Rating: 
Summary: WOW! A TRUE PAGE TURNER!!!
Review: Do not read this book if you like to read a chapter and then put the book down! I lost 10lbs on this book as I rode the exercise bicycle and read.... one more chapter and then I will stop and I kept going! LOL. This is one of the most fantastic thrillers I have ever read!
Rating:
Summary: For Da Vinci Code addicts!
Review: Brown does an excellent job of describing the characters, as well as looking into the hearts and minds of each separate individual to give unique vantage points and emotions as the story progresses. He seems to have done lots of research on the sculptures, artwork and locations involved in the story, and it truly shows in his masterful way of intertwining fact with conspiracy and making a great fiction novel from it all. The basic plot dwells heavily on the 'war' between the logic of science and the faith of religion. This book is a must-read for fans of Brown's Da Vinci Code. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating: 
Summary: Empty but entertaining
Review: This story is as predictable (as another reviewer said) as a made for TV movie. You know most "twists" are coming at least 50 pages before they happen if you even moderately pay attention. The book contained one "shock," and it wasn't much to write home about. The end was somewhat surprising, but only because of the scale of what happened -- you know fairly well in advance what's going on because of deliberate and redundant hints.The beginning of the book contains several glaring errors (involving unrealistic cell phones and stupid security systems). These problems were so dumb and easy to remedy that it really made the rest of the book hard to believe. Brown spends pages drooling over how imposible the Illuminati ambigrams are to produce but was somehow able to include them in his book -- go figure. He credits the artist who drew them for him at the end of the book. While he's busy not getting things right Brown has the chuzpah to use foreign languages without proper translation -- here it's Italian, in Da Vinci Code (which I've just started) it seems to be French. For me, at least, it makes Brown seems arrogant. Knowledge of romance languages seems to be assumed -- I (thankfully) was able to roughly translate most parts. Despite these problems the book somehow remains an entertaining and quick (three-four day) read. He definately knows how to write cliffhangers but just lacks the factual depth to make this sort of "factual" fiction workable. Brown seems to attempting to emulate Michael Crichton, but for some mixture of a scientific, art, and religious crowd. He fails at this, at least from the perspective of a moderately educated (college-age) reader. This book would be good for someone with no scientific background or for someone who is very into religion and science. Otherwise the reader will just get annoyed at Brown's writing.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I don't write reviews for many books I read, but WOW, this one deserves it. Not only did it have a gripping story-line and a fast-paced plot, it had an extremely high IQ. This is definitely must-read you should all pick up. 570 pages seems like nothing when you are finished, longing for more. I haven't read The Da Vinci Code yet, but I picked it up after the first chapter of Angels and Demons.
By the way, to the fool who said the bit about the "triangulating" the camera: No one is impressed. Even if you know what you were talking about, it probably wouldn't work. Leave the logic up to Mr. Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I loved the Da Vinci code, and I loved this book, too, although I think I liked the Da Vinci code more, but still an intense thriller. It just rises in suspense and doesn't slow down till the ending.
Rating:
Summary: No da Vinci code, but a pageturner with a brain
Review: First, this book is a foreshadowing of what Brown gets right in the da Vinci code: conspiracy (or not?) theory, our inherent fascination with religious iconography, our inherent attraction to the Church versus Reason ("Agony and the Ecstasy", et. al). For embracing and weaving these themes Brown gets a plus. Brown also gets a tally in the "good" column for increasing his audience's vocabulary. I like learning about concepts and words like 'ambigram' and similar. So those are the two pluses, so let's move to the no man's land of "Hmmm...not sure I liked ...". I'm not so sure I like his writing style. I read this book in one sitting at a coffee shop, so it was a page turner with some (as I said above) intellect. But...when the story is a page turner it inherently becomes episodic, it loses that grand sweep of narrative that really distinguishes "literature" from "mass market fiction." But the counter to this is, Brown states on his website as elsewhere that he is a big fan of early Ludlum. Ludlum and Tom Clancey are both very episoding page turner writers and this is a sligtly more academically tinged version of their genre, if this is so, then the book is about par for the course. Why am I so rankled about this? Becasue with all his erudition and research I want Brown to write a literary work something that will show his passion and focus to the world - something lasting like the basilicas and cults that he often writes of. This episodic telling is great for airplanes and beaches -- but dammit Dan, stretch a bit and give us what I know you have in you! OK, now the not-so-hot thoughts: - THE ENDING: Convoluted and unnecessarily messy. Oh it's over, no it's not, oh this oh that. Too many plot twists for minimal effect. Brown fixes this in da Vinci. - THE CHARACTERS: First things first, when describing a beautiful woman, have you ever noticed that mail authors always have to put her breasts last, when anyone who credibly writes a man should put them first (or within the top 4 of : Eyes, legs, butt, breast?) Brown is no exception, his Langdon is curidously proper in this regard - Inconsistent mental ability. Sometimes his characters are absolutely brilliant, but other times they are dumber than a box of rocks. It's like how on Gilligan's Island the professor could make a radio out of coconuts, salt water, and dolphin bile, but could not figure out how to make a flare. Langdon unravels eons old mysteries but can't figure out mirror reflection writing (on the up side, he's a bit sharper on the matter in da Vinci) - The characters are rather flat. This improves in da Vincic considerably but the Italian woman (see, you're already getting that same mental cliche that Brown trades on ) is firey, brave, bold.... Brown's addition to the cliche trade is making her smart, ok, good. But she really doesn't feel like anything mor than "mourning mediterranean girl with a vengance". This is probably due to the episodic character of the book. All in all, I enjoyed the book, but da Vinci code is a much stronger effort.
Rating:
Summary: A thriller!!!
Review: I have been looking for a good thrilling book, fast pace and intelligent book to read. I was skeptical when my friend recomend this book and said the vatican was part of the plot and I thought another anti-christian book!! But it is far from that and it was a really really good book. Once I get in the middle, I could not put that book down. While Dan Brown research is amazing, I think the book retain his fictional characteristic. I did not go crazy and believe that is a real and actual event like other reviewers. But it does make you wonder and asked questions. This book was refreshing and I would recomand it to anyone who loves a bood reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Derailed by Errors
Review: I did finish reading this book, but only through a supreme act of will. I lost my last shred of enthusiasm when Langdon and Vetra are just as puzzled as the Swiss Guard about how to find a plastic container of antimatter viewed by a WIRELESS camera. Get it "wireless" camera? Such a device broadcasts a signal to its base station where the information is assembled into the frames which display on the screen.
That being said the entire plot should have disolved in the first few chapters by shutting down all of the other cameras and triangulating the one pointed at the antimatter. No big deal.
That error made the remaining issues (continuity, character, excessive foreshadowing) stand out starkly.
I have yet to decide whether to pick up "The DaVinci Code..." probably not.
Rating:
Summary: The Galileo Code?
Review: Happening in just about 24 hours, 'Angels and Demons' packs more action into 569 pages than is humanly possible. Yet, after completing the book, none of it seems ludicrous; all the neoclassical unities of time, place, and action are fulfilled in a realistic manner. As in Brown's 'The DaVinci Code' (the action in 'Angels and Demons' precedes that book), the protagonist is Robert Langdon, an academic symbologist who is called upon to solve a murder: a Catholic priest-scientist who is branded on the chest with a cryptic symbol reminiscent of the Illuminati, a group of anti-religious fanatics. Langdon is joined by the priest-scientist's adopted daughter, Vittoria, who worked closely with her father in the development of anti-matter, a substance with limitless possibilities. When Langdon and Vittoria discover that some of the anti-matter has been stolen, and possibly taken to the Vatican to destroy it, off they go, and within a few hours are embroiled in Vatican politics: it's time to elect a new pope, and the four leading candidates have been kidnapped. The only way to stop the destruction of the Vatican, find the missing cardinals before they are murdered, and literally save the day, is for Langdon to figure out, with the help of Galileo's 'Diagramma' (annotated by Milton) where the papal candidates are before they are murdered by the Illuminati. To say more would spoil all the twists and turns of the plot. However, it is appropriate to add that Langdon is no superhero with all the answers: he is a very human, flawed protagonist and doesn't always get it right the first time. There's a huge twist at the end that a reader will know is coming, but the details and the climax are still riveting. This is just as good as the better known 'DaVinci Code', and I think even more exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Check your brain at the door and try to enjoy the ride
Review: Dan Brown ascribes to Robert Langdon, the protagonist of "Angels & Demons", an "'erudite' appeal." Unfortunately, the work in which Mr. Langdon resides does not share this characteristic. Brown has created a novel that reads like a made-for-TV-movie script, complete with cliff-hanging commercial breaks. This would be fine, had Brown given himself over to such an endeavor. He did not. With a patronizing nod to his more intelligent readers, Brown liberally doses the text with lengthy philosophical monologues and pointed flashbacks. These only serve to bog down the rest of the 'thrill a minute' prose and seem very much out of place. Additionally, apparently not trusting the perceptivity of his readers, Brown adds foreshadowing with the subtlety of a billy club. His brute force attempts at guiding readers' perceptions are lacking in conviction, allowing the plot (including the final, obvious, twist) to quickly become transparent. Despite these failings, "Angels & Demons" makes for a fun read. Akin to an action film, once the reader has put his or her brain to sleep, blissfully ignoring some of the more glaring issues, they are dragged along on Brown's roller coaster. Bludgeoned by plot twists and battered by less than shocking revelations, they follow Langdon toward the inevitable, heroic end. Readers looking for such a tale will be more than satisfied. Those looking for a more intelligent, less assuming text would be advised to look elsewhere.
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