Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic
Review: I have never read any of Brown's work before and actually I was given an already read copy of this book by my mother who thought I'd enjoy it. This is a very intelligent book that leaves you guessing at every turn, has you on the edge of your seat, and is educational as well. I learned a lot about Catholic tradition, Illuminati, and history. I can't wait to read another of his books.
Rating: 
Summary: ASK QUESTIONS?
Review: OKAY bru I ask questions. Like where is it in this book the true facts like the Illuminati was formed in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria?
Rating:
Summary: brain candy for the brainless
Review: I was told to read this before the The Da Vinci Code. The story is pure drivel and the writing is wretched. The bogus "miracles" at the end are just the cap on a collection of incredible (in the strictest sense) plot gyrations that induce a mental gag reflex. The text is replete with numerous stylistic and even a few grammatical boners. The writing is "hack" at best. Don't waste your mind or your time on this. I certainly won't bother with the Da Vinci Code.
Rating: 
Summary: Page turner
Review: I will give Mr. Brown his due, this book is a page turner, after reading it however I wish I could get my 12 hours back. Calling this book immature would be an accurate critique. Don't bother reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping book with......
Review: ....fabulously few details about our hero.
Most books drone on and on about how the main character looks, feels, acts. Patricia Cornwell began to do the same thing in her Scarpetta books. But Dan Brown gives his readers enough credit to know we can imagine Robert Langdon in our own mind without mindless dribble.
The writing is smart, quick and does not insult readers with a boring plot.
Each page reveals a new twist or "aha!" moment, BUT not so much that you can predict what's going to happen.....At the end of the book, I was sure I knew "whodunit" but then I found out I was totally misled, which was a fabuluous surprise!
Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: the only angels you see in this book is in the title
Review: A much over-rated book by a much over-rated author. OK, you learn a bit about the Illuminati, and the Freemasons society, but other than that, pure drivel! The author builds some sense of suspense, but then, nothing happens!
It seems that the only ones who really liked this book were people who rarely, if ever read!
I was going to read the Da Vinci Code, but after reading this thing, why bother?
It seems the author is more interested in gettting his misguided point across, than writing a thriller!
Rating:
Summary: Oh my god, this is so bad
Review: Every once in a while, you read a book that just floors you with its low quality. This is one of those. Let me see if I can summarize it for you. A sexy, single, well-liked-by-his-students Harvard professor with a swimmer's bod (he swims fifty laps a day) hooks up with the smartest woman on earth (she is also very sexy)to thwart a "Hassassin" who was hired by the illuminati to blow up the Pope with anti-matter. Yep, that's it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good storytelling; lousy writing
Review: Rather like the late Alistair MacLean, Dan Brown has opted to provide edge-of-your-seat plot pyrothechnics and cloak-and-dagger spook stories about secret societies than put any effort into his writing skills. Yes, the book is highly entertaining, but you will hope nobody sees you reading it when you see, on NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PAGE IN THE BOOK, SOMETHING IS IN ITALICS. It's rather like reading a comic book where every sentence ends in an exclamation point. Look! he cried.
What?! she gasped.
The mark of the Illuminati! The secret organization hiding within the Masonic brotherhood!
Gasp!
Shiver!
GASP! (This is a parody of Brown's writing, not a quote from the book). It is well worth reading, but, like the Harry Potter tripe, was written with a very unliterary audience in mind. Nothing more than a guilty pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Great Follow Up to Da Vinci
Review: Angels & Demons - WOW! I loved it. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons is another you must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Neat, but Formulaic
Review: Dan Brown manages to make the esoteric approachable in "Angels and Demons." This novel (which I blew through in about two days) covers Robert Langden's first "adventure": His attempt to thwart the Illuminati's killing of the Vatican's Cardinals during the choosing of the new Pope. Needless to say, this book essentially devoured my soul. While I was immersed in this novel, I was absolutely intrigued: Granted, it plays quite heavily off of the paranoic ramblings of many other books (notably, The Illuminatus! Trilogy), it still manages to keep the topics of the Illuminati and the Catholic Church approachable and interesting. Brown weaves together a convincing (albeit far-fetched) plot line. The ending, for me, had something to be desired -- but, c'est la vie. Brown's character devlopment is excellent, Langden is captivating and human (although occasionally a bit pithy for me). Looking back, however, I find this book horrifically formulaic. Nothing seems to fit together as well as it did while I was reading it, though this is probably a mark of a convincing author. It was an easy book to be consumed by, and for a few days I couldn't stop flipping pages. Of course, the entire plot centers around what seem to be an innumerable number of circumstances (that is, Why would CERN call Langden? Why would Langden give in? ...etc) The mysticism in this book is absolutely fascinating. However true - or untrue - Brown's discussion of the Illuminati may be, it was interesting to read about the path of enlightenment through Rome. Additionally, I found it extra-neat for Brown to include a map of the Vatican and of the surrounding area, thus making the locations in this book non-fiction, while fictionalizing events. Really neat. For it's purpose (that is, a cheap/easy weekend read), Angels and Demons did very well. It held my attention and brought together suspense and religious conspiracy, some twinges of romance (perhaps for the female crowd?) and general flamboyance that often makes books best sellers. Is this the next American classic? No. But it certainly was entertaining, and an excellent break for something easy to read.
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