Rating: 
Summary: Riveting, Thrilling, Suspenseful
Review: Angels and Demons is one suspense packed thriller that you just can't put down! Dan Brown has managed to combine The Vatican, the secret brotherhood of the Illuminati, murder, assassins, the Swiss research facility - CERN, a Harvard symbologist, stolen antimatter, a dead priest / physicist's daughter who helped develop the antimatter, the Swiss Guard, and super high speed aircraft, (from Boston to Switzerland in 1 hour! ) all in a race against time.This book is riveting, as the plot thickens and intensifies and I found myself "peeking" into the next chapter - something I NEVER do! The suspense was too much - but excellent! I just could not put this book down and had to let everything fall around me as I raced to finish all 430 pages! The ending will blow you totally away - and just when you think you had it all figured out - It will stun you! I found the history of the Vatican, the information on the conclave in electing a pope, as well as all of the history, combined with the history of the Illuminati totally fascinating. My interest never waned throughout this fast-paced, compelling story. I really don't want to retell the story, as you can read it in the above editorial review. Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of religious iconology and Vittoria Vetra, a physicist are in a race against time to save Vatican City from a diabolical plot - revenge and hatred from the ancient brotherhood of the Illuminati against the Catholic Church. With the Pope murdered, the four favored bishops are found missing from the conclave. At precise intervals, the Illuminati inform the Vatican that the bishops will be murdered. It is up to Langdon and Vittoria to try and figure out the "clues" from the Illuminati and save the bishops. But not only are they trying to save the bishops, they are also trying to save the entire Vatican, as stolen antimatter is hidden somewhere inside the Vatican. Time is also running out as the antimatter has the capacity to level the entire city. Antimatter "is the most powerful energy source known to man. A single gram of antimatter contains the energy of a 20-kilotin nuclear bomb - the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima." You will find this book totally fascinating and incredibly compelling. You easily get caught up in the story and with the factual basis of the battle between science and religion. Dan Brown had managed to interweave the two into one non-stop thriller that will take your breath away. Check out his website as well - very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Multifaceted Jewel of a Book
Review: This is the first book I have read by Mr. Brown. It will not be the last. I have just downloaded Digital Fortress. This book touched upon a plethora of controversial themes; The Vatican and the ancient mysterious workings of the Catholic faith therein, the centuries old satanic cult of the Illuminati, the marriage between science and intellectual morals, responsibility and profit. Dan Brown touched upon all of these themes in a very subtle and compassionate way without making the book in itself controversial. Hidden underneath these heavy topics is the real story that makes this book the great work that it is. Expertly woven within the tapestry of this intense thriller lies the classic theme of love, respect, and mutual understanding. I highly recommend that you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Angels and Demons a Perfect Beach Read
Review: Not being a professional reviewer but an avid reader I found Angels and Demons to be a great read and since I was on vacation when I read it, I titled my review a Perfect Beach Read. Mr. Brown has been able to tackle a number of complex subjects, yet bring them all together in a logical, cohesive and credible manner to derive an exciting edge of your seat thriller. One of the criteria I have for book enjoyment is the idea of giving up some other function or task just to be able to finish the book I am reading. Such was the case with Angels and Demons. The little extra sunburn I got was worth it. This book is a perfect James Bond/Indian Jones type thriller. If you are looking for an adventure story set in the Vatican amidst religion, politics and science then Dan Brown has done a grade A job of doing so and will provide the reader with a great story.
Rating: 
Summary: A genuine page-turner
Review: Harvard professor Robert Langdon and CERN scientist Vittoria Vetra have just one night to prevent the Vatican from being destroyed by an antimatter bomb. Can they do it? Of course. But the fun lies in how and why. A sample of antimatter has been stolen from physics center CERN by the Illuminati -- the all-powerful group made so famous by Robert A. Wilson's books. Here, they are represented as being an ancient order of scientists upset with the way the Church has treated science and scientists. (Me, I always liked the bankers-as-secret-force or blood-relatives-of-Jesus explanation of the Illuminati, but this will do.) This provides for plenty of science vs. religion conversations, and Brown does a good job with them. ANGELS AND DEMONS is a fast, but satisfying read. It rolls along unstoppably, not the least of which because the action takes place over a 24-hour span. Even if -- as I did -- you guess what's really happening half-way through the book, you'll never guess what happens in the last 40 pages. The book is laced with fun facts about electing a pope and the Vatican, like that St. Peter's bones are not in the golden casket in St. Peter's Basilica, but two stories under it. Brown knows the layout. And that the artist Raphael's last name was Santi. He also knows how marble statues were carved. Brown's no Irving Stone (THE AGONY AND THE ECSTACY), but he does manage to inform without being pedantic. As Vittoria and Langdon race around Rome, we get quite a tour, with great descriptions. (Pick up a paperback copy next summer and bring it to Rome. Take the Brown tour.) What's interesting is that all the places and pieces of art in this book really exist. So Brown has played a version of the Sherlockians' Great Game by linking them all with his "history" of the Illuminati and their doings. No small feat. Several of the plot elements have to be taken with a grain of salt. First, there is the fact that everyone in this book is absolutely amazed by amibgrams (these are words which can be ready the same upside-down as right-side up -- the book's dust jacket has the title in ambigram). They play an important role in the story, and everyone who encounters them is practically struck dumb the fact that even exist. They "seem utterly impossible." I guess no one else in the story (including symbol expert Langdon) remembers that OMNI magazine ran an ambigram contest in the 1980s and published dozens of the thousands of entries they received, I imagine that by now there must be a software program or web site that can make them for you (and make an acrostic that spells out your girlfriend's name). In short: they aren't that amazing. Then there are things like the fact that Vittoria (a physicist) isn't familiar with the classical four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Come on. Great literature? No, but you sure keep turning the pages to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: Hold On To Your Seat!
Review: Angels & Demons is a thriller in every sense of the word. Make sure you have plenty of spare time on your hands when you start this because I guarantee you won't get much done until you finish it! I was even tempted to take it with me in the car so I could read a paragraph or two at stoplights! This novel shows the efforts of a truly creative writer and bears the results of something you don't see very often in a thriller: Research. I enjoyed the discriptions of Vatican City and the Secret Archives of the Vatican, as well as the Necropolis. It's not often you learn something historical in a thriller. The mixture of science and religion is truly fascinating, as is the inclusion of the secret society angle and the artwork of the ambigram. I couldn't recommend this book any higher. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Look Out Umberto Eco!
Review: Dan Brown's Angels and Demons combines the intricate connections of Foucault's Pendulum with a pacing that will keep you from sleeping, eating, and from any basic social interaction. An impressive accomplishment!
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling adventure
Review: Angels and Demons is a thoroughly engaging thriller. It's one of those wonderful books that grabs your attention right at the start and takes you on a wild ride all the way to the end, while keeping you tethered to reality with fantastic factoids. At times the action left me breathless, if not squirming with anticipation, like a great rollercoaster ride. Just when I started to relax the action would take a sharp turn and leave me hanging by my well-gnawed fingernails. Don't try to read this if you have any other plans or you'll never get to them. This is a real page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: Galileo, Milton, Bernini, Raphael, Cecil Rhodes, George Bush
Review: And the list of names above is just a sample of historical figures that play a part in this tale that moves almost as quickly as the corporate plane from CERN. When I first saw the book and the clever cover I thought it was a gimmick, and generally books with a hologram or in this case an ambigram or other device to get your attention I tend to find disappointing. In this case that feeling could not be further from the truth. If you really enjoy reading a book that is a meticulously assembled puzzle, or perhaps an enigma that is at once high-tech and 500 years old, this book is for you. If you enjoy the misdirection that a Charles Palliser novel offers you will enjoy this. As I read this Author for the first time I was reminded of the first Robert Ludlum book I read "The Matarese Circle". And like that reading experience I now will go back and read the Author's previous work "Digital Fortress." Religion versus Science, Galileo versus The Vatican, or perhaps The Illuminati versus Catholicism, or is it religion? Interested in how you can learn the truth of the tale? How about your wallet, have a dollar bill?, good place to start. A book on Bernini's work will help; one of the main characters in the book needed one. Perhaps a map of Rome, or of the smallest Country in the world, actually you need none of these as the Author provides all you could want. A dollar bill as a bookmark will add to the fun. This is an extremely well researched work that relies on facts, turns its back on cheap literary sleight of hand, and will deliver to the reader a great experience. Do you know from where the word Assassin is derived from? I do, and I have seen other Authors botch this, Mr. Brown gets it correct. There are other details like that that I was familiar with and he nailed them all accurately. This inspires confidence as a reader when he introduces a topic you are unfamiliar with. I chose to check on several of those, and again the information in the story was dead on accurate. I normally don't check the details of a book this closely, as this book was suggested to me I felt I needed to do so in light of how highly I was to rate the work. I had no obligation to read or comment upon the work. If you enjoy a great literary ride for pure pleasure think of the better books by Ludlum, Clancy, Dale Brown, Forsythe, LeCarre, and their peers in the genre and you will enjoy this book. And when the book is finished the experience can and should be extended. The book also has an associated website. I won't say what is there, as it will spoil the book. However when reviewed after the reading is complete it makes the whole "Angels And Demons" experience even better. Doubt a detail in the book; the site will probably lay it to rest. But again, book first, site second. I am sure others will copy this bundling of the web with a book, I only hope it as well done as in this case. I recommend the book without reservation. As I said "Digital Fortress" has been added to my reading list. Very well done, enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Brown has written one of the best summer books of the year!
Review: Just finished Angels & Demons, and Dan Brown has made a book that entertains just as much as it teaches. As a history major, it is hard to find books that contain a little historical truth, much less a lot of it. Brown has done that, and more. A&D gives a history lesson rivaling those taught in any Ivy league school, yet carries the reader on a multitude of hair-pin turns and thrill rides through Rome. The twists come right after another, culminating in a climax that is second to none. Anyone who has an interest in the Vatican, the mysteries it holds within its crypts and vaults, or just plain loves a good thriller, A&D is the book for you. Excellent summer book to take to the beach, but bring the suntan oil, you won't be moving for quite a while.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: If you want to read one book this year that will keep you so entertained, you'll not be able to stop reading (cliche'd but true), this is it. The surprises in store for the readers is amazing. Simply one of the best adventures of the year (so far). Highly recommended...
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