Rating: Summary: Great fun book Review: I found this book very enjoyable. Yes you must suspend your disbelief at certain parts, but it is a great read. Brown keeps you so involved in the plot that you can't wait for the next act. There are times when the intelligence of the characters are incredible and other times when you want to scream at them the answers, because they are so obvious, but considering the circumstances, that is not so far fetched. I found it very entertaining and could not wait to move on to the Da Vinci Code.
Rating: Summary: A Rough Draft of The Da Vinci Code Review: Dan Brown is a good writer in many respects. He knows how to milk a scene for all it's worth, he knows how to create conflict, and he's very well researched. He also knows that Americans love a good conspiracy and that knowledge has kept him at the top of the best-seller's list for a year with The Da Vinci Code.Angels and Demons is "Robert Langdon's First Adventure," according to the advertising on the book's front. In Langdon, Brown has created the new Indiana Jones - an adventure-seeking academic - only Langdon is smarter than Indy ever dreamed of being. He's also much more of a (...). This fact isn't quite so clear in The Da Vinci code, but in Angels and Demons, where Brown was obviously still honing his chops as a writer, Langdon is an emasculated pansy for the vast majority of the novel. He's afraid of guns, tags along as the female protagonist leads us through the plot, and always realizes everything just a little too late. Typical of a Dan Brown novel, to talk much about the plot would be to give away his much-used secrets, so I really can't get too into it, but suffice it to say that if anyone else had written Angels and Demons they would've been sued for (...) - it's unbelievably similar to The Da Vinci Code. Secret Sect, huge cover-ups, holy church doctrines - all the same stuff. Aside from a limp hero and its unabashed similarity to his more recent work, Angels and Demons also suffers from the staggering leaps of faith it demands on the audience. There is, quite literally, a "Deus ex machina" ending, 20,000 foot freefalls from helicopters without parachutes, and a total pilfering of the Vatican secret libraries. This is meant to be an epic tale told on an epic scale, and I suppose it loosely succeeds, but whereas Da Vinci Code was impossible to put down, you may not even make it through the exceptionally long Angels and Demons. I respect Dan Brown greatly and I'm excited to read what he comes out with next. But despite Angels and Demons' similarity to the Da Vinci Code I can see why it never enjoyed even a fraction of its success (for the above reasons). This feels like a first novel - the one you don't publish, but keep on the shelf and rewrite after you've made it big. I guess Brown's doing it the other way around.
Rating: Summary: BETTER THAN THE DA VINCI CODE Review: This is the book you should read! Secret brotherhoods, sexy scientist, superfast plot. A GREAT SUMMER READ!! You won't feel any smarter reading this but it was fun while it lasted. The first 50 pages are slow but keep with it.
Rating: Summary: Controversial, Supenseful, Impossible to Put Down Review: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon becomes embroiled with the secret organization, the Illuminati, which has come out of hiding to wreck vengeance on the Catholic Church. Langdon joins forces with the beautiful and mysterious Vittoria Vetra and the two of them chase the illusive villains through the underground crypts and catacombs in a race to find an anti-matter bomb primed to go off during the selection of a new Pope. This is a rocket paced book that will have you on the edge of your seat, heart racing as you race toward the conclusion. Like in THE DI VINCI CODE, which comes after, Mr. Brown has delivered a controversial, but suspenseful read you won't be able to put down.
Rating: Summary: Engaging -- fun, and YES, it is FICTION ... so enjoy! Review: This is one of the best novels I've ever read. It was engaging from the start. I read this book before the DaVinci Code, and I recommend it to non-dogmatic folks who enjoy art, architecture and Christian history. It probably would be offensive to some in that this book tackles theological questions that some sects of Christianity seem to have deemed off-limits. For Brown's boldness in being true to the characters and topics --- I rate this one highly. If this book ruffles your feathers regarding the Catholic Church and/or Christianity, good.
Rating: Summary: It is what it is Review: I completely disagree with some of the reviewers who have said that "Da Vinci Code" is better than "Angels & Demons!" What were they thinking? A&D is miles ahead of "Code" and it should be obvious to anyone who has read the first few pages of both. No, "Angels" is not literary like "Bark of the Dogwood" or fable oriented like Martel's "Life of Pi," but it is a page turner that makes for a very good read. While similar to "Da Vinci Code" and even having some of the same characters, the writing is better and so is the pacing. Do yourself a favor and read this one first folks--it's bound to catch up to the other Brown book soon!
Rating: Summary: Stellar BOok!! VERY ADDICTIVE Review: This book is very romantic and you can feel adrenaline while reading it.
Rating: Summary: An exceptionally farfetched page-turner Review: Anti-matter, The Vatican, The Illuminati, Galileo...did I miss anything? Dan Brown introduces his symbologist hero, Robert Langdon, in this totally ridiculous thriller. Filled with enough red herrings to fill the hold of a ship, yet failing to disguise the fairly obvious climax, Brown does create an outrageous page-turner. By piling on one crazy idea after another, Brown is able to keep the reader interested by keeping his prose fats moving and compelling, not letting the reader sit back and say, "Oh Please!" until the end. I read this one before taking on the best selling sequel and now I find I'm in no particular hurry to read that one. I will say this you won't be bored by this one, although you may find your mouth wide open from disbelief by the time it's over.
Rating: Summary: Dumb Dumb Dumb Review: I originally bought "The DaVinci Code" Bool on CD for a long car trip and found it enjoyable, so I bought this one for the drive back. In the first 10 minutes I realized just how mediocre an author Dan Brown is. Both stories sound like they were written using the same outline. Maybe it was because I listened to it first, but "Code" came across as much more enjoyable, and without a lot of the hokey elements that plague "A&D". It's a shame too, because this story could have been really good with a little effort. Langdon could be an interesting character, but Brown doesn't develope him at all. He comes across like a one dimensional "Jack Ryan meets Indiana Jones". The end result is that this book is so bad, it not only ruins itself, but also ruins "The DaVinci Code" along with it. If you enjoyed "Code", do NOT buy this book.
Rating: Summary: Well done Review: I found this book (up until the end) to be very entertaining. I thought the character development was adequate and I'm not educated enough to notice the lingual nor historical errors. The end... it kind of left me flat. I felt the book could have ended in the tower. The rest just left me tired. Overall I found A&D to be a well-written book; after reading I bought it for my mother.
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