Lost Symbol vs Jackdaws

I have been reading continuously this week. During breaks at office, whole night, while eating and any single minute I was reading.

Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

I have read all of Dan Brown's book till the latest one. When I read one of his books, I usually google some of the facts. For example: While reading Da Vince Code, I had The Last Supper open and kept checking the image as Brown described the symbols in them. Also, I checked out the movie Angels and Demons as it released. It's not like i'm an ardent fan, I just get too caught up in what i'm doing.

Lost Symbol started out quite well. The story started bang from the first page. But this time, Brown focused too much on the symbols. He went on and on about deciphering the symbols that it became boring. And the climax was a total drag. I actually skipped a lot of the last pages, but then went back to it again to appease my conscience. Also, the technique of finishing a chapter in suspense and later revealing it has been exploited too many times in the book.

Maybe because i have read all of his books, I felt completely saturated by the first half of the book. Whatever the reason, I didn't really enjoy the book.

Jackdaws by Ken Follet.

After Code to Zero, I think this is the next book I'm reading of Follet. It is a fault in me that i forget the title of the books i read. So i might have read other books but don't remember of them. So...I enjoyed Jackdaws.

Though the book was based on war and depicted the cruelties of it, it was very interesting and intriguing. One could never guess what the ending will be. Follet had perfectly balanced the characters of the hero and anti-hero. It was tempting to see who win win at the end. The author did not shy away from describing the cruelties faced by the different people during war. It was stark reality. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Ok...let me continue on my bookarathon. Ciao!