Rating: 
Summary: Not the best, not the worst
Review: "Angels and Demons" features a pre-Da-Vinci-Code Robert Langdon attempting to solve a murder mystery with implications reaching all the way to the papacy in Rome. As such it is very well done; it is very readable and entertaining, with a somewhat clever climax that was tough to predict. At the same time, the book is very cheesy with shallow characterisation. The Hassassin is nothing more than the same type of hulking idiot as the murderer in TdVC, Langdon is an inept neurotic who always happens to figure everything out at the last minute, and the popes wander around Vatican City like in a scared huddle like a group of teenage girls. The best thing about this book is the interesting theme throughout of the eternal fight between science and religion, and how far the Vatican will go to make sure technological breakthroughs never make people question their faith. If you're looking for an easy read (without the religious controversy of TdVC) then this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: predictable, but fun
Review: for those of you who liked the davinci code, this will be a fun read. d&a is terrible literature, like davinci, but is a fun read. it follows the same general formula, but has a couple different twists, and has more of that is-it-true-or-not church history. okay, so you generally know how itll end.. but whatever. its still fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent plot and very fast paced
Review: Even though this book was written prior to The DaVinci Code, it didn't become a phenomenon until after DaVinci had been on the bestseller list for quite a while. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (central character from DaVinci) is intoduced here. Once again Brown delves into secret societies, this time in Vatican City. Very exciting plot and quite fast paced. Requires some suspension of disbelief, but very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: a fun read
Review: Let me begin by saying that _Angels and Demons_ is not as riveting as _The Da Vinci Code_; if you are expecting lightning to strike twice, you will be disappointed. However, the prequel to _The Da Vinci Code_ is a good book, with a decent plot and a story line that will keep your attention.The story centers around the creation of "anti-matter" and its potential to be used as an energy source with a tremendous capacity to destroy as well. A large quantity of anti-matter has been stolen, obstensibly by the ancient and secret order of the Illuminati, who seek to destroy the Vatican. (Yes, the Catholic church again has a prominent role in this book as well.) The search is on for the location of the anti-matter while the clock ticks away the seconds before its detonation. As a story, _Angels and Demons_ has its merits: there is some plausability to it, and the landmarks around Rome are very much as Brown describes them. The "countdown to the end" is a bit forced and contrived, and about 3/4 through the book a careful reader can figure out who the "bad guy" is. Nonetheless its an entertaining read. Not nearly as good as _The Da Vinci Code_, but worthy of attention.
Rating:
Summary: The ending is spectacular
Review: I do agree with many of the reviews of this book that state that character development and depth in this novel is lackluster at best. Also, I find that Dan Brown has a problem with fleshing out beleivable action sequences (at least in this one, which is the only one I've read of his). However, these shortcomings are vastly outshadowed by a fantastic plot, and a an absolutly stunning and unpredictable ending. If the ending is what makes a story good, then this book is a masterpiece. Also, the theories and ancient secrets that are revealed in this book will make even the most stubborn non-believer into a paranoid conspiracy theorist, for a little while anyway. I highly reccomend this awesome book, and if not for its few problems, would have easily recieved a 5-star rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Deja vu
Review: Enjoyed the history and religion which are woven into the story very much. But I liked it better the first time when it was called the Divinci Code. (Yes, I know this one was written before, but I read it later.) The exact, and I mean the exact, same formula.
Rating:
Summary: Some "facts"
Review: Despite what some of the reviews say, I think the "facts" in this book are fairly well researched and often true, though not always. For instance, the "Hassassins" were indeed named after "hashish" and not the other way around, as one of the reviewers claimed, the word "hashish" being Arabic for "dried herb" and "hashishiyyin" meaing "hashish smokers". The physics, unfortunately, is not quite right. Though CERN is a lab that really exists in Geneva Switzerland (see http://www.cern.ch), and while it is true that they recently succeeded in creating the first antimatter "atoms", the technology is NEVER going to lead to any antimatter bomb or new sources of energy. First, CERN was not the first to create antimatter. Antimatter is fairly easy to create and has been created at loboratories worldwide for decades for use in particle physics experiments. What CERN succeeded in doing recently is to combine an anti-proton with a position (an anti-electron) to create the first anti-Hydrogen atom. Second, antimatter cannot be a new source of energy since you need as much energy to create them as you would get out of them. It's a simple consequence of the conservation of energy.
It's also not a "clean" energy source either. When antimatter annhilates with matter, it can create, in addition to photons, lots of other nasty radiation which can be quite dangerous. (That is why they are useful in particle physics experiments. Annhilating antimatter with matter will let the physicists create lots of new kinds of particles.) Other facts about CERN: 1) The LHC really exists. Well, not quite yet since it is still under construction at CERN. It really will be 27km long in circumference when completed. The 27km long tunnel which houses it used to contain another machine called LEP which was also 27km in circumference. It had to be dismantled to make room for the LHC. 2) The accelerator tunnel is a very dangerous place to be in when the machine is running. You will be fried by radiation in a second. Due to this danger, access to the accelerator tunnel is strictly controlled. You cannot just walk in and out of it as in the novel. No one in their right mind would create a secret lab that has to be accessed via the LHC tunnel. Though no one will be able to steal anything from it, you won't be able to go there either. 3) Particle accelerators are very expensive machines, not only to construct but also to run since it requires a lot of electricity. It is also usually running 24 hours a day to accummulate as much data as possible. All of its running time is dedicated to large experiments run by thousands of physicists and technicians. Just two people cannot do experiments with it with no one else knowing what they are doing. 4) The real director of CERN does not have the kind of power the ficticious director has in the novel. He is usually very busy negotiating with the European governments for funding. He cannot allocate resources to secret projects or personnal X33 business jets. 5) CERN is indeed the birthplace of the World Wide Web. Anyway, even though the physics in this book is mostly science fiction, who really cares? I though it was enjoyable and a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumbing Down The BSL
Review: I've noticed that this book has spent weeks on the Best Seller List. That seemed to be a good recommendation for reading it. That was a faulty assumption, and one I will not make again. The premise of Angels and Demons had a lot going for it. A combination of The Illuminati, The Vatican, physics, the Masons, symbology... this could have been a very interesting, even informative, book. I will say that it probably does qualify as a page turner in the same way that a children's pop-up book encourages turning the next page quickly to see what leaps up from the book next. However, this is somewhat of an insult to children's pop-up books since most I've seen are better written and have better thought out and researched plots than Angels and Demons has. I understand that Angels and Demons is the prequel to The Da Vinci Code. That too has spent a remarkable amount of time on the best seller list, and after reading Angels and Demons I have to wonder how this could have happened. The person at the core of both books, Robert Langdon, has no substance and possesses powers in Angels and Demons that would make The Hulk greener with envy. I don't think, outside of a comic book, I have ever read about a character who is less realistic than Robert Langdon. How he attacks the various challenges in the plot of Angels and Demons varies from predictable to idiotic to downright hilarious. I gave this book 2 stars because of that page turner thing, but I would definitely not recommend it to anyone who enjoys something above the level of a mediocre Golden Book.
Rating:
Summary: Great read and a lot of fun!
Review: I enjoyed this book even more than The Da Vinci Code, because after reading The Da Vinci Code, I was used to Brown's wild imagination and roller coaster plotting. Like The Da Vinci Code, Brown mixes fact and fiction into a thrill a minute mystery that will leave you amazed at his ingenuity and breathless at the fast pace. Sure, his science is a little weak and his history is often a stretch, but his inside view of the Vatican is wonderful and his appreciation for art and art history are an education in themselves. Whenever he seems to stretch his facts too thin, just tell yourself "it's only a story" and enjoy the ride. It's a lot of fun!
Rating: 
Summary: This is not a novel.
Review: This is not a novel. It is not even a book. It is a tedious description of a video game. Dan Brown writes so terribly that he is beyond criticism. No adjective - no, string of adjectives - is too trite or cliché for him to throw in. All I can hope is that Mr. Brown made so much money off this mess of a book that he need not ever write another.
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