Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book was much better than the Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown is a quite interesting author and this book is very interesting. I recommend this book to people who thought the da vinci code was ok
Rating: 
Summary: Well done, but take with liberal doses of salt.
Review: If you liked the Da Vinci Code, you will love this book also. It has a great conspiracy, this time concerning the Illuminati, lots of artistic and historical detail, and also features Robert Langdon, the intrepid art historian from Cambridge. Summoned to Switzerland by a strange fax he receives in the middle of the night from the director of CERN, Langdon learns of the murder of Leonardo Vetra, one of CERN's brilliant scientists, who had been working with his daughter, Victoria, on a way to harness anti-matter. Antimatter has astonishing characteristics; a tiny sample about the size of a grain of sand is hypothesized to hold "as much energy as about two hundred metric tons of rocket fuel." They have succeeded in suspending the violent substance in a vacuum. They learn to their horror that a vial of it has been stolen and hidden in the Vatican; it will explode when the battery pack keeping the material suspended runs out. There seems to be a conspiracy of Illuminati supporters to destroy the church. The pope has just died (killed as we later learn - I'll try not to give away too much), and the cardinals have all been called together to elect a new pope. The Illuminati were supposedly a group of science-minded rationalists who abhorred the church's spiritual basis for reality, hence their desire to obliterate the church. (If I told you what was really going on, it would ruin the suspense, of course.) Supposedly, Italy's most enlightened men of the sixteenth century, physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians banded together to share their concerns about the inaccuracies of the church's teachings. "They feared that the church's monopoly on 'truth' threatened academic enlightenment around the world. They founded the world's first scientific think tank, calling themselves 'the enlightened ones,' " i.e., the Illuminati. Hunted by the church, they were forced to maintain extreme secrecy, but they spread the word through codes and messages and met regularly at a secret location called the Church of Illumination. Lucifer, in Latin, means bringer of light or illuminator. There is some interesting history of iconography. U.S. currency is supposedly covered with Illuminati symbola. The pyramid on the back of a dollar bill is an occult symbol representing "a convergence upward, toward the ultimate source of Illumination. The eye above it, also emblazoned on Masonic lodges around the world - the Masons were thought to be offshoots of the Illuminati - represented the Illuminati's ability to infiltrate and watch all things. "The shining triangle represents enlightenment and is also the Greek letter delta, which is the mathematical symbol for change." The U.S. Great Seal is thus a call for enlightened, all-seeing change and the wording under the pyramid, Novus Ordo Seculorum, means new secular order. Take all this with liberal doses of salt. Other pieces of delicious trivia include Pope Pius's emasculation of the male form in statues. In 1857, he decided that the accurate representation of the male form "might incite lust inside the Vatican. So he got a chisel and mallet and hacked off the genitalia of every single male statue inside Vatican City. He defaced works by Michelangelo, Bramante, and Bernini [who plays a very important role in this tale]. Plaster fig leaves were used to patch the damage. Hundreds of sculptures had been emasculated. Langdon had often wondered if there was a huge crate of stone penises someplace." Langdon explains how the church pictured "satanic cults as devil-worshiping fiends. . .yet Satanists historically were educated men who stood as adversaries to the church," called Shaitan, an Islamic term meaning adversary. "The rumors of satanic black-magic animal sacrifices and the pentagram ritual were nothing but lies spread by the church as a smear campaign against their adversaries. Over time, opponents of the church, wanting to emulate the Illuminati, began believing the lies and acting them out. Thus, modern Satanism was born." Langdon uses his knowledge of art history to locate the lair where the assassin who has been hired to kill off the four most likely candidates to the papacy is hiding, and has squirreled away the love interest (typical). Taken with a tablespoon of salt, the story goes down delectably. For those wishing to wander down the path to paranoia, see
Http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NOW/index.htm. Rationalists would find the Mason history more illuminating at http://www.masonicinfo.com
Rating:
Summary: Good book, not that original though.
Review: I read this after finishing The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown as well; after that book I was prepared for a let down. However, my experience was quite to the contrary. I ended up liking Angels and Demons more than The Da Vinci Code! Crazy, eh? Whilst The Da Vinci Code was fascinating, I must confess that I would rather learn about science as opposed to art, and when they are combined with religion... Well, I was interested. If you read this book afore The Da Vinci Code I do not believe that you should feel compelled to voyeur into the next book in the series, for his modus operandi changes not at all. Seems like he is losing his creative touch almost... None the less it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed the ambigrams. Props go out to John Langdon for creating them. You can see more examples of his work on his website (there is a link off of DanBrown.com). All in all it was worthwhile and I feel satisfied in awarding it four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting Suspense
Review: The Illuminati was a scientific organization founded by Galileo to discuss matters the Church forbade research on. Feared by many and studied by few, they were more secret than any other underground organization in history. Over the centuries, the group faded away. Or did they? When famed physicist/priest Leonardo Vetta is found branded with the seal of the Illuminati, it seems like the cult has once again arisen. Vetta's experiment - the largest isolated quantity of antimatter - has been stolen. If not found within 24 hours, it will explode with more energy than any weapon previously built. It is up to Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and Vetta's adopted daughter Vittoria to find the canister and safely return it to protection. There's only one catch. The antimatter is somewhere at the Vatican. Though the canister is appearing on a security camera, the camera has been moved - and the Swiss Guard have no idea where. There is not enough time to check out the entire complex. And with the papal conclave about to start, the world is watching. Led on a chase through ancient churches in Rome, Robert and Vittoria's only hope of stoping the scheme is to catch the assassin, an Illuminati killer who has vowed to murder a cardinal ever hour until the canister explodes. In this riveting novel of suspense, Dan Brown weaves a tale so deadly realistic it is terrifying. It is a world where no one is what they seem - and the end of the Church is threateningly close. Featuring deep, intriguing characters and fast-paced action, "Angels & Demons" is a book you won't be able to put down until you've read the final surprise.
Rating:
Summary: Better than "The Da Vinci Code"
Review: I really liked this book.
Better than "The Da Vinci Code".
Rating: 
Summary: I gave it 60 pages and gave up and skipped to the end
Review: "Hey, Vittoria!" "Disprove any more of Enstein's theories?" "The carmelango is in danger! Open the door! Hurry! But it was too late." "Dawn came late to Rome." If you think this is good writing you will enjoy reading the book
Rating:
Summary: Angels and Demons tour
Review: I just got back from Rome, Italy and took the Angels and Demons Tour offered by Mr. Sergio Caggia's company, Nerone and Rome Made to Measure at www.nerone.cc The tour lasted 8+ hours for us, or they can split it up into two 6 hour days, depending on the clients schedule. Let me put it this way, If you liked this book, you will love this tour! Sergio's guides, we had Mauro, are University graduates, extremely qualified,can get you in to places you could never get to on you own, and make this book come alive. The way I figured it, this tour saved us at least three days of trying to do on our own, as the cab drivers had never heard of some of the locations. This great book is worth a trip to Rome.
Rating:
Summary: A Familiar Formula With Familiar Themes: Few Complaints
Review: In his first close encounter with the Vatican, Robert Langdon -- along with a smart hottie (natch!) -- must follow clues left by an ancient secret society in order to save the Catholic Church from destruction by a new technology developed as a source of energy and as evidence of the divine creation of the universe. As in the Da Vinci Code, there are some twists at the end that surprise us about the nature of characters that we thought we understood. As in Da Vinci Code, the surprises seem a little contrived and hard to swallow. (Note to Dan Brown: Your novels are surprising enough without the role reversals of the last 80 pages.) Still, the book is a great ride with lots to think about along the way regarding the intersection of science and religion. Read this book and then join the rest of us who wonder what happens to Robert Langdon next. I suspect Dan Brown can deliver an amazing third installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Are characters not allowed to sleep in Brown's books?...
Review: Why do all of Dan Brown's novels begin and end in one 24 hour period? At the end of both TDC and A&D, I sat back and thought "You know, Robert Langdon uncovered a plot to end Christianity, solved numerous ancient riddles, trotted the globe, partially fell in love and faced certain death several times....ALL IN ONE DAY. What the....??? Let'em sleep a little, Dan. It'll help out with the realism since you won't need to conjure up jets that travel at Mach 15 to transport your characters across oceans in an hour.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: This is a book one will not be able to put down. The facts are extremely interesting and the twists, surprising. Read and Enjoy!! Another great book by Brown.
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