Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: I met Dan Brown while working in a local NH bookstore during one of his signings (you'll see, it's in the acknowledgements). I thought, "Nice guy...seems smart...I guess I'll read the book". Then I moved 3,000 miles away to the opposite coastline and read the book in my new home. Big mistake, huge mistake, I should have read the book first, when I had a chance to talk to Dan Brown, then I should have worshipped the ground that Dan Brown walks on. This is an amazing book! Very hard to put down and full of action, suspense, and mystery. Not only is it entertaining, but it is written on a level that makes you constantly think, which explains why you don't eat or sleep until the book is done. This book is the best $20.00 you can spend, without a doubt. Please, Dan Brown, write us another...
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Judge A Book By It's Title!
Review: I saw this book on the shelf, having read Digital Fortress, and wondered what Dan Brown was doing writing books in the genre of Dungeons and Dragons, and similarly intense science fiction. I remember Digital Fortress as an engaging and compelling dichotomy between the necessity to rewrite the rules as technology progresses, and the equally important necessity of protecting those "inalienable rights" written about in the United State's constitution.I'm glad I learned not to judge books by their covers; Angels and Demons was better than Digital Fortress. I found the characters to be more believable, the setting more colorful, and the pace even faster. This time, the dichotomy was set between Religion and Science, complete with a deep look into the history surrounding their mutual antagonism. The plot progresses slowly from the present to the ancient, while the author explains in pieces why all of this will be relevant soon enough. Furthermore, Brown provides just enough factual scientific information to enable the reader to get caught up in the action, but not too much to lose the attention of those who don't have a Doctorate in Physics. I won't ruin it for anyone, but the ending is fantastic. My only disappointment with this book has little to do with the plotlines, the characters, or any elemental qualities. I just felt that, having already read Digital Fortress, there was a formulaic quality to it the caused me to infer the end. Either way, this book should definitely not be left on the shelf due to its cover.
Rating:
Summary: Get ready to stay up all night
Review: The only way to read this book is all at once. Unfortunately, I had to take a break after chapter 4, and couldn't get back to it until 9 pm. So much for that night's sleep! This is a book that has everything: fantastic plot, futuristic and mystical overtones, beautifully described fine art, science, religion, spritituality....fanatacism, heroism, hatred, love, death, rebirth. What more is there to say? Although you may want to guess at the ending, (who IS the bad guy, WHAT is going to happen), don't cheat by looking ahead! You won't want to miss even one page of this delicious book.
Rating:
Summary: Stop the madness....
Review: This one was of the best novels I have ever read. I loved the book because it was researched and based in fact. I also appreciated that Dan Brown did not take sides in the church v. science debate. Both sides we equally represented, and the outcome was genuinely surprising. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little out of the ordinary. My mother ordered me this book off of Amazon.com and has since ordered it for several other people... we loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: imitation late Ludlum.
Review: What a disappointment. I bought this book based on the reviews and while it has some good ideas the style, story and characterisations are so obvious as to make them ludicrous, as is the bad guy. Pick up a second hand copy of some of the later Ludlum rubbish instead.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting, Thrilling, Suspenseful
Review: Angels and Demons is one suspense packed thriller that you just can't put down! Dan Brown has managed to combine The Vatican, the secret brotherhood of the Illuminati, murder, assassins, the Swiss research facility - CERN, a Harvard symbologist, stolen antimatter, a dead priest / physicist's daughter who helped develop the antimatter, the Swiss Guard, and super high speed aircraft, (from Boston to Switzerland in 1 hour! ) all in a race against time. This book is riveting, as the plot thickens and intensifies and I found myself "peeking" into the next chapter - something I NEVER do! The suspense was too much - but excellent! I just could not put this book down and had to let everything fall around me as I raced to finish all 430 pages! The ending will blow you totally away - and just when you think you had it all figured out - It will stun you! I found the history of the Vatican, the information on the conclave in electing a pope, as well as all of the history, combined with the history of the Illuminati totally fascinating. My interest never waned throughout this fast-paced, compelling story. I really don't want to retell the story, as you can read it in the above editorial review. Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of religious iconology and Vittoria Vetra, a physicist are in a race against time to save Vatican City from a diabolical plot - revenge and hatred from the ancient brotherhood of the Illuminati against the Catholic Church. With the Pope murdered, the four favored bishops are found missing from the conclave. At precise intervals, the Illuminati inform the Vatican that the bishops will be murdered. It is up to Langdon and Vittoria to try and figure out the "clues" from the Illuminati and save the bishops. But not only are they trying to save the bishops, they are also trying to save the entire Vatican, as stolen antimatter is hidden somewhere inside the Vatican. Time is also running out as the antimatter has the capacity to level the entire city. Antimatter "is the most powerful energy source known to man. A single gram of antimatter contains the energy of a 20-kilotin nuclear bomb - the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima." You will find this book totally fascinating and incredibly compelling. You easily get caught up in the story and with the factual basis of the battle between science and religion. Dan Brown had managed to interweave the two into one non-stop thriller that will take your breath away. Check out his website as well - very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Multifaceted Jewel of a Book
Review: This is the first book I have read by Mr. Brown. It will not be the last. I have just downloaded Digital Fortress. This book touched upon a plethora of controversial themes; The Vatican and the ancient mysterious workings of the Catholic faith therein, the centuries old satanic cult of the Illuminati, the marriage between science and intellectual morals, responsibility and profit. Dan Brown touched upon all of these themes in a very subtle and compassionate way without making the book in itself controversial. Hidden underneath these heavy topics is the real story that makes this book the great work that it is. Expertly woven within the tapestry of this intense thriller lies the classic theme of love, respect, and mutual understanding. I highly recommend that you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Angels and Demons a Perfect Beach Read
Review: Not being a professional reviewer but an avid reader I found Angels and Demons to be a great read and since I was on vacation when I read it, I titled my review a Perfect Beach Read. Mr. Brown has been able to tackle a number of complex subjects, yet bring them all together in a logical, cohesive and credible manner to derive an exciting edge of your seat thriller. One of the criteria I have for book enjoyment is the idea of giving up some other function or task just to be able to finish the book I am reading. Such was the case with Angels and Demons. The little extra sunburn I got was worth it. This book is a perfect James Bond/Indian Jones type thriller. If you are looking for an adventure story set in the Vatican amidst religion, politics and science then Dan Brown has done a grade A job of doing so and will provide the reader with a great story.
Rating: 
Summary: A genuine page-turner
Review: Harvard professor Robert Langdon and CERN scientist Vittoria Vetra have just one night to prevent the Vatican from being destroyed by an antimatter bomb. Can they do it? Of course. But the fun lies in how and why. A sample of antimatter has been stolen from physics center CERN by the Illuminati -- the all-powerful group made so famous by Robert A. Wilson's books. Here, they are represented as being an ancient order of scientists upset with the way the Church has treated science and scientists. (Me, I always liked the bankers-as-secret-force or blood-relatives-of-Jesus explanation of the Illuminati, but this will do.) This provides for plenty of science vs. religion conversations, and Brown does a good job with them. ANGELS AND DEMONS is a fast, but satisfying read. It rolls along unstoppably, not the least of which because the action takes place over a 24-hour span. Even if -- as I did -- you guess what's really happening half-way through the book, you'll never guess what happens in the last 40 pages. The book is laced with fun facts about electing a pope and the Vatican, like that St. Peter's bones are not in the golden casket in St. Peter's Basilica, but two stories under it. Brown knows the layout. And that the artist Raphael's last name was Santi. He also knows how marble statues were carved. Brown's no Irving Stone (THE AGONY AND THE ECSTACY), but he does manage to inform without being pedantic. As Vittoria and Langdon race around Rome, we get quite a tour, with great descriptions. (Pick up a paperback copy next summer and bring it to Rome. Take the Brown tour.) What's interesting is that all the places and pieces of art in this book really exist. So Brown has played a version of the Sherlockians' Great Game by linking them all with his "history" of the Illuminati and their doings. No small feat. Several of the plot elements have to be taken with a grain of salt. First, there is the fact that everyone in this book is absolutely amazed by amibgrams (these are words which can be ready the same upside-down as right-side up -- the book's dust jacket has the title in ambigram). They play an important role in the story, and everyone who encounters them is practically struck dumb the fact that even exist. They "seem utterly impossible." I guess no one else in the story (including symbol expert Langdon) remembers that OMNI magazine ran an ambigram contest in the 1980s and published dozens of the thousands of entries they received, I imagine that by now there must be a software program or web site that can make them for you (and make an acrostic that spells out your girlfriend's name). In short: they aren't that amazing. Then there are things like the fact that Vittoria (a physicist) isn't familiar with the classical four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Come on. Great literature? No, but you sure keep turning the pages to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: Hold On To Your Seat!
Review: Angels & Demons is a thriller in every sense of the word. Make sure you have plenty of spare time on your hands when you start this because I guarantee you won't get much done until you finish it! I was even tempted to take it with me in the car so I could read a paragraph or two at stoplights! This novel shows the efforts of a truly creative writer and bears the results of something you don't see very often in a thriller: Research. I enjoyed the discriptions of Vatican City and the Secret Archives of the Vatican, as well as the Necropolis. It's not often you learn something historical in a thriller. The mixture of science and religion is truly fascinating, as is the inclusion of the secret society angle and the artwork of the ambigram. I couldn't recommend this book any higher. Read it!
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