Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't wild about it
Review: I wish Dan Brown would get a good Latin translator sometime. His hero's take on Latin is often deeply flawed.A reasonably entertaining read -- if nothing else is lying about -- with dull characters who utter rather mundane Religion 101 statements as if they were pronouncing revelations of philosophical thought. The characters lack true understanding by their own creator. Does anyone really believe the adopted daughter of a genuis scientist and Catholic priest would not know that shorts were inappropriate attire in Vatican City? "Angels and Demons" does not make me want to rush out to grab "The Da Vinci Code", I must say.
Rating: 
Summary: See Jack write drivel. See Jack make lots of money.
Review: I just cannot believe the success of this writer. I think he writes absolute drivel. It's just so awful it's embarrassing that he's a best seller! Where are the discrimating readers in this country? Surely I can't be the only one who finds Brown's work awful!!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the DaVinci Code
Review: Perhaps it is because I read it first....but I found this book much more intruiging than the DaVinci Code. It is a fantastic suspense thriller that captures you in the first few pages. This was a book that I could not put down. I was so engaged that I missed my subway stop!!!!
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Summary: This is the same book as the Da Vinci Code
Review: This book was terrible. Interesting info and research but it was EXACTLY that same plot as The Da Vinci Code. In both books, it is easy to anticipate what is coming next.
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Summary: Another fast paced thriller from Dan Brown ...
Review: Written befoe the Da Vinci Code our hero Langdon is called in to solve the mystery of a priest/scientist murdered by a defunct underground group calling themselves the 'illuminati' The Roman Catholic Church and scientists such a Galileo have been at each others throats through the ages and it was inevitable, I guess, that some group would come to revenge past sins of the church like the Friday the thirteenth massacre of the Knights of Templar ..... The ability of the author to use facts, history, the church, art and accepted truths and spin them into a wild tale of terrorism and intrigue make for a very interesting and fun book.
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Summary: It's a Soap Opera!
Review: Last night I rented "The Hulk" on DVD. During the movie we learn that Bruce Banner's crazy father genetically engineers him to be different, although we're not quite sure how. He later murders his mother when Bruce is 4 and is sent to prison, with Bruce winding up in Foster care. Later we discover that Bruce has followed, coincidentally, in his father's footsteps and become a scientist and, also coincidentally, winds up working along side the daughter of his fathers worst enemy studying the same thing his father did in days of yore. After being exposed to Gamma rays, and in connection with the early tinkering Dad did, Bruce quintuples in size and turns green while always losing all of his clothes and shoes except, Thank God, his pants. Later we find the Hulk doing battle with half of the US military and in one scene he grabs a sidewinder missle out of the air, rips off the warhead with his teeth and spits it onto a chasing helocopter causing it to crash. In addition to that he jumps on top of an F-18 fighter jet in flight and hangs on into the stratosphere, finally letting go only to plummet 60 or 70,000 feet into San Francisco Bay unscathed. He, incredibly, alludes all of his enemies in the end, particularly his father, and winds up tending to the basic medical needs of impoverished villagers in the jungles of Central America. The point here is that compared to Angels and Demons the Hulk is completely plausible. The paperback has 568 pages and I think there's an implausability on EVERY PAGE. Much like the Hulk...it's kind of fun! I definitely did get caught up in it and it certainly moves at a quick pace. My problem is that the Hulk is a COMIC BOOK and thus automatically one expects to have to suspend disbelief. Angels & Demons is perporting to be more and that's where I guess my problem with it lays. Much of the history here, particularly the Art History, is really fascinating...but this goofy story! The author seems to me to be interested in James Bond goes to Peyton Place and the last 100 pages or so were SO preposterous and over the top that I thought,on several occasions, that I was going to throw the book across the room. The real question is...why does this bother me? I liked the Hulk! It was really alot of fun. I guess I have a different standard for literature than for movies and I just found the myriad of implausablities in this book to be almost insulting. I long for books that express some truth about how people think and feel, because often I can see myself a little better as a result. There's not much room for that possiblity in this book. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Great Novel!
Review: In this Dan Brown book, Angels and Demons, Robert Langdon (who so many became familiar with in The Da Vinci Code, though this book was written before The Da Vinci Code) is on a mission to save the Vatican and figure out the mysterious Illuminati. Dan Brown again provides a book full of information about history, religion and science - making this book educational as well as thoroughly enjoyable. This book is full of suspense, twists and turns and surprises! It's a great story, and anyone who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code will love this book as well. I highly recommend it!
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Summary: How to Write a Dan Brown Novel
Review: Ok- first off... I really did enjoy this book. However, now that I have read 3 of Brown's novels, I have noticed a certain formula that Dan Brown uses. 1- Use the word "Indredulous" as often as possible.
2- The bad guy MUST be known by a term/phrase instead of a name.
3- The bad guy is double crossing the good guys... and you are NOT supposed to suspect this.
4- The novel must take place in the course of one day.
5- Your hero must wake-up and not have a clue that he will spend his entire day many miles away from home, while being chased by bad guys.
6- All good guys must be experts at something very arcane.
7- The ending must be weak. If you follow these steps you too can write a Dan Brown novel. ORRRR you can use this formula to figure out the book you are currently reading after about 100 pages. This is clearly a case of diminishing returns. One book is Awesome, two is fun, but by the third... you are ready to turn on the television.
My suggestion- read the Da Vinci Code (However, remember it is still "fiction" and despite the authors claims- some of his facts are seriously flawed- for instance - "The Gosphel of Mary" is hardly widely accepted as legitimate).
Now for "Angels and Demons", this is a very fast paced and entertaining novel. However, do not accept everything in the book as factual, for it is not. Take it as it is worth... some time away from a television that will keep you happily occupied.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Read
Review: Don't turn the first page unless you have set aside enough time to read the whole book because you will not be able to set it down. In addition to tight dialogue, short, 1-2 page chapters, and exciting action, there's history and physics and art. The ambigrams (reversible calligraphy that looks the same upside down) are fascinating. I have been recommending this to all my friends.
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Summary: Liked the hard cover of the book
Review: I read this book before I discovered the formula that Brown uses in his books. It was a very quick read with lots of little details. My only problem was that I got a look at the hard cover editon and saw it was a very intersting ambligram, but none of the paperbacks have it.
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