THE SOLOMON KEY has become THE LOST SYMBOL
Fans of the The Da Vinci Code have waited six years for Dan Brown's next book to be released. The wait is almost over. Random House said it would release Brown's The Lost Symbol on Sept. 15 in a first run of 5 million copies their largest 1st printing ever.
The story is said to take place over a 12-hour period in the life of Da Vinci protagonist Robert Langdon. “Weaving five years of research into the story’s twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge,” said Brown in a statement. “Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine.”
The Da Vinci Code sold more than 80 million copies, but also took some heat for its portrayal of the Catholic Church and its license with facts. It sparked an industry of "truth tellers" and conspricacy theoriests who sought to shed more light on Opus Dei, the Knights Templar and other matters relating to the bloodline of Jesus Christ.
Despite Dan Brown renaming the book from The Solomon Key to The Lost Symbol, it is promising to hit the shelves as a best seller if the phenomenal success of his previous books are anything to go by. His last novel The Da Vinci Code is now credited with selling over 80 million copies worldwide, making Dan Brown one of the most successful authors ever.
The plot of The Lost Symbol is said to be based around Washington DC and features the secret society of the Freemasons.
Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code caused historians, Opus Dei and the Catholic Church considerble headaches as he mix's fact with fiction in such away that many readers beleive much of his book is established fact. Many feel Brown intensionally caused this contraversy by a page in his book that contained the quoted statement below.
Fact:
The Priory of Sion—a European secret society founded in 1099—is a real organization. In 1975, Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic group that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brain-washing, coercion, and a practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million National Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.
All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.
The Priory of Sion and the documents found at Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale had been known as a hoax by the academic community for several years before Dan Brown published The Da Vinci Code.
Many Freemasons are likewise concerned that Dan Brown will use their secrecy to build the suspence of his novel, by missportraying Freemasonty in a similar way as he did in The Da Vinci Code to the Knights Templar and Opus Dei.
While Dan Brown successfully defended a copyright infringement case brought by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail fame, this appears to been simply because you can't copyright facts. Anyone familiar with both works will happily point out the similarities to you. One of Brown's characters actually refers to the title of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail in the book!
The Lost Symbol is looking at being just as controversial, with Dan Brown once again adding suspense into the plot by involving the Freemasons into his story.
KING SOLOMON
King Solomon was the son of King David. It was David who conquered Jerusalem in around 1004 BC. He then brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city of Jerusalem which became the political and spiritual nexus of the Jewish people. Solomon constructed what became known as Solomons Temple on Mt Moriah. The construction of the Temple made Jerusalem a place of pilgrimage and an important commercial center for that part of the world.
The princible source of information regarding King Solomon is the Bible and nothing remains of his temple which is said to have been distroyed in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar. Many believe that the foundations of Solomons Temple may still be found on Mt Moriah and that they could still hold the Arc of the Covenant.
THE FREEMASONS
Freemasonry has a long association with King Solomon, with some of their ceremony's said to be dating back to the construction of King Solomon's Temple around 1000 BC.
Today Freemasons are well known for their charitable work, though some religious fanatics criticize them because of the secrecy surrounding Freemasonry. Many of the ludicrous anti-masonic claims are refuted on the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon website.
DAN BROWN
Dan Brown was born born June 22, 1964 and raised in Exeter, New Hampshire, USA. He married Blythe (nee Newlon) in 1997 and she has been a major influence on Brown's career.
Brown graduated from Phillips Exeter in 1982, then attended Amherst College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. He enjoyed playing squash and sang in the Amherst Glee Club.
Brown graduated from Amherst with a double major in Spanish and English in 1986.
Brown and Blythe moved to New Hampshire in 1993, where Brown became an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter. He also gave Spanish classes to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls.
While on holiday in Tahiti in 1994, he read Sidney Sheldon's novel The Doomsday Conspiracy, and felt that he could do better.
In 1996, Brown quit teaching to become a full-time writer after reading Digital Fortress was published in 1998.
Dan Brown's first 3 novels originally had little success, with fewer than 10,000 copies in each of their first printings. It wasn't until his forth novel The Da Vinci Code in 2003 that his carrer as an author tookoff.
In 2006, Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code was released as a film by Columbia Pictures, though many felt that it didn't live up to the hype it was still the second highest grossing movie of 2006.
His second novel Angels & Demons is being made into a movie said to be released in the fall of 2008.
DAN BROWN NOVELS
Digital Fortress, 1998
Angels & Demons, 2000
Deception Point, 2001
The Da Vinci Code, 2003
The Da Vinci Code, Special Illustrated Edition, 2004
Angels and Demons, Special Illustrated Edition, 2005
The Lost Symbol, 15th September 2009
