Rating: Summary: An Awesomely Well Written, and Suspensful Book! Review: Being 15, I never thought I would read anything besides Harry Potter. I read The Da Vinci Code first, and fell in love. Angels and Demons is Suspensful, and also had me sleeping with the lights on. I could see that this book might stir up some controversy with some people. I highly reccomend this book, but not to people who might be disturbed with religious cults and some "satanist" things. A very good read.
Rating: Summary: Simply Great Review: If you liked Da Vinci Code, you'll love the first adventure of Langone. Although the chapters are not broken down into seperate storyline paths as in Da Vinci, the read is still lightning paced.
Rating: Summary: Suspense and Fun Review: When Robert Langdon, one of the main characters in the story gets an odd fax one morning and follows the instructions associated with it, he has no idea how harrowing and exciting his day will be. The day takes twists and turns that some might anticipate, others might not anticipate it. Either way, the story is a good one to follow.In Angels and Demons, Dan Brown has woven modern science, ancient history, and religion to create a suspense filled thriller. His characters are well developed and are people that you come like and care about, or depending the character, not care about. There are some components of the story that are like an action film, but even these moments of letting belief go by the wayside are not enough to truly detract from the story that he has put together. I started this book and hated to put it down, even to go to bed and I couldn't wait to start reading it the next day.
Rating: Summary: Not worth the time it takes to read Review: In the wake of popularity following The Da Vinci Code, I thought I'd read this first, taking them in order. Now, I doubt I'll waste the time to read any more by this author. This whole book is an excuse for a plot twist that couldn't be more telegraphed or less interesting. Combine that with one-dimensional characters and laughably stilted dialogue, and you have a disappointment. The main character, a professor at Harvard, has a great knack for pointing out the obvious. His sidekick, the beautiful but vengeful daughter of a murdered priest turned physicist, has gifts both for sub-atomic physics and yoga-inspired sex. And who knew the Pope had a test tube baby? As a work of fiction, this would make a great plot for a video game. Otherwise, save your time and money.
Rating: Summary: A Review of Angels & Demons Review: I had opportunity to finish Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons" in three days before my family and I went to visit Rome and the Vatican City. Reading about the history, sites, and people before arriving definitely made me enjoy this thriller. Brown's latest masterpiece features the bright Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, an ancient intellectual brotherhood, the Papal Conclave, the top research center in the world (CERN), and plot twists to definitely throw you for a loop. The beginning of the book is a little slow but finally picks up when Robert arrives in Rome and the mystery begins. While traveling around Rome and the Vatican City, I continually found myself pulling out the book and checking the text against the facts. I knew the book was fiction, but a part of me wanted to believe that the dove on top of the obelisk in Piazza de Navona really did point to the building that it did in the book; this was not the case. Despite that fact, Brown's ability to manipulate the landmarks and add historical details enriches the book. This was a great read for the most part; however, there were some flaws that could have been improved. The "miraculous" ending seemed a little far fetched to the point that it alerted me to the fact that something was wrong with the situation. Seondly, Brown seems to enjoy writing about unbelievably beautiful and intelligent female heroes, as in "Angels & Demons" and "Digital Fortress" which seem to be some sort of fantasy for him because they are practically non-existent. The female hero in "Angels & Demons" would have been more believable if she was uglier. Ending on that unique opinion, "Angels & Demons" will surely knock your socks off and catch you off guard in the end. You could easily finish this book in one week.
Rating: Summary: Hard to put down! Review: I had to read this book as fast as I could--I did not want to stop!! This book and the Da Vinci Code are both totally gripping to the end. Good story, likable hero, interesting ideas raised about the Catholic Church and religion, and engrossing! Make sure you have time set aside to devote to it before you start to read!
Rating: Summary: Good precursor to the DaVinci Code Review: I first read the Da Vinci code which I absolutely loved. I had also read the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Baigent et al and in the mid 80s and was already a believer in the "blessed secret" of the Knights Templar. Dan Brown then weaved a fantastic thriller based on the thesis of that book in the Da Vinci code. Therefore I eagerly bought Angels and Devils when I saw it in the book stores over christmas thinking that this would be even better. It is NOT. The start of the book is disappointing - Dan Brown is a great writer when he is in the realm of history, architecture and religion. However I found his writing on science (the first 100 pages or so) to be woefully inadequate and far fetched ie creation of sustainable and significant quantities of anti matter, planes that fly at Mach 15 etc etc. The dialog between characters is also stilted and immature (I think this is his first book and it shows). Anyway he hits his stride when we leave CERN and enter the Vatican and the book ends up being quite a good read - the double twist at the end is exciting. The other big negative is the Arab "Hassasin" is kept in mystery throughout and also a bit typecast (dark, brooding, muttering in Arabic). The Hassasins were traditionally Shia Muslims in the middle ages who specialized in assasinations (Middle Eastern Ninjas if you may). I think he should have provided some more background of the villain. Overall I would recommend buying the book but lower your expectations if youve read the Da Vinci code.
Rating: Summary: More like 4.4 stars Review: The action in this thriller takes place within 24 hours. A murder takes place at the beginning of the book, and that sets off a chain of events that takes the reader on a fun roller coaster ride. Detective Robert Langdon is called upon to help answer questions regarding a scientist's mysterious death. A secret society is found responsible, and what's worse is that a terrible new threat now looms over Vatican City. The secret society plans to demonstrate their power to the world through the destruction of the Roman church. Robert Langdon must decifer hidden clues to try and stop this sure disaster. Langdon is decrypting symbols and messages racing against time to stop a pre-warned chain of violent attacks from occurring. The characters in this story are developed beautifully. Langdon is interesting because though he's an expert on symbols, art and such, he still gets as confused as anybody would under such pressure-filled situations. The murdered scientist's daughter is an amazing woman as well. She's so smart and graceful. A reporter and his camera woman show the selfish nature of a small sect of press that wants bad things to happen for publicity and fame. The other characters in this book are also interesting and believable. The action gets a little repetitious but it's interesting nonetheless. The ending is a little unbelievable, but many things that occur are unbelievable. I really, really liked the book and recommend it. Another thing I love about the book is that one can learn so much about life and art in that part of world. There's quite a bit of humor as well.
Rating: Summary: loved it more than Da Vinci Code Review: Well, I did. I felt that this was more thrilling and I found plot a lot better. It just suits me better, I guess. If you've read Da Vinci Code, you HAVE to read this one. It's just like getting the same pizza, except with a heck of a lot more toppings and a better taste. Mmmmmm, pizza....
Rating: Summary: Terror in the Vatican Review: Dan Brown's Angels and Demons is a fast-paced detective drama that involves science, art, the Catholic Church, and murder. Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon is the protagonist who finds himself at a Swiss nuclear research facility. It seems a scientist, who specialized in explosive antimatter, has been murdered and the historically infamous society, the Illuminati, is involved. The antimatter has been taken, and Langdon joins the scientist's daughter, Vittoria, on a mad dash through some of Rome's most famous landmarks, in an effort to find it before the Vatican is leveled. If you read "The Da Vinci Code," this plot will be very familiar to you: Robert receives yet another call in the middle of the night, is taken to see a dead man killed by a secret anti-Catholic society, and helps the victim's lovely daughter/granddaughter unravel a series of clues to solve the crime - all at breakneck speed! I liked the plot of Angels and Demons and found much of middle section wonderfully absorbing and tense, as Robert and Vittoria decipher ancient clues and race from place to place in Rome, fast on the heels of a murderer. The beginning of the book, which discusses antimatter, was slow-going for me and the conclusion is way over the top in terms of realism. The timeline was a major stumbling block: Being able to travel great distances across Rome in minutes (even seconds) took away some credibility for me. In spite of the weaknesses, the basic story of Angels and Demons is very exciting and, at times, even spine-tingling. If you have been to Rome, you will enjoy revisiting the city in this book. You'll also learn about the inner workings of the Vatican, how a new Pope is selected, and about the Illuminati, which I found fascinating.
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