Rating: Summary: Science vs. Religion. Review: The war between science and religion has been raging for centuries. The argument is essentially a battle over what constitutes 'real' knowledge. This is an epistemological conflict between the rational, irrational and the spiritual. Religion has provided guidance, morality and hope in a predominately meaningless existence. However, in modern times, our faith in a power greater than ourselves has waned considerably, particularly in traditional religions. Our new God is science. Or so the argument proposes. Science has given us means to heal the sick on a grand scale and like never before. Technology has given us the means to feed an entire planet, though ironically, the powers that be choose other ways to use this knowledge. The vast majority of the planet continues to starve. The further irony, though, is that since the renaissance, religion and science have been pitted against each other in a play for power over the undiscerning masses. The arguments in each camp are certainly compelling. ~Angels and Demons~ addresses this argument in a modern context. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to read, 'The Da Vinci Code', another Dan Brown thriller, will be acquainted with the lead character, Robert Langdon. As a Harvard art historian and expert of ancient symbols, the CEO of the largest and most important science facility in the world contacts him. A gruesome murder has been committed. One of the lead scientists has been found dead with a grisly brand burned into his chest. Langdon is reluctant to get involved until a fax is sent to him of the murder scene. Branded on the victims chest is an ancient symbol that read: 'Illuminati'. What draws Langdon in is that the symbol is an ambigram, a perfectly symmetrical word that can be read both ways. Academics had been arguing for centuries over this very symbol's existince. And as an expert on the Illuminati, Langdon knows that they were and are the sworn enemies of the Chatholic Church. What is surprising about this novel is that Brown has managed to bring together a huge subject into a highly entertaining read. Another reviewer called him a juggler of disparate themes though he doesn't drop a ball. This novel is a riveting read with many switches and turns from start to finish. This is five star material.
Rating: Summary: well, maybe 3 and half Review: Yah, sad, isn't it. Why do all the women have to be so beautiful? Vittoria's beauty was irrelevant to the plot. All these beautiful people in books just makes me want to crawl under a rock sometimes... :-) Now, I'm a little annoyed with a couple things in this book. First of all, if they were travelling at mach 15, and Geneva is only 3600 miles from Boston, it wouldn't have taken an hour. Secondly, if Vittoria is such a smart physicist, why should Langdon be surprised that she knows that 503 in Roman numerals is DIII? Or don't they teach that stuff at school any more??? Ugh! Granted that I'm a mathematician, but still !!! I found those little errors to be extremely distracting to me. (I hate to admit it, but I spent half an hour complaining to my neighbour!) But I guess it didn't bother others too much. Now, I did appreciate the reference to Star Trek, since I'm a trekkie, but surely more people have heard of anti-matter than the book seems to imply? Or is Langdon a person with such narrow interests that he only sticks to his own little field? In this day and age? I don't think that's too realistic. Or maybe it is, but you wouldn't want a major charactor like that, would you? Look, I'm a mathematician, but I'm also interested in languages, cooking, music, literature, etc. I don't claim expertise, but the point is that there's a wide variety of things I'm interested in and read about. So I'd expect a Harvard professor to be more catholic in his interests. (Yes, pun intended... :-) catholic in the sense of broadnesss....) And might I also point out that not all scientists find it hard to have a place in their hearts for religion. But I will say that on the whole at least the action is entertaining, and certainly very fast paced. Should be a good movie.... (Maybe that's the problem. Seems like these days so many authors write with movie scenes in mind.... Some of the details that bother me may well not show up in a movie.)
Rating: Summary: What a ride! Review: This rocket propelled novel starts off at mach 10 and only slows down a little bit to help the reader fully absorb new plot twists. Before I knew it, I was on page 150. Absolutely thrilling! Dan Brown's mix of little known historical facts and little known technological wonders is breathtaking. After finishing the book, I felt compelled to do a little independent research on the many historical references. Not surprisingly, the author was spot on every time. And the way Brown intertwined the historical references was genius. I finished this book faster than any other book I've read and rushed right out to buy "The DiVinci Code" (the sequel). This is the first book review I've written. I just can't help but recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Rating: Summary: What a terrible writer! Review: I wish I could assign less than one star. I bought this because I wanted to start with the earlier books before reading the DaVinci Code. I'm assuming that the writing is much better in his later books. The triteness of his prose, the lack of continuity (where was the editor?) and his undeveloped characters with their stitled dialogues made me abandon my efforts to read the entire book. Umberto Eco he's not. Suspending belief is one thing, but you would have to suspend any expectation of good literature to read this. I have too many specific complaints to list here. Don't waste your time, even for a beach read.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding with problems at the finish Review: The build up of this novel is excellent. The details of the Path of Illumination were engrossing --although I share one other reviewer's annoyance at Langdon's propensity for remembering (not discovering) critical facts just in the nick of time. The appearance of a CERN-operated X-33 Mach 15 aircraft is a nifty, if totally unbelievable plot device. The details inside the Vatican and in Rome are enthralling. Too many characters are two dimensional. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the story is just too fantastic to be believable and drags my rating down, although I still gave it four stars (barely!).
Rating: Summary: Wow - amazingly bad Review: I read "The Da Vinci Code" a few weeks back and was blown away by the pace, the style, and the fun I had reading it. So ... I decided to try his earlier novel. It's practically the same story! So how could this one be so bad and Da Vinci be so good? I'm still trying to figure it out. This one has such a formulaic feel to it that it becomes insulting. And what is with the exclamation point?!! Earth! Wind! Fire! Water! And sometimes, question marks followed by exclamation marks?!! This guy has read one too many Robert Ludlum novels.
Rating: Summary: Holy Smoke! Review: Despite historical and factual errors, this thriller does move fast and kept my interest until it's outlandish, ridiculous ending. The characters and dialog are cartoonish at best, but this isn't serious fiction, just a silly romp. In fact, it's very, very funny at times. The author's acknowledgements at the end are a real hoot in themselves. Based on this opus, I think I'll skip his latest blockbusting triumph.
Rating: Summary: Cardboard characters, interesting information Review: The idea has a lot going for it - the execution is poor. The only reason I finished it was to read about the sites in Rome and their history. This reminded me of Clive Cussler - male series character, new woman in every book, obligatory relationship. Ian Fleming did it better. Nowadays the females get interesting professions but it's really their appearance and attraction that get the attention. There isn't any character development that is shown rather than told. The villain became obvious fairly early on. The last couple chapters involve a twist that seems written in according to formula. I had high hopes for this. The author obviously has a lot of knowledge and good plot ideas. The writing, however, is so flawed that it robbed the book of any charm.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful Book -- Intelligent & Interesting Review: I purchased both Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code. I decided to read Angels & Demons first because one of the reviews on this site mentioned that DaVinci Code was much better. So I figured I didn't want to finish the books on a low note, and started with this one. But boy was I in for a surprise---I absolutely loved this book. It was thrilling, intelligent, educational, and thought-provoking. And if this was the weaker of the two, then I can't wait to pick up The DaVinci Code next!!
Rating: Summary: Wow! Review: I don't usually read mystery novels but recently I had read the Da Vinci Code, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I picked up this one. I loved it! Mr. Brown keeps you guessing. There is so much going on but it is never confusing. I could not put this down. I was about 75 pages from the end at 10:30 one night and had to finish the rest before I could go to sleep...I just could not imagine putting it down without knowing the solution. You will love this book!
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