Rating: 
Summary: Exciting story, edge of your seat action, flawed theology.
Review: This book is actually the prequel to the Da Vinci Code, his recent bestseller. The writing is wonderful, and the action comes at you in a blur. Brown is very adept at writing stories that move at an incredible pace. This entire book takes place essentially in 24 hours. The action is from the perspective of a Harvard symbol scholar named Robert Langdon. This is a book that is hard to put down. The hook comes in the first few pages when Robert is called in the middle of the night about a murder of a scientist at a top secret Swiss thinktank. This places him in the middle of terrorism and a plot by a once thought extinct group called the Illuminati who are out to destroy Vatican City and the Catholic Church. The action is great, reminiscent of Indiana Jones, and the plot keeps you on the edge throughout. The only flaw is the theology used. The way Brown weaves into the story a one-sided view of religion, Christianity in particular, mares an otherwise excellent effort. One excellent point that was made within the story was that science cannot really answer any of the important questions about purpose and meaning. To be fair, his not so subtle jabs at faith are mostly up front in the story and reflect the views of the lead character. That said, Brown seems to get all of his information on religion from atheists, conspiracy theorists, and pseudo-scholars. Other than the absurd and very flawed theological constructs he tries to weave into the story this is a well-written book and a blast to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great ending
Review: Like most readers, I came to this after reading The DaVinci Code. The parallels with DaVinci Code are obvious: the two are cut from the same cloth. Coming to this earlier work later, however, it did seem to pale slightly by comparison: DaVinci Code has perhaps more purely intellectual nuggets, and is even more thought provoking. Though dealing with weighty thematic topics, it is none the less more of a straightforward action story: think Michael Chricton plotboiler, with familiar themes of technology run amok found in some of Chricton's work. The last 80 or so pages featured one plot twist after another. I will not spoil them for you by going on. But if you loved DaVinci you will also enjoy Angels & Demons; if you thought DaVinci was stilted & pretentious (as a handful of people with whom I have discussed it felt), you still might like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Thought-Provoking and Highly Entertaining
Review: Like many people I missed this when it was first published and read it after enjoying "The Da Vinci Code". Obviously when writing that later book, Dan Brown didn't want to waste a good formula because there are a number of similarities between the two books. Both of them involve puzzles, clues, riddles; both have a mysterious figure lurking in the background; both of them have love interests for our hero, Robert Langdon, who have just suffered the loss of a father-figure. However, while some of the framework is the same for the books, that didn't take away any of the interest. "Angels and Demons" is really a more spiritually challenging book than "The Da Vinci Code" which was a more intellectual puzzle. It focuses on the battle between religion and science - specifically the Vatican versus CERN - for the hearts and minds of the people. It's always difficult to review these kinds of books without giving away the plot since that is the major attraction here! However, I think it's fairly safe to give an outline (stop here if you don't want to know anything!): A scientist who has been working on anti-matter at CERN has been killed and branded with a mysterious mark implicating a group who were thought to have died out years ago. Robert Langdon, famed for his work on religious symbology, is brought in to help and quickly finds himself in Rome on the track of this ancient group. Meanwhile the Pope has died and the cardinals have gathered to elect a new one. Strangely the favorite four candidates have gone missing and a warning about a bomb planted in the vatican is creating problems for the Swiss Guards. Obviously it's up to our hero to get to the bottom of all of this and try to prevent the destruction. Dan Brown manages to throw red herrings, gotchas and clues up in the air like nobody else. Just when you think you have it solved there's another twist which, though sudden, is totally expected once you've seen it. Magical! This is a great thriller for anyone interested in mysteries of any kind.
Rating:
Summary: Non Stop Action!
Review: Pick a cozy spot to read and get ready to go on an adventure! Dan Brown takes you on an incredible journey to another fascinating country (like Paris in the DaVinci Code) where mystery and horror are combined to make a non-stop action thriller! Just when you think you figured out the twist Dan Brown brings it to another level...boggling the mind. This is a definite must read and keep for your personal library! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: could not put the book down!!
Review: Wow.. what can I say. This was my first Dan Brown book and it was awesome! He uses alot of history and facts in his books and it was all very accurate. It reminds me of my trip to Italy.. anyways this book is super fast paced and I had to read it until I finished it. Took me all of 3 days reading it at night after work. I look forward to reading his other books!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best authors ever
Review: If you don't like books that you can't put down don't read Dan Brown. If you're like the rest of us, who love great research and mind blowing twists, then you'll love: Angles & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and the rest of Dan Brown's works.
Rating:
Summary: Very Cool
Review: I happen to like religous controversy which is maybe why I loved this and the Da Vinci Code. Although not quite as good as the Da Vinci Code, this book is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, But DA VINCI way better
Review: I recently finished The Da Vinci code, and I have to say this was one of the most intriguing and suspenceful books I have ever read. I enjoyed this book alot, and I heard there was another book with Robert Langdon. So I went and got Angels and Demons, and started to try it. I love the way the author writes and I really like Robert Langdon, but I cant help but feel , that Angels and Demons isnt the same as DA VINCI.Didnt give off the same feeling. It was great, I read it in a good 14 hours, but sometimes I wanted to stop and pick up another book. He( Dan Brown ) fails to get the same groove in this book as he did with Da Vinci..... its a great read, but nothing like his bestseller.
Rating:
Summary: BEST EVER!
Review: Being an avid reader of mysteries, thrillers, and fiction, I can honestly say that Angels and Demons is the best non-literary book I have ever read. I read the The Di Vinci Code and enjoyed it. So, I got Brown's first book and I could not put it down. I found it to be to a total page-turner. I learned alot about the history of the Vatican, the Illuminati, Bernini, and Rome. After finishing the book, I am eager to learn more about the above subjects.
Brown's hero, Robert Langdon, is very likable and a good person to center a book around. If you want a fantastic read, want a "got to finish it, can't wait for the next chapter" buy this book. Scale of 1-10, a 20!
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this when cannot afford to go without sleep
Review: The Adobe E-book reader is how I read it on a tablet PC. The PC's little CPU fan was laboring furiously as tablet PCs tend to overheat after hours of use :) I couldn't predict the book, and I'm pretty good at figuring out plots. The ending is truely twisted, and yet so believable. This book is graphic and grisley; the images are vivid, horrific, and show just how cruely one man may take the life of another. Don't read this unless you can handle this. What amazes me the most is the depth of research that must have been performed to create this book. My scientific knowledge is fairly decent. Matter and Anti-matter reactions may very well leapfrog nuclear fusion if this book is correct. I'm only giving away a tidbit of the early part of the books, so don't worry. What is also amazing is that no matter what is true and what is made up, everything comes across as believable, interwoven, and integrated at a level that is very unusual for a work of fiction. Add a real plot, with real characters, and only a tiny weakness in the love story development and a suspence thriller par-excellant is the result. Enjoy the book. Do not plan on sleeping.
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