituals in the moonlight and black candles in pentagrams, all of which create suspense and are engaging for the reader. I well knew that there are many wild and fanciful stories about Freemasonry of similar ilk but in our case fiction is far stranger than fact.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I collected my copy of the book at exactly 11.00am on the morning of its release and feverishly started reading. By midday I was hooked. This was another of Dan Brown’s wild rides over a very short 12-hour period. It had all the usual Dan Brown traits, the ever popular Professor Langdon, his female companion, a mystery law enforcement officer of dubitable character and a villain to loath. The action starts early in the book and proceeds at a breakneck pace as the intellectual Langdon and his scientific sidekick race to solve a cryptic puzzle before a murderous deadline.

My fears about how Freemasonry might be represented slid into the background as I followed the hero on his journey of discovery. Symbols, codes, works of art, and architecture all hold the clues to solving the books biggest mystery. This is another excellent work by Dan Brown who uses Masonic symbols and an ancient Freemasons’ code as integral parts of the puzzle. Freemasons are neither the villains nor the heroes of the book but even I have to admit that Freemasonry does provide an excellent milieu for another Dan Brown success.

So is it Fact or Fiction? Once again Dan Brown has just enough truth to make the book believable and the right amount of invention to engage and entertain the reader. As to Freemasonry, he has done his research well and I would recommend Chapter 6 to anyone interested in our organisation as in this chapter he dispels a number of myths about us. Some truth definitely lies within.

ENDS