Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing, but lackluster and has racist overtones
Review: In Angels and Demons, Dan Brown presents a plot well suited to an action movie like Indiana Jones-- which is not a failing. In the style of Clive Cussler or Tom Clancy, Brown leads you on a thrilling, heart-pounding ride through the streets of Rome. I quite enjoyed most of it.Unfortunately, it has sveral flaws:
*Firstly, it retreads (sometimes quite inaccurately) old ground. The Illuminati may only be entering the mass public consciousness now, but stories about them and investigations into their real history are old hat. Brown could have at least got a few more of the facts right.
*Like a Tom Clancy novel, it liberally applies it's cliches. Expect LOTS of them. *Lastly, and worst of all, it contains one horribly racist piece of ick. The one Arabian character in the story is protrayed as a bestial assassin, overcome with urges to kill and have sex. Worse yet, the author spares no attempt to use every euthamism (from "heathen" to "barb-ARABian") to denegrate this character. Heck, we never even learn his name. He is a cardboard cut-out villain playing on simple xenophobia. It is a great disservice that an otherwise quite interesting book sunk this low.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't usually read prequels, but this one caught me!
Review: After I read The Da Vinci Code, I knew I needed to read Angels & Demons. I don't usually read "prequels," but the craftsmanship in the later book was good enough that I gave the earlier book a whirl. I was, in a word, impressed. If you like suspense, especially with a backdrop of religion and conspiracy, this is a must-read. Illuminati infiltrating the Vatican? Vows of revenge resurrected after hundreds of years? You bet! Robert Langdon's character is not quite as well developed as in The Da Vinci Code, but he's rounded enough to be believable. You can see the beginnings of him as sort of a "philosopher's Indiana Jones."
Rating:
Summary: This is Evolution
Review: Most of you, like myself, proabably read the DaVinci Code first and then were wondering if he was up to the task. This book provides a solid foundation for the DaVinci Code. Yes, it does reek of the same story structure and character development. It is not that bad, somewhat predictable, especially if you've read the latter, but it does stand on it's own merit, to a degree. If this were the first you'd read of the series, you'd probably like it, but I doubt you'd give it five stars. I think Brown was working on his craft, and this is a valiant effort, headed toward, what I felt was near brilliance in DaVinci Code. If you haven't read any of Brown's novels, but think this will give depth to DaVinci Code, honestly, don't bother. DaVinci code stands quite admirably on it's own merits. There are some incredible literary stretches in this one, that altogether discredit the story as a whole, but, hell, like movies sometimes, the suspension of disbelief is enough to hold the viewer, or the reader. It's a good enough story, but doesn't transcend the ground the way that I feel the DaVinci code did. I won't talk about that novel in specifics here, it is inappropriate, but that is closer to fully realized than this piece. I am really interested in what Brown has to put forth following his latest. I would love to read it.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent book
Review: A wonderful read. I grew up Catholic and mom, grandma and I all read and loved this book. A good mix of history, "myth" and murder.
Rating: 
Summary: Found it by Accident--Glad I Did!
Review: Recently, while en route to our family vacation destination I realized that I had forgotten my copy of the book back at home. We stopped at bookstores in two different towns, so I could purchase another copy to read in the car and during our stay. On the first night I sat on the bathroom floor of our hotel room until past 4 a.m. reading, while my wife and two children slept. I could not put this book down! The synthesis of fact and fiction, science and religion, tradition and conspiracy, church and state, and so much more made this book one of the best I have ever read. I particularly liked the way the author revealed bits of information, various story lines, character personal history, etc. spacing them out at unexpected--but appropriate (and appreciated)--points in the overall narrative. Questions were raised and later answered although not all at once, and that made staying with the book all the more pleasurable. As a professor at a large research university myself, I found Robert Langdon to be especially compelling as the protagonist. As with anything, there were a few blemishes, but the overall work was well researched and with an impressive attention to detail that left me feeling as though I had been introduced to worlds that I knew little about. I have since read much more on various topics encountered in the book. I do not get the chance to read much fiction, and this book was well worth it. I give this book my highest recommendation--warts and all.
Rating:
Summary: WOW! A TRUE PAGE TURNER!!!
Review: Do not read this book if you like to read a chapter and then put the book down! I lost 10lbs on this book as I rode the exercise bicycle and read.... one more chapter and then I will stop and I kept going! LOL. This is one of the most fantastic thrillers I have ever read!
Rating:
Summary: For Da Vinci Code addicts!
Review: Brown does an excellent job of describing the characters, as well as looking into the hearts and minds of each separate individual to give unique vantage points and emotions as the story progresses. He seems to have done lots of research on the sculptures, artwork and locations involved in the story, and it truly shows in his masterful way of intertwining fact with conspiracy and making a great fiction novel from it all. The basic plot dwells heavily on the 'war' between the logic of science and the faith of religion. This book is a must-read for fans of Brown's Da Vinci Code. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Empty but entertaining
Review: This story is as predictable (as another reviewer said) as a made for TV movie. You know most "twists" are coming at least 50 pages before they happen if you even moderately pay attention. The book contained one "shock," and it wasn't much to write home about. The end was somewhat surprising, but only because of the scale of what happened -- you know fairly well in advance what's going on because of deliberate and redundant hints. The beginning of the book contains several glaring errors (involving unrealistic cell phones and stupid security systems). These problems were so dumb and easy to remedy that it really made the rest of the book hard to believe. Brown spends pages drooling over how imposible the Illuminati ambigrams are to produce but was somehow able to include them in his book -- go figure. He credits the artist who drew them for him at the end of the book. While he's busy not getting things right Brown has the chuzpah to use foreign languages without proper translation -- here it's Italian, in Da Vinci Code (which I've just started) it seems to be French. For me, at least, it makes Brown seems arrogant. Knowledge of romance languages seems to be assumed -- I (thankfully) was able to roughly translate most parts. Despite these problems the book somehow remains an entertaining and quick (three-four day) read. He definately knows how to write cliffhangers but just lacks the factual depth to make this sort of "factual" fiction workable. Brown seems to attempting to emulate Michael Crichton, but for some mixture of a scientific, art, and religious crowd. He fails at this, at least from the perspective of a moderately educated (college-age) reader. This book would be good for someone with no scientific background or for someone who is very into religion and science. Otherwise the reader will just get annoyed at Brown's writing.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I don't write reviews for many books I read, but WOW, this one deserves it. Not only did it have a gripping story-line and a fast-paced plot, it had an extremely high IQ. This is definitely must-read you should all pick up. 570 pages seems like nothing when you are finished, longing for more. I haven't read The Da Vinci Code yet, but I picked it up after the first chapter of Angels and Demons.
By the way, to the fool who said the bit about the "triangulating" the camera: No one is impressed. Even if you know what you were talking about, it probably wouldn't work. Leave the logic up to Mr. Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I loved the Da Vinci code, and I loved this book, too, although I think I liked the Da Vinci code more, but still an intense thriller. It just rises in suspense and doesn't slow down till the ending.
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