The Lost Symbol, available wherever books are sold on 9.15.09, once again features Dan Brown’s unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. The book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Langdon through a masterful and unexpected landscape. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this riveting new novel.Brown is at his best when he simply focuses on plot: the madman's quest and the physical dangers faced by Langdon and mentor Peter Solomon, who heads the Smithsonian Institution. Or when Langdon confronts another ingenious puzzle. As in "The Da Vinci Code," the puzzles refer to distant religions, artists and scientists. Brown gives the book some depth by developing Solomon's family backstory -- we learn much more about Solomon's feelings than Langdon's, in fact. But that backstory and some drawn-out historical anecdotes periodically slowed the pace.