Rating: 
Summary: Fast paced cheap thrills
Review: If you're looking to learn Italian or Latin, or hoping to learn history or science, look somewhere else (Mr. Christian, stick to West and Wallace, leave the cheap thrills to us mere mortals ... mercy). However, if you don't take yourself so seriously and you like your cheap thrills topped with fast-paced action, silly special effects, 007-type fantasy, this is an excellent read. It goes down easy, like a hamburger and fries, without the indigestion. OK, it ain't James Joyce, but if you liked the DaVinci Code, you'll like this one. It reads like a two-hour action-adventure spy flick. Very little snob appeal here, lots of pleasure though.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Not the best book ever written, but a good time passer. I was very disappointed in The DaVinci Code (hate when I figure everything out before the characters do), but, knowing little about Rome, that wasn't a problem here. A strange, but interesting ending. It's not great theology, but entertaining all the same.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping & Entertaining
Review: I listened to this CD and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very similar structure to Da Vinci Code, but a better story. This is one for the relaxed individual, not for the uptight, who will surely find real-world inaccuracies.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best recreational reads I've had of late...
Review: I finished Angels And Demons by Dan Brown the other night. This book rocks as a recreational read! This is by the same author as The DaVinci Code, and it looks like it was a previous work that was re-released after the success of Code.Symbologist Robert Langdon gets an early morning call from a person in Switzerland claiming to have a dead body with an Illuminati brand on his chest. The caller turns out to be the head of CERN, and he's concerned about the Illuminati cult that everyone thought was dead. Langdon ends up in Switzerland to lend his expertise in the symbol, and from there is rushed to the Vatican when a massive explosive anti-matter device is stolen from CERN and is set to blow up the ancient seat of the Catholic church. A dead pope, kidnapped cardinals turning up branded and dead, an ancient secret society that everyone thought was extinct, and a countdown to finding and stopping the explosion. On top of that, the plot starts twisting at breakneck speed in the last 100 pages. This is a book I could have easily plowed straight through and been perfectly happy in doing so. The pace of the story never slowed down, and the turns at the end weren't quite what I expected them to be. I wasn't highly thrilled with The DaVinci Code, as it went off in some theological directions I didn't care much for. And I also felt it was the author espousing his beliefs in novel form and pounding the reader over the head about them repeatedly. This book is more a crime/conspiracy novel set in the Vatican, but not so heavy on alternative theology. Definitely one of the better recreational reads of late...
Rating: 
Summary: Fast read
Review: It is easy to read. However, with all the publicity I expected more. This book did not really touch me. Interesting to learn facts, but dry. Good summer read thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down! "Angels & Demons" ROCKS!
Review: What a book! I stayed glued to it every chance I got for a little over a weekend. I'm truly glad that I read "The DaVinci Code" before "Angels & Demons". If it would have been the opposite I think "The DaVinci Code" may have let me down. This one had almost everything I look for in a book. Suspense, Little facts you've never known, Mystery, Thrills, Religion vs. Occult, and moments when you realized that your mouth was hanging open in awe over the shock of what just transpired. (Just a hint... FIRE! Trust me. You'll see.) I really feel that I can't say enough. Just give it a shot. Odds are you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Sounds Familiar?
Review: This book is a pretty good read, but if you have already read "Tha Da'Vinci Code" you may not want to bother. This book has the same main character, and the plot is basically the same. In fact, the book sharesthe same frantic pace as in the Da'Vinci Code. I would ratherread Da'Vinci twice, ratherthan spend the money on Angls and Demons.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it!
Review: I purchased this book as a download for my Palm PDA. Never reading any of Dan Brown's books before, I must say I really enjoyed reading his tale. Being a believer in Christ, I wasn't offended (unlike some other readers/reviewers). I took it as a book about human beliefs and the age-old feeling that "my beliefs are better than yours - your wrong, I'm right!" type attitude. Very interesting. I enjoyed the plot twists, especially towards the end when you find out a key piece about the Camerlengo - my mouth dropped when it was revealed about his relationship with the Pope. I didn't see that coming! Remember folks, this is fiction - don't take everything as fact. It might actually inspire you to examine your own beliefs and do some research on history yourself. Overall, a really fun, page-turning book that I couldn't put down. I'd recommend it. I look forward to reading Dan Brown's newest book, The Da Vinci Code.
Rating:
Summary: A Can't Put Down Thriller
Review: Before he penned the "Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown gave us "Angels & Demons" introducing us to renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and taking us on a reading adventure that will send chills down your spine at the realism of his narrative. Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze the symbol branded into the chest of a murdered physicist. Missing is a weapon with unimaginable and virtually untested power and clue after clue uncovers an ages-old vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries old organization the 'Illuminatti.' In a plot rife with murder, Langdon and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra travel to Rome intent on finding the bomb instead they must first discover who is killing religious leaders in line to become the next Pope. Brown's talented writing will have you wondering if his narrative is fact or fiction. The twists and curves in Brown's tale will have you guessing who is good and who is evil from page one through to the final conclusion. Brown is a master at religious thrillers and once you read one of his novels you will become a true fan of his memorable writing.
Beverly J Scott, author of Righteous Revenge and Ruth Fever
http://www.beverlyjscott.com
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but....
Review: I'm 3/4 of the way through, but I wanted to comment on some of the things people have brought up. The first thing that comes to mind is the flash back he has where the main character is lecturing to his students putting fourth the argument that modern religion is made up of a compilation of borrowed old past religious traditions and then proceeds to explain how the Catholic church borrowed the celebration of the Eucharist from the Aztecs. After I read this, I looked into the Aztec history, and here is what I found: It is true that the Aztecs had a tradition of consecrating food and then eating it, believing that they were joining with their God or gods. This was handed down to them from the Toltecs, which was handed down from the Mayans. Although the Aztecs lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, the tradition is older than they are. It dates back to the Mayan culture which dates back to BC. When Spanish missionaries came to Mexico during the 15th or 16th centuries they found that the natives already practiced this tradition. Now obviously Christ had already had the last supper well before this time, so I have trouble believing that Jesus, during his ministry, visited the Mayans and asked them what they did to have communion with God. Then adopted what they did and taught it to his diciples. Dan Brown is suggesting that the practice of communion in the church didn't exist before the Christian's visit to the Aztecs, then decided that it was a good idea for the Catholic church. I have not bought into that either, partly because the Bible shows it in the last supper (which is where the Church's practice of communion originates), and partly because I think Brown is trying to purposefully stir up controversy to sell the book. However, I think the interesting thing to walk away with here is that the Aztecs did practice something similar to communion before any Christian set foot on their soil. Think about it, what are the chances of two totally separate religions practicing the consecration of bread and then having communion, having never interacted with each other? I also looked into the claim this same flashback makes about Quetzacoatl, which is also an Aztec tradiontional story. The claim that the main character makes in this flashback was that the idea of one man dying for the sins of the world is not unique to Christianity, but can also be found in the legend of Quetzacoatl. I looked in to this too. Quetzacoatl was many things to the Aztecs and Toltecs over the Centuries. Originally he was a feathered serpent. But later he was a priest who chose to die for his people and said he would return. I have read that Quetzacoatl was to Mesoamerica, as Christ was to Europe. So in conclusion, I have trouble with the main character's (perhaps Brown's as well) assessment that modern religions have borrowed so many things from each other that there is nothing original. Brown is as good as any other paperback novelist, better than many with plot. But I hope everyone who hates it remembers that the more they trash this book, the more people will read it. Like gas on a fire.
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