Rating: 
Summary: A Good Thriller, not a Great Novel
Review: Dan Brown's story of science vs. religion is sort of a middle-brow "Name of the Rose". An interesting premise pitting a high cult of scientists against a high cult of priests. A pretty good yarn with ancient mystical symbols and opaque Vatican politics and who knows who has infiltrated whom. A romp through Rome --no doubt more enjoyable for readers who have visited the city-- following Galileo and atomic physicists. Not a great novel: Brown is a bit too-charitable to the Vatican, never missing an opportunity to remind readers that Cardinals and Popes are exceptionally compassionate and honorable men who devote their lives to the well-being of mankind. The characters are pretty thin and the dialogue runs to the wooden. But it's a fun thriller. Never too challenging, but interesting and full of little twists
Rating: 
Summary: Dawn of the Dead rip-off
Review: Slacker George Wally Bush is a sophomore at Dallas Baptist University. At night he drives the zamboni machine between periods for the Dallas Stars hockey team. Life is pretty good for George. There's great frat parties, free flowing booze, big beefy burritos, and if he's lucky, a smooch from busty (albeit ditzy) college co-ed Connie. George's world is turned topsy-turvy when the maniacal Physics Professor Ashcroft decides to play God and brings the corpse of University Dean Cheney back to life. The zombie former dean goes on a feeding frenzy, nibbling on nubile co-eds and their dates, thereby turning they themselves into the walking dead. From here the book spirals into common horror fodder. The number of zombies grows exponentially larger with every person consumed. Joining George in his battle against the walking dead are other university students. All are your standard horror movie characters. Tommy is the loyal sidekick prone to the quick inane joke. Rummy is the partier supreme, forced to be honorable in the midst of all the turmoil. Colin is the token African American in their fraternity. You can see his demise coming a mile away when the heroes decide it's wise to split up and search for the evil professor on their own. (Always a bad idea and it's a tired cliché.) This book certainly owes a lot to Dawn of the Dead, and that's not really a bad thing per se. It would make for one of those cheesy Saturday late-late-shows. Something the gang at Mystery Science Theatre 3000 would have spoofed, no doubt. Two stars for the thrilling portion of George mowing down the undead with his Stars zamboni machine. Great visual.
Rating: 
Summary: Keeps you guessing!
Review: This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I could not put it down! It is filled with suspense and plot twists. Just when you think Brown can't possibly add more to this story, he surprises you. He keeps you guessing till the absolute end of this book. I thought I had it figured out several times, but I was way off! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mysteries. Brown has an uncanny ability to mesh fact with fiction. Most of the facts you read about in his books are true. He just put a fictional storyline behind them. It makes the story so believable. If you haven't read this book, you're missing out!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wow, then Huh?
Review: Having read a lot of the hype and controversy surrounding Dan Brown and his most recent work, "The DaVinci Code," I thought I'd start from the beginning with his first novel, "Angels & Demons." I was very favorably impressed--until the last 75 or so pages. Dan Brown takes a studious look at religion and its historical and present-day conflict with science. The two polarities are reflected in Vittoria's father, a Catholic priest and brilliant scientist who invents a method of producing antimatter that supposedly proves the existence of God. When a sample of antimatter is stolen and planted in the Vatican as a bomb, his daughter and a handsome (of course) Harvard symbologist named Robert Langdon attempt to recover it. A trail of clues leads the pair throughout Rome to the lair of the Illuminati, the presumed masterminds behind the plot. The book is filled with great detail about Rome and the inner workings and secrets of the Vatican. In fact, with an election of a new pope probably not far away, Brown's work here provides a good primer about this fascinating process. Unfortunately, I figured out the identity of the anonymous head Illuminatum with about 100 pages to go, just before the plot veers wildly out of control into a series of cartoonish action sequences that almost completely distort the deeper meanings of the book. The final resolution of the plot is contrived and confusing. I think the scientists come out looking one-dimensional and uninspired (many scientists do believe in God) and the tension between science and religion is never resolved, at least to my satisfaction. Still, it's a rollicking read that will keep your attention until the last page. There is a remarkable depth of research in this novel, which is evidence of a writer who takes deep care in his craft. In my opinion, this makes the accusations surrounding "The DaVinci Code" highly dubious, and I do plan to read it.
Rating:
Summary: The first Robert Langdon adventure
Review: This is the first book featuring Robert Langdon, the hero of the super-bestseller "The DaVinci Code", and, in my opinion a kind of Indiana Jones for the 21st century.
In this book Robert is faced with the gristly murders, supposedly commited by Illuminati. And Robert dashes around Rome in a race against time to save Vatican which is literally sitting on a bomb.
This novel has as much information input as the DaVinci Code, but far more action. The pace is good, but sometimes I found that a change from a shoot-out to a lecture on Michelangelo is a little disorienting and somehow stretches suspension of diesbelief ... also the final part of the novel seem to feature a plot turn for every page.
This is a good novel, but the plot is a bit too complex for its own good.
Seems like mr.Brown didn't trust the intellectual discoveries to be interesting enough to keep the reader, so he put in enough action to satisfy a James Bond fan. A minor point - there is a SPLENDID UK cover for this book with a great logo for the title (which nicely ties in with the Illuminati theme within) Go to the amazon-uk and at least look at it ...
Rating:
Summary: The Horror and The Hope
Review: This book was an excellent read; suspenseful and intelligent. The story itself was over the top, but somehow Brown manages to maintain the readers suspension of disbelief. I have no doubt that a great deal of his success stems from the exhaustive research that he put into the book. He deals with little known information about CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire), anti-matter, the Vatican and the Illuminati without dropping the ball. Aside from actual plot, this novel is a fascinating read because of all the intriguing factual information you are given through the narrative. Brown also manages to keep you guessing. Though I figured out certain elements long before they were revealed, there were still surprises waiting for me at the end. I highly recommend this one and I will no doubt be picking up his new release, The Da Vinci Code, in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Another excellent religious thriller from Dan Brown
Review: Angels and Demons is another excellent thriller from Dan Brown, the author of the Da Vinci Code. Once again, Harvard symoboligist Robert Langdon is the hero. Called in the middle of the night, Langdon discovers that a weapon more powerful than anything ever before invented has been stolen from CERN, a small city of scientists always working to further science. Upon arriving there, he discovers that this weapon, antimatter, has been placed somewhere in Vatican City and is set to go off in less than 24 hours. To make matters worse, the Pope died only 10 days ago and now all the cardinals are in Vatican City to elect a new Pope. I won't go into much more detail, but this is a great story. At points in the plot, it borders on ridiculous, but it still a great read. Brown combines an ancient enemy of the Catholic church, the Illuminati, kidnapped cardinals, a weapon more powerful than anything ever seen before, a deadly assasin, and so much more. Rather than give anything away, I will just say that this book is well worth a read. Do not miss Angels and Demons! If you do like this book check out The Da Vinci Code. It has a similar feel, but not as much a thriller as just learning something new about an accepted belief in the Catholic church. Each and every time Dan Brown is able to combine numerous storylines and countless characters to make another fantastic story.
Rating:
Summary: Da Vinci it is not
Review: I read this after having read the Da Vinci Code. It was not as good or as compelling as The Code but it was a cut above most in this genre. Mr. Brown offers us thrillers with a brain. Enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous read
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this book and the Da Vinci Code. Both excellent, intellectual novels. I couldn't put them down!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: With 200+ reviews before me, I don't have too much to add. This was a fantastic book -- one of the best suspense books I have read in a while. The characters were engaging and interesting and the plot made me stay up late into the night to finish the story. I highly recommend this book.
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