Dan Brown’s latest book “The Lost Symbol” is quickly gaining as much popularity as his other best known works, “The DaVinci Code” and “Angels and Demons”. Dan Brown’s brilliant talent of combining fact with fiction once again comes to life in this new novel. Incorporating facts that would appear fabricated, once their validity is proven, allows the conspiracies within to appear far more convincing. One such example comes from the introduction; “In 1991, a document was locked in the safe of the director of the CIA. The document is still there today. Its cryptic text includes references to an ancient portal and an unknown location underground. The document also contains the phrase ‘It’s buried out there somewhere.” This is an ideal preface because the novel focuses around one such ancient portal and involves the C.I.A. Following the statement about the C.I.A’s stored document, Brown goes on to state that the organizations, rituals, science and so on that are included in the book are also fact. These startling accuracies provide a solid foundation for the novel, which uniquely compliments the portions that come directly from the imagination of Dan Brown.The novel opens with a ritualistic scene of the high ranking freemasons, which includes drinking from a human skull. An ambiguous character, simply referred to in third person as «the initiate », immediately captures the reader, leaving one full of speculation and suspense. This character’s true identity consistently stirs the mind and is never what it seems. That sense of suspense and uncertainty does not waver throughout the novel. This skill of flawlessly interweaving cliff hangers is one of Brown’s best attributes and makes this book impossible to put down.The next chapter provides the reader with Brown’s staple character, Robert Langdon, who is also featured in his previous works, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. Langdon soon finds himself in yet another mystery, surrounded by quintessential pieces of art and symbolism, his academic specialty.Katherine Solomon, whose area of expertise is in the sciences, is the novel’s other central protagonist. The science that Solomon practices is not the everyday biology or chemistry but rather a branch that is not very well known, a branch referred to as Noetic science. This science really is the meat and bones of the story. Noetic science is first and foremost, real, and is basically the study of how human consciousness can impact physical reality. Noetic science is searching for the ‘God particle’ which is right up Dan Brown’s thematic alley. This is a concept that the main character, Langdon, is doubtful of, which comfortably provides a viewpoint for skeptical readers.Langdon and Solomon’s duty throughout the novel is to secure this ‘lost symbol’. The symbol is coveted by many to unlock an ancient portal which may hold the secret to manifesting reality. This sounds outrageously fictitious but there is real science that supports much of the base information. This is what creates such a dynamic aspect to Dan Brown’s stories because the fictional events which occur are by themselves, entertaining, but then the factual information creates a new realm of understanding accompanied with skepticism to fully engage readers. There has already been stirred talk of “The Lost Symbol” evolving into film as did “The DaVinci Code” and “Angels and Demons”, both of which were box office hits. If this potential “The Lost Symbol” film is anything like the roller-coaster ride found in the book, we can definitely expect another smash hit and audiences everywhere will anticipate its release.