Rating: 
Summary: Another Riveting Read From Dan Brown!
Review: Dan Brown is one of the most consistently excellent writers in the suspense-thriller genre. He always adds something extra to his novels besides an original, fast-paced plot. He explores unique themes/topics, whether it be the mysteries of the Holy Grail and secrets of the Knights Templar, NASA politics, or discovering life on other planets, that add depth to his storylines. His background research is meticulous. I have read both "The DaVinci Code" and "Deception Point" and found them to be super suspenseful and filled with fascinating new ideas."Angels and Demons" is another page-turner. Robert Langdon, (also a character in "The DaVinci Code"), a renowned Harvard symbologist, is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze an obscure symbol branded into the chest of a murdered physicist. The dead scientist's final achievement had been the discovery of antimatter, "the most powerful and deadly source of energy known to man." Langdon is able to identify the symbol. He also finds that the labs supply of antimatter, the only specimens in existence, has disappeared. Then the Pope dies suddenly. The death is caused by murder. Langdon learns of a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization - The Illuminati. This organization, has existed since Galileo's time to promote the interests of science over religion. The antimatter is hidden underneath Vatican City on the eve of a Papal election, and it is scheduled to explode, threatening lives as well as all the historical documents and art that the Vatican contains. Robert Langdon, and Vittoria Vetra, the dead scientist's daughter, begin an exhausting search, with an impossible deadline, through the streets, churches and catacombs of Rome to prevent the disaster, find the Illuminati leadership and the murderer(s). Once again, Brown had me intrigued with his scientific and historical detail, Church politics, and high tech-mania. I look forward to reading "Digital Fortress" next.
Rating: 
Summary: Factual errors
Review: The book was a page turner, but a couple of howling errors irked me: First, I live near Piazza Barberini, and the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria is well away from the piazza, not on it, as Brown would have readers believe. Secondly, as anyone with any understanding of the news media knows, the election of the next pope is a HUGE story, and the world's major news organizations are already booking hotel suites and hiring local staffers to get ready for it. (See Greeley's White Smoke for a fictional perspective on that.) Lastly, what's with Brown's obsession with Harris tweed?
Rating:
Summary: Silly diversion
Review: This has got to be one of the strangest novels I've ever read. It's as if this guy decided that Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels weren't over the top enough, and Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston weren't stretching the bounds of science and reality enough. As a result, we get a completely preposterous story of an American university professor who's summoned suddenly and peremtorily to Switzerland (in the X-33 Spaceplane, no less!) to solve the mystery of a murder committed by the fabled and legendary Illuminati. This is only the tip of the iceberg here. The book goes on for 568 pages, and most of that takes place in Rome, where the academic plays detective, assisted by a (beautiful, of course) female scientist. They're looking for an anti-matter bomb someone has hidden on the grounds of the Vatican, and also for some cardinals who have been kidnapped on the eve of the conclave, which will elect the new Pope. The whole thing takes place over the course of an evening. There are gun battles, torture, betrayals, bizarre symbology (including ambigrams, which read the same right side up and upside down), and a great deal clues following various Roman art and religious artifacts. All of this is sewn together relatively seamlessly by Brown, but after a while it does get to be a bit much. And if you're like me, you will guess the ending about 50 or 100 pages before the main characters do. Given how the novel goes, it does take a while to finish. However, I will say that I enjoyed it, and recommend it, given that you can accept the over the top nature of the plot.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: Sat up all night reading it, only quit when eyes were crossing and watering so I couldn't finish it. Slept and got up later that day and finished it. Page turner for sure. As I've read about the Illuminati in other contexts I felt his research, etc. was very authentic. Recommending the book to all friends and family. Thank you Mr. Brown.
Rating: 
Summary: Saved by the Plot
Review: This guy really doesn't really write well. It was difficult to keep reading with the obvious writing cliches. You know when you notice the writing style, there's a problem. Too many adjectives. HOWEVER. If you can stand the stilted writing long enough to get into the plot, it's very clever and original and if you are at all interested in Roman sights or church history, you can forgive the not so good writing. I didn't care much for the ending, but it was still a good ride.
Rating:
Summary: What a page turner!
Review: I could not put this book down. Ended up reading it in a couple of days. There were so many twists in this book, just when I thought I knew what was going on, I was wrong and there was never any dull moments during the entire read. I definitely reading Davinci code next!
Rating:
Summary: Great Thriller and a Dash of History
Review: I suspect everyone else is rediscovering Dan Brown about now for the same reason I am; The DaVinci Code. That thriller was so interesting and compelling that I was moved to go back and read his earlier works. Like this one, Angels & Demons, a thriller about the Brotherhood of the Illuminati resurfacing in the modern day to destroy the Catholic Church by blowing up Vatican City during the papal elections. The detailed historical context, the scientific research and information and breakneck pace made this a truly satisfying book for me. The writing itself was somewhat pedestrian and forced, especially through the endless scenes of expositional dialog ("Antimatter? I don't understand. What's that?") that allow certain characters to ramble for pages, delivering vital, and interesting, but less than natural speeches. For the villain, blowing up the Batican is not enough. Dan Brown has made serial killers from secret societies seem a little fresher through the use of ambigrams - pictures of word that say the same thing upside-down and rightside-up - which have been turned into brands representing the four elements, and which are used to burn the symbols into the flesh of the four papal candidates who have been kidnaped. So, much of the suspense comes not from wondering whether they'll catch the bad guy, but whether they'll be able to save the poor cardinals before they are dispatched. One standout piece of good writing was the characterization of the young papal secretary whose faith, courage and strength serve as a call to the Catholic faithful and an example to the world of what a pope could be. I found myself moved by this character's speeches and actions, even though I am far from Catholic, or even religious. The main character, John Langon, is impossibly smart and improbably employed as a symbologist at Yale University. He is a sort of geeky version of the macho Dirk Pitt archetype, tireless, strong and resourceful. But his background serves to make this a thriller more cerebral than simply raising the Titanic or some fanciful lost city. Improbable is a good word for this novel. Almost none of it is believable or possible, but Dan Brown weaves a fascinating world in which he is, at least, consistent and faithful to his own ideas. It's interesting, it's exciting and it's a good precursor or followup to The DaVinci Code, which is, laughably, almost the exact same book, with precisley the same flaws and draws.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Angels & Demons is an easy read with plenty of action, suspense and even a great history lesson. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Bad Writing
Review: Last week, I read "The Da Vinci Code" because I was curious about its sudden jump to the status of Number One Bestseller. It turned out to be an awkwardly written rehash of ideas covered many times over by much better writers as varied as Robert Anton Wilson and the "Holy Blood" team. OK -- lots of history-mystery novels are little better than jazzed-up third-hand research notes; wherefore is this one different from all others, except for its huge sales? But someone handed me "Angels and Demons" this week, and I decided to give it a try. I'm now one-third of the way through, persevering with grim curiousity at this point, because I must say that it's one of the most poorly-written and even poorly-edited novels I've read in years. It's difficult to believe that the author and his editor are native speakers of English, let alone well-read in either history or science. I could write a line-by-line analysis of malapropisms, misnomers, mixed metaphors, and howlers, not to mention absurd misunderstandings of physics, art, linguistics, and history, plus all the other flaws which Dan Brown would never have accepted (I hope) from his students back at prep school. But I've noticed that Amazon reviewers (and presumably their readers) fall into two categories: Those who possess some degree of literacy; those who don't, and prove that in a self-conscious style seemingly derived more from watching local-TV movie "critics" than from serious reading. This note is a fair warning to the former; the latter will probably react to "Angels and Demons" solely in terms of their personal feelings about the Conspiracy Theory of History, as if that's somehow relevant to the literary quality of a work of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Read in a LONG Time
Review: This is a fabulous book. It's the beast book I've read in a very long time -- and I'm a librarian! Not only has Mr. Brown done a superb job in constructing his fast-paced story, but kudos also go to John Langdon for his extraordinary artwork to create the ambigrams. If you like suspense, Rome, and/or art history, get this book.
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