Rating: 
Summary: fuhgettaboutit
Review: i did not care for this book. DA VINCI CODE was wonderful. pass this one up.
Rating: 
Summary: Angels and Demons
Review: Angels and Demons is definitly a good choice for anyone who likes action thrillers. the book was fast paced and was nothing but non stop action. from the first page the book had me hooked but i kind of wish i would have found out about this book before i read the sequal da vinci code. Robert Langdon takes you on a non stop adventure as he tries to unravel the mystery of 4 murdered cardinals. Each cardinal is branded with a different ancient symbol that leads langdon on his quest. Langdon searches all over Rome to stop the destruction of the city. The ending is awesome and it will keep you guessing the whole time.
Rating: 
Summary: Picking on Robert Langdon
Review: I have to admit, this book kept me on the edge for a long time. I enjoyed the plot, and ended up finishing it in three days. However, there are other errors in the book that irk me aside from the Latin and historical mistakes. Robert Langdon bugged me the most. I actually have a problem with most of Brown's characters (except for the Englishman in The Da Vinci Code), but I decided to choose Langdon to pick on. The problem with Langdon is that he's nearly perfect. He doesn't have many faults, and his character is two-dimensional despite the odd quirks of claustrophobia and his Mickey Mouse watch. Brown portrays him almost like James Bond with a chivalrous touch: intelligent, thoughtful, distinguished, and, though modest, still vain enough to keep up a good physique. He's never held a gun before, but still manages to fire the Hassassin's toe off, and he still ends up getting the chick in the end (in the Da Vinci Code as well). Still he has a child's troubled past of his father's death and his own incident where he fell down a well. Just enough background information to make you feel sorry for him. Now what man wouldn't want to be Robert Langdon? I think both Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code have wonderful fast-paced plots, but Brown needs to work a little on character development. Also he wrote phrases like, "If the killer were inside..." when you're supposed to say, "If the killer was inside..." You say "The killer was inside," not "The killer were inside." I'm 14, and I know that. For the grammatical errors, I'll also blame the editor who should have caught them. All in all, three stars, because the writing and characterization was poor, but the plot was still full of cinematic twists, and turns, and unexpected surprises that fully engross the reader. I also enjoyed the morbidity of the murders.
Rating:
Summary: I want my money back
Review: I want my money back, this is what this book deserves
Rating:
Summary: Just okay
Review: I'm not a brainy-iac, so I don't know whether the wrong latin word was used or whether historical facts were misrepresented. All I know was this was one hard pill to swallow. First of all, for the first third of the book I didn't understand why the hero in this story was contacted in the first place. And I simply didn't believe the whole premise of anti-matter. It made no sense of how it was created or stored. I couldn't get past that. How do you do that...and how do you store it? Okay, let's get to the Mach 15 plane. Why does this man have this? Plus, the hero failed to save any of the cardinals. Indiana Jones--this man is not. For a smart man he doesn't a lot of dumb things. Plus, these people can run across towns in matter of seconds..maybe a minute. But the subject matter is different...which is the whole trick to Mr. Brown's popularity. And for that my hat goes off to him for that.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but plenty of mistakes and preposterous timing
Review: A fun read, but all the mistakes wreck the suspension of disbelief, and anyone knowing something about Rome would have a VERY hard believing the timing of the plot. Mr. Brown would have been better off doing a bit more research and tripling or quadrupling the time involved. At the very least, it would have been a bit more believable, to no detriment to the novel. Also, a lot of Italian word errors, and way too many errors about Rome and its layout to count. On one page, the facade of St. Peters faces west, on another it faces east (the correct orientation); the helicopter fly-in from the Da Vinci airport to Rome is incorrect; S.M. Popolo is at the NE corner of piazza del Popolo, not the SE corner; S.M. Popolo is described incorrectly; you can't drive through Rome's medieval district in 5 minutes in light traffic, let alone heavy traffic; the fountain in front of the Pantheon is small and doesn't really block the view of the Pantheon's entrance; you can't swim in Bernini's fountain in piazza Navona- the basin is too shallow; you can't see Rome's skyline by climbing up the fountain; you can't run from Castel Sant Angelo to the Vatican in 5 minutes in the viaduct- unless you're a mile runner starting fresh; running through the Vatican complex (both St. Peter's and the papal offices) takes a lot longer than is described- both are immense; you can't get from St. Peter's Square to the top baluster of the facade in a few minutes; etc etc etc. It's a shame, because a little care in these basic departments could have gone a long way to making the book better.
Rating:
Summary: Brain candy...
Review: A friend gave me Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and advised me to read it before his more famous The DaVinci Code. I was surprised to read some really negative reviews. Yes, the book is not without some flaws. The characters could be fleshed out a little more, there are numerous errors, and the ending was a bit hokey. But Brown takes his readers on a thrilling, fast-paced ride with lots of twists, turns and bumps. I was so anxious as I neared the end that I read the last 200 pages of this 569 page book in one night. Angels and Demons starts out with an elite scientist/priest being murdered at a top secret nuclear research facility, C.E.R.N. The body has been branded with the word "Illuminati. The Illuminati was a powerful, clandestine group founded during the days of Galileo when the Roman Catholic Church was persecuting scientists and suppressing scientific discoveries. The victim, Leonardo Vetra, has been trying to prove through science the existence of God. Vetra, and his daughter Vittoria, have developed a revolutionary new discovery-antimatter. It has the potential to be the greatest source of energy, but it also has the power of mass annihilation. Vetra's killer has stolen a considerable amount of this antimatter from Vetra's lab. The C.E.R.N. director calls in Harvard professor and expert on religious symbology, Robert Langdon. Langdon has extensive knowledge about The Illuminati. Langdon teams up with Vittoria to try and solve this mystery. Not only must they find the stolen antimatter (which has been stashed somewhere inside The Vatican and will explode within hours), but they also must help to find four kidnapped cardinals (on the eve of the election of a new pope). For those who find fault with this book, there is so much that makes it worth the read. We get some history on Roman Catholicism, the papacy and The Vatican. We learn many tidbits of Vatican trivia. The Vatican Archives and Library must be an unbelievable treasure trove. We also learn some tidbits about Rome-her history, her famous landmarks, churches, fountains and works of art. Brown takes us through the steps to electing a new pope. And of course, there is the age-old discussion of organized religion vs. religious belief vs. science. But what makes Angels and Demons especially fascinating is that there is so much truth interspersed throughout the book. C.E.R.N. is a real research facility, and antimatter has already been discovered. The Illuminati were an actual group, and we're left wondering if they really died out (as Langdon surmises). And of course, there is all that history previously mentioned. This book has a blockbuster ending that includes a miracle or two. It was a little far fetched in spots, but still enjoyable. And I had not a clue who the real villain was until the very end. So despite some flaws, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Angels and Demons. I look with great expectation to reading The DaVinci Code.
Rating:
Summary: a prequel disappointment
Review: How great was Rocky? Then Rocky 2 came out and it wasn't quite the same. Isn't that true for the most part? Nothing's like the original. Well, its reverse for the Dan Brown novel Angels and Demons. It actually precludes his best selling and very enjoyable Da Vinci Code (see my review). The Da Vinci Code had a great fast paced plot as well as historical tidbits that made me want to do some research. Angels and Demons has a weak plot and lags in many places. His "historical items" center around the Illuminati, a scientific anti-Church group. They rise again to attack the Church in the setting of modern Rome Brown could have had some great science vs. religion debate included in his novel but the dialogue falls short.
Brown's novel is plagued with "Harry Potter virus". Like Potter's author Rowlings, Brown had one great book but his other works hasn't been able to capture the success of the best seller.
Rating:
Summary: Running around Rome with Col. Mustard
Review: I work at one of the big chain bookstores, and literally every other customer who comes to the register nowadays has a Dan Brown book in his or her hands. It's almost rediculous. I think we've sold more copies of THE DA VINCI CODE this last month than Taco Bell has sold tacos. So I found myself wanting to see what all the fuss was about. From all of the enthusiastic customers talking about the books at the register, I knew that ANGELS & DEMONS is the Robert Langdon novel that comes before DA VINCI (and since it's already in paperback, I decided to start with it). So, now that I've finally read a Dan Brown book, do I know what all the fuss is about? Yes and no. ANGELS & DEMONS is a fun read. It's fast-paced, and highly cinematic in terms of plot and structure. It touches superficially on some compelling science vs. religion themes, but it ultimately doesn't demand much emotional or intellectual involvement from the reader. It's kind like a roller-coaster where all you have to do is sit down and strap yourself in and the ride takes care of the rest. The weakness of Brown's characters was probably the most disappointing part for me. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief quite a ways as long as I feel real human eyes when I'm doing it. ANGELS & DEMONS is light on nuance and subtlety of character and heavy on stereotypes and broad exaggerations. Brown made it just about impossible for me to like his protagonist somewhere near the beginning of the book when he described Robert Langdon point blank as a smart, handsome, athletic, well-liked guy. Whenever a writer tells you should like his character, rather than drawing you into making that conclusion on your own, you know you're in trouble. But, still, despite the fact that I found most of the characters highly annoying, there was so little character work in the book, that I was able to just think of them as game pieces and enjoy the ride. It doesn't make Clue any less fun, for instance, because you're not emotionally attached to Col. Mustard. But I guess with a book, you tend to expect more. That's why I feel conflicted about ANGELS & DEMONS. It's fun, but it's not much more.
Rating: 
Summary: A Nonstop Action Work of FICTION!!!
Review: World renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is laying in his bed early one morning when his world is shattered at 5:18 AM by a phone call from a mysterious Maximilian Kohler, head of an ultrasecret Swiss science organization who needs his services ASAP! And when we mean right away, we mean RIGHT AWAY; Kohler is sending his private jet, which will bring Langdon to Switzerland to start the longest day and the most intense journey of his life. You see, a scientist working on a project to discover the secrets of antimatter has been Murdered, apparently by an ancient cult called The Illuminati, who seared their special brand into the dead man's forehead. Langdon soon learns that the killer or killers intend to revive the longstanding quest of this secret society by placing this antimatter bomb somewhere in the Vatican; their goal is nothing less than the destruction of the entire Catholic church!! Along the way, he encounters Vittoria, the ultrasexy, ultrasmart daughter of the dead scientist, and her aide is enlisted in the quest. Symbols, symbols abound, ancient scripts, cryptic messages, all of which must be solved by our intrepid duo before midnight when the Vatican goes Kaboom! Oh, and have I mentioned that there is a conclave of cardinals (not the birds, silly!) esconced in the Vatican, preparing to elect a new Pope? How remiss of me! Well, it seems that the killers also intend to gruesomely dispatch one of the cardinals per hour, and there is nothing Langdon, Vittoria, and the entire Swiss Guard can do about it, is there? Wrong! Enter the camerlingo, the Pope's personal chamberlain, whose services are also enlisted in the quest. All in all, it's a madcap romp through 500+ pages and the longest day of everyone's life. Part James Bond and/or Indiana Jones adventure, part Umberto Eco symbology quest, all spellbinding, all guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat, all FUN!! However, a few cautions. First, if you are overly squeamish and cannot handle gruesome and macabre deaths graphically depicted, you might want to stay away from this book. Also if you are an overly critical type and love to look for all the factual flaws and inaccuracies of a work of FICTION (Isn't that a contradiction?? Think about it!), this book may not be for you as well. Still, if nonstop action and literary puzzles are what really grab your attention, then I would suggest grabbing a copy of this book right away and be prepared for the ride of your life. Quick before it's too late! The clock is ticking!!!
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