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The Lost Symbol Dan Brown ISBN-13: 9780385504225 |
Almost all KungKu fictions, a large genre unknown to westerners, describe how the masters, heroes or villains, acquired their superior skills. The methods are well categorized: some magic elixir, a rare script or a guru, and a period isolated and torturous practices. See Kung Fu Panda for the basic elements. At the end of the process, the person emerged with near supernatural skills. The master can bend objects, leap over tall buildings, and kill over a great distance — all with a focused mind.
KungFu has its root in Taoism and Buddhism. Both believe man’s ascension, to either immortality or out of reincarnation cycle, can be achieved only via mind-control, practiced with meditation and bodily exercises. There are scripts, or tutorials, on how to do just that. Some scripts are secretive and others involved seemingly dark rituals. And there are plainly public methodologies that are practiced by millions. If Noetic Scientists really exist, they really must spend several years in China first. Dan Brown’s research team missed this.
Taoism and Buddhism teach you how to control your mind. They stated plainly that if you can do that, through whatever means, then you would have achieved it. The Christian Bible, according to Dan Brown, merely hinted this possibility, let alone teaching anyone exactly how.
Of course it is supposed to be a novel, for that, the villain was more interesting than the good guys. Sato was also vivid. All other characters, including Robert Langdon, were bland and superficial. The plot was the formulaic one of multi-layer puzzle solving, like Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. How mnay times Langdon were stunned, surprised, or blown out of his socks? The conspiracy, that Dan Brown took 500 pages to reveal, ended up a disappointing duh. He spent more pages lecturing on theological concepts then telling story. Dan Brown should switch to write non-fiction, and I probably will not read his next book.