Rating: 
Summary: A Great Work of FICTION
Review: I read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons about six months ago and decided to re-read it recently. It's still a good read through but I feel that there are a few things I should mention so that potential readers don't get taken for a ride.While Dan Brown has done extensive research on the pieces of art in this book, this is by NO means a work of NON-FICTION. I've already noticed people praising the extensive research undertaken by Brown but as he is an author and not historian, he is not bound by the same rules. For example, Brown writes that the statue The Ecstasy of St. Teresa was originaly intended for display in the Vatican but Pope Urban VIII ordered its removal due to its pornographic content thus 'allowing' Bernini to move the statue to its present location. This is incorrect. The Statue was comissioned specifically for the Cornaro chapel within the Discalced Carmelite Church Santa Maria Della Vittoria. It was comissioned by Federico Cornaro of Venice with the permission of the monks. St. Teresa was chosen not because she was pierced by a 'flaming' arrow but because she was the founder of the Discalced Order. And I'm sorry but I don't buy the idea that Bernini was some how an illuminati. He loved the Catholic Church too much and anyone who does any research into his life will see his devotion to the Church in not only his work but his own words. So remember that when you read this book that it is indeed a wonderful work of say it with me now! FICTION!
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Davinci code
Review: I have to say I liked this book, and even though I know it came before the Davinci code I read it afterwards. I can see the author's improvement in style ... he is better the second time around. if you are going to read both of these books, read this one first. You will enjoy this one I promise, and then Davinci will seem even better. If you do it the other way around, this will seem like a let down. Trust me about it!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than DaVinci
Review: I picked this book up a few years ago in one of those "grab everything that looks interesting" episodes while in a book store. I finally read it about a year ago and after finishing it I was upset with myself for making the book sit so long. Luckily, by then the Divinci Code was out so I was able to slide right into that book. What I think made this book most enjoyable was the pace at which it jumped from one subplot to the next. Hoping from one short "chapter" to the next really kept book moving. The writing is very good and the plot is exciting and intelligient. The characters are varied and most are developed very well so you have a pretty good idea of what is motivating them. I, however, did think the head of the Swiss Guard was a little to closed minded...I doubt someone would rise to such position by ignoring threats but he was still a good character. The book by itself is outstanding but I think it looks even better when compared to "DaVinci". While I like DaVinci, I thought this book was much more exciting and didn't "dumb down" like the DaVinci Code did at times (in what seemed like attempts to let the ready "solve" some codes themselves). Both are great books - but Angels & Demons was much better. I would recommend putting a little time between your reads of each book because there are a lot of similarities between characters in the 2 books which was slightly distracting at times.
Rating:
Summary: Impredecible
Review: Just when you thought you had all figured out, it takes a turn to the most unexpected end. Fantastic!
Rating: 
Summary: Not his unsual stuff
Review: I did not enjoy this like I have most of his earlier works. The plot wasnt all that gripping.
Rating:
Summary: Oh please....
Review: After enjoying the yarn Brown spun in THE DAVINCI CODE (albeit while overlooking the pitifully cliched characters), I picked up this prequel. However, you'll have read another review to find out if any of the story after page 9 is worth your time. I stopped there. When a briliant, handsome, single, wealthy Harvard "symbologist" walks into an airplane hanger to find a futuristic jet that travels 15 times the speed of sound and is owned by a private nuclear research company, and THEN climbs aboaord like it's no big deal to settle in for an hour's flight from Boston to Geneva....that's where I get off the boat. Au revoir, Mr. Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Move over Michael Crichton, there's a new man in town...
Review: Just in time for the 21st century, Dan Brown jumps to the top of the mass-market suspense/thriller genre with a handful of intricately plotted and furiously paced novels. The best of these -- despite the incredible sales and longevity of THE DA VINCI CODE -- is by far ANGELS & DEMONS. Propelling it's lead character (symbologist Robert Langdon) and readers into an enigmatic plot that unwinds page by page, ANGELS & DEMONS touches on science, religion, history, art, architecture... With every turn of the page, you descend deeper and faster into a story in which the very existence of God hangs in the balance. The characters are thin, their motivations and actions are sometimes odd, but the relentless plot pushes you onward. The historical elements are recognizable enough to make you wonder about the truth of these details, but not overbearing. The pace is so quick anyway that you won't have enough time to be slowed down. ANGELS & DEMONS isn't aspiring to be a history lesson, a scientific thesis, or a critical essay, but it DOES aspire, quite successfully, to be a no-rest-for-the weary, no-holds-barred, white-knuckled, page-turner of a thriller. Sometimes that's all you need.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Brown
Review: I've read all of Brown's book, and this one is by far his best--even better than Da Vinci Code. The two are VERY similar, but A&D is better written in my opinion and the plot is more believable. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating: 
Summary: Kinda like Da Vinci code, just not as good...
Review: This book reads like a practice attempt at writing Da Vinci code. The plot, characters, mystery, and story line are good, just not as good as da Vinci. The thing I most disliked about this book are some of the way-over-the-top things that happen that seem to be stuck in to make the plot work (i.e. supersonic airplanes, anti-matter bombs, miraculous escapes from helicopters). If you loved Da Vinc, you'll like this... similar, just not as good.
Rating:
Summary: Childish, pathetic book
Review: This book is pathetic...it is almost a bad comic book translated into text. The personalities of the characters are stereotyped and unidimensional, things happen without reason. The vilains are as credible as Batman's Penguin. In fact, nothing in this book is credible, from the ultra-sonic space ship-like plane to anti-matter bombs. The heroin's father dies and she has the reaction and feelings of a Miss Universe competitor talking about world peace.
It is possible to write a book using fantasy, if you are able to have some drama and some good characters (check Jules Verne). This is not the case. This book sounds like two guys got together for beer, and after drinking a dozen, started to think about a story, adding a character here, an action scene there, a fantastic gun there. The they add the patches together and make a book.
It is a mystery to me how this book is a bestseller.
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