Rating: 
Summary: WOW -- better than The Da Vinci Code!
Review: Like other readers of the Da Vinci Code, I wanted to read other books written by Dan Brown. What surprised me was that the Angels and Demons book wasn't the book that took him to the top of the NYT best seller's list. I read the Da Vinci Code and probably rate it as a 4 in reading and excitement. I rate A&D a 5. This book clipped along in such a breathless speed of action, suspense, and drama that I was up into the wee hours of the morning, my eyelids drooping, too into the plot to put the book down. The only part of the book that I was somewhat dissapointed in was when two characters jumped out of a helicopter that was supposedly 1 - 3 miles up in the air, neither seemed to have parachutes, but both survived and landed in very convenient spots for the plot. That tiny part of the plot was not at all believable, but I forgive Mr. Brown because the rest of the book was so absolutely delicious. What delighted me even more -- just as I thought the climax had been reached (and for the most part, it was the major climax), there were a few more minor climaxes. (I was wondering why there were another hundred pages or so after the best part of the book!). I think that last scene (Chapter 137) in the book was insisted upon by market driven publishers who felt that all good books had to have a gratuitious sex scene to make the book complete.
Come on -- 'publishing industry' -- wake up! An awesome, potentially best-seller book can be considered 'complete' and 'marketable' without a sex scene. This scene wasn't even necessary to make me want to lean back and smoke a cigarette afterwards from the book's overall excitement. There are the first few chapters of Dan Brown's next book, "Deception Point" in the back of the paperback A&D book I had. I can't wait to buy that next book to see what exciting plots and twists have been devilishly written by Mr. Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Specialist's perspective
Review: The only real flaw in this book is that Dan Brown does not bother to be very accurate when it comes to presenting real-life facts. As a person with formal education in nuclear physics, I was slightly annoyed while I was reading the first 50 or so pages. I don't believe that he has the authority to talk about religious repercussions of discoveries in this area - something he probably does not even understand very well.
Many of the historical "facts" presented in the book are also fictituous. For example, he mentions that the pyramid & the eye emblem from the 1-dollar bill is a Mason symbol that was designed by Roosevelt's friend in 1930's. This is not true: the pyramid & the eye come from the Great Seal, which was created shortly after the American Revolution, and has nothing to do with Masons. I'm sure that if I ran a thorough check on every historical statement he makes, I'd have discovered that many of them were fake as well.
Factual problems aside, this is a very good book, and once it got your attention, you just can't put it down. You can fully enjoy it as an exciting thriller, even if you understand that it's just a work of fiction and has little to do with our history.
And one last thing. As you read it, don't make the assumption that the plot is trivial and straightforward. Some things are not what they seem.
Rating: 
Summary: As good or better than "The Da Vinci Code"
Review: Even though I didn't think it possible that "The Da Vinci Code" could be matched by another Dan Brown book, I was proved wrong with "Angels and Demons". Like "The Da Vinci Code", it was full of excitment, intrigue, as well as plenty of plot twists. I just wish it hadn't been quite so long. A book like "Darkeye" presents an exciting tale, too, even if not as well-crafted as Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons", yet gets you to the exciting and unpredictable ending much faster.
Rating:
Summary: Stayed up all night
Review: I'd just gotten to the point where I figured I would not find anymore riviting stories. Been there, done that - same old same old. Then I read Angels and Demons and could not put it down. The religeous research, the word origins as well as scientific information woven into a page turning plot gave me new hope that all the stories haven't been told. It was a wow for me. It held me from the first chapter to the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: It seems American book critics are so desperate to find the "next great American writer" that they are so easily over praising mediocre to good authors in their vain attempts. Dan Brown is definately a good writer, and Angels and Demons is a good novel...nothing more, nothing less. Mr. Brown is obviously an educated man, and he endlessly injects his "learnings" into his stories, giving his tales a somewhat "teacher to pupil" air about them, or a "look what I learned" feel, which can indeed become distracting in the overall effectiveness of his thrillers. I can not agree with the astronomical praise his work is receiving, with most of it gushing about his intelligence and cleverness. After reading two of his novels, I haven't read or felt anything that is so deserving of this praise. Granted, his work may be a level or two above the average "Summer beach read, but, I believe this is due mainly to what he dares write about...science and religion. OK, he treads a water most authors don't want to tread, but, even though he writes about science and religion, this does not hide the fact that his books are ultimately a [good] thriller concerning those subjects, not "staggeringly intelligent" nor "wildly innovative" as the critics will have you believing. His prose, his structure, and his pacing are nothing out of the ordinary. One big gripe I do have is how he often puts in completely unbelieveable scenerios throughout the story. I can immediately name four of these weak points of storytelling from Angels and Demons. Any avid, intelligent reader can identify with what I'm talking about, and probably detected these four (or more) in this novel. Simply put, it's a passage or chapter that makes the reader want to put the book down because of it's silliness, and/or ignorance, and/or it's so impossible to believe that even an average reader can't suspend their disbelief that drastically. Angels and Demons is indeed a good book, and it deserves an audience, but, the truth is, Mr. Brown is to science and religion what John Grisham is to legal thrillers. That's not a bad thing. Now, if only these critcs would learn the difference between good and great.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: I read The DaVinci Code first and loved the book. I needed more so I picked up Angels and Demons and enjoyed it as well. Good work of fiction and an easy read. Also read Digital Fortress, not as good as the other two but would probably make a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Now I can finally sleep!
Review: Is this book worth your time and money? There is only one way for me say this: I finished the book in a 24 hour period...at 3 am...I go to work at 6 am. My biggest complaint with this book is that it doesn't give you a logical stopping point to get on with your life, no boring lulls that allow you to get some sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: I felt cheated! Don't bother!
Review: I just put down the "Davinci Code" and I couldn't wait to read more, so I picked up "Angels and Demons". Wonderful! I FIRST thought....I was mesmorized at the beginnning of the book - then (UNFORTUNATELY) - I get to the end and the book and it totally untangles with ridiculous events. After I read the Davinci Code, I talked about it and lent the book to my friends. But Angels and Demons went right into the trash!
Rating:
Summary: better than The Da Vinci Code
Review: Being a Catholic, I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code very much (the Mary Magdalene theory is fascinating to me) and when I learned that Dan Brown had actually written an earlier book featuring his hero, art history professor Robert Langdon, I knew I had to track it down. Well, due to the popularity of The Da Vinci Code, it was not hard: I found a mountain of Brown's books at Price Club! Now that I've read both Langdon books I can declare that Angels and Demons is the better of the two! It's a richer story about a mad plot to destroy the Catholic Church by killing the Cardinals of Rome and annihilating Vatican City itself! Plus it's a better-written thriller which established a formula that was re-used in The Da Vinci Code. I could NOT put it down.
Rating:
Summary: You had me at hello. You lost me at goodbye.
Review: I'm not giving this book one star because it has NO redeemable qualities. In fact, for 3/4 of the book I was totally won over and could not wait to whip the credit card out to purchase the Da Vinci Code. I'm glad I waited until I had completed the book though. My profound disappointment in the ending is what drives me to one star. Unfair probably, but I could not believe that a plot that had me hook, line and sinker could totally unravel at the end. It seems that many books, movies, tv shows today try and "get" you with the surprise twist ending. This generation is too savvy for that now. All one needs to do to figure out "whodunit" is look for the most unlikey character, besides the hero, and there is your bad guy. Angels & Demons does the same thing. Worse, as brilliant as some of the writing, plot and characterization is in the first 3/4s, it's almost like reading a totally different book in the end. How many "Luke I am your father" moments can I have in one lifetime? The ending is too spastic, too contrived and too superficial for a book that prided itself on making you read between the lines at first. Finally, this book is a cliched mess. Now maybe real life Harvard professors of religion iconography are also J.Crew models, but would it be too much to ask for Langdon to be less than handsome. . .maybe even a little socially awkward. We already have Indiana Jones, and he did it way better than this. Sorry Mr. Brown, you write one heck of a premise, it's your endings that need a lot of work.
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