Rating: 
Summary: Even Better than The DaVinci Code
Review: I loved The DaVinci Code, so I had to pick up Angels and Demons. What a surprise to find this one is even better than its ultra-popular sibling!When I was privileged to sing for the Pope outside St. Peter's Basilica, I had the strange thought that the Piazza di San Pietro would be the perfect scene for a taut thriller involving a mass assassination or something like that. I envisioned a Tom Clancy-esque plot, with the hero coming in to save the world from destruction at the last second. Here Dan Brown has taken a similar idea but with an unlikely hero, the scholarly symboligist Robert Langdon, who also appears in DaVinci Code. A noted physicist who was renowned for his work linking the world of science with the world of God is brutally murdered, and all signs point to the Illuminati, a secret society created by the likes of Galileo, a society thought to be long dead. Along with the physicist's daughter, Langdon must solve a series of bizarre clues to save the Catholic Church from complete devastation. Those familiar with Rome will find themselves looking for the clues in their travel albums or the recesses of their minds and will be astonished to find them there. Like The DaVinci Code, the reader sometimes blurs the line between fact and fiction and is left wondering "What if?" If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. I cannot remember when I last read a book I enjoyed so thoroughly. If you like your thrillers tautly written and impeccably researched, you owe it to yourself to read Angels & Demons. Really.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of information, lots of eye rolling lines....
Review: I liked this book, don't get me wrong. Dan Brown must know everything about everything. There cannot be a smarter author out there. With that being said, his smarts bleed into his writing sometimes and he becomes preachy at times, giving history lessons when a bomb is about to explode, or when someone is chasing one of his characters. At other times, characters sound like they are reading off the back of a toothpaste tube. His dialogue at times induced eye rolling, espcially when dealing with the religious themes in the book. If they made this book into a movie, I have a feeling there would be laughing where it wasn't intended. But done right, this book would make one heck of a movie. I'd pay to see it. The ending also left me stale, it seemed that Brown tacked on a twist at the end for the sake of having a twist at the end. I was digging the plot up until that point, then the rest was a bit of a let down. I have yet to read the Da Vinci Code, and I hope that it is better. Angels & Deamons is a definite page turner, it just could have been a lot better, IMO.
Rating:
Summary: A Suspenseful and Exciting Book
Review: To be perfectly honestly I haven't picked up a good fiction book in a long time (I blame textbooks and studying) but once I starting reading Angels and Demons I had a tough time putting it down. It's one of those books that really makes you think about whats going to happen next and Brown does a wonderful job of sending you in completely the wrong direction. The plot does sometimes get perhaps a little hard to swallow but nothing that would make you stop reading in frustration. One of the best things I found about the book is Brown's historical and scientific commentary which shows a lot of thought and reasearch went into creating the final product. A great read and one that I highly recommend to anyone who is even slightly interested.
Rating: 
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Science meets the Church.
I read after Da Vinci.
Characters the same.
Rating:
Summary: First rate thriller!
Review: If you'd pitched me the plot before I'd read it, I'd have laughed it off as outlandish. Yet Dan Brown knows how to sell a story and his construction of a stand off between the zealots in both science and the Roman church resonates. I found myself pausing to ponder the moral and spiritual dilemmas those whose would seek fusion between science and the bible face in their quest. But it was hard to ponder very long -- I always wanted to see what was going to happen next! I heartily recommend this book to those who appreciate a well-researched thriller, or just a great yarn! Bravo, Mr. Brown!
Rating: 
Summary: Predicatable and condescending
Review: I read this after hearing great things about it and "The Da Vinci Code". The first 200 pages or so are admittedly gripping, but shortly after, I had the rest of the story figured out and spent the remaining 300 or so pages hoping, futilely, to be surprised. Brown doesn't seem to trust the reader to put any pieces together for themselves -- from translations for every minute bit of Italian that is spoken, to a map in the front of the book that allows the reader to figure out where everything will be taking place hundreds of pages before they happen, the author holds your hand through every step, hoping you're keeping up when in fact you're way ahead of him.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: Like most other people who read the Da Vinci Code, I felt that I should read other works by Dan Brown as well because DaVinci Code was so good. Angels and Demons is good, but not in the same realm as Da Vinci Code, which isn't really difficult to fathom. The confusing part to the people that read some of these reviews is why, if Dan Brown had the same method with this book as he did with DaV inci Code, why is DaVinci Code so much better? Brown's premise is the same. Somebody of clout is murdered and then Robert Langdon takes a girl along for the ride to try and prevent something worse from happening. The problem with Angels and Demons is that while the plot is good, it takes some odd twists and turns. To discover these though, you must read the book and you should read the book. There is a lot of good information in there again focusing on religion, but you can't help but feel more informed after reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Angels and Demons: The Struggle Between Religion and Science
Review: Like a lot of people, I read "Angels and Demons" after "The Da Vinci Code" and I was surprised that the beginings of both of them as well as of other Dan Brown's books are quite similar. However, after some couples of pages later I could not put the book down. It was such an amazing story that everyone should read.
This book was the start of Michael Langdon, a Harvard professor in symbolism. He was woken up early in the morning by the director of CERN to investigate in the death of Dr. Leonardo Ventra, a brilliant scientist at CERN. On the chest of Dr. Ventra was the symbol of the most ancient hidden society, the Illuminati. He then met Dr. Ventra's daughter, Vittoria who was a marine scientist. They went to Rome on the day before the election of the new Pope to uncover the secret of the Illuminati and witnessed some more deaths of "il prefiero", the four cardinals who had the biggest chances to be the next Pope. They also uncovered a secret of the already deceased Pope and his assistant. Throughout the story was the argument between religion and science.
The story was interesting but was not as intriguing as "The Da Vinci Code". In "The Da Vinci Code", Langdon was pictured as a more witty person than in "Angels and Demons". Moreover, Dan Brown managed to put a large dose of clues and information in the book which makes it heavier to read.
I suggest you start with "Angels and Demons" before "The Da Vinci Code" so that you can have a more well-rounded image of Michael Langdon.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining but not great
Review: This is a fine read that will keep you turning the pages. I compare this to a popcorn movie--it's entertaining but the writing's fairly poor. (Brown needs to lay off on the *italics* when *people* are *speaking.*) It's just another example of popular fiction that will sell millions because it's not very challenging. Other reviews claim that this is a great book: Lolita is a great book; Moby Dick is a great book; The Great Gatsby is a great book. Please save your superlatives for something more deserving.
Rating:
Summary: The Conflict of Science and Religion
Review: For those familar with The DaVinci Code, this book is of obvious interest, as its prequel. For those, like I, who thought The DaVinci Code was a bit far-fetched and too demeaning to Catholicism, Angels & Demons will offer more suspense without the offense.
A priest who is also a brillant physicist trying to scientifically prove the exisitence of God? How much of a bigger river can you possibly bridge?
As a Catholic and a professional of science, I relate to the conflict in this book. It is intriguing and will leave you with much to think about on your own. I highly recommend it to all - those of faith and also to those of science.
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