Rating: Summary: --Is a Secret Cult Trying to Destroy the Vatican?-- Review: ANGELS AND DEMONS was not what I expected. After a slow start, it took me a few chapters to become interested in the storyline. I think the only weakness in the book is that the two main characters are a little bland. Now, having said that, I will readily admit that the scientific parts of the story managed to hold everything else together, and keep the reader entertained. Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor whose specialty is religious symbolism is called to Switzerland to help investigate the death of a brilliant scientist. Dr. Vetra, the discoverer of antimatter, is found dead and his mutilated body has the words ILLUMINATI branded on his chest. The Illuminati were an ancient cult of scientists who had supposedly joined together and had a hatred of the Catholic Church. When a canister of the lethal antimatter is found to be missing, the story takes Langdon to Rome where he and Vittoria Vetra, the daughter of the murdered man, work together to save the Vatican from being destroyed. The book becomes fast paced and exciting as the two race around the Vatican and the city of Rome trying to beat the clock and a deadly killer. The author, Dan Brown manages many twists and turns in this story, and the research that was done for the book is fantastic. The reader learns so much about the Vatican and if I manage a trip to Rome someday, I think I might want to read this book again.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Fantastic Review: I have never read any of Brown's work before and actually I was given an already read copy of this book by my mother who thought I'd enjoy it. This is a very intelligent book that leaves you guessing at every turn, has you on the edge of your seat, and is educational as well. I learned a lot about Catholic tradition, Illuminati, and history. I can't wait to read another of his books.
Rating: Summary: ASK QUESTIONS? Review: OKAY bru I ask questions. Like where is it in this book the true facts like the Illuminati was formed in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria?
Rating: Summary: brain candy for the brainless Review: I was told to read this before the The Da Vinci Code. The story is pure drivel and the writing is wretched. The bogus "miracles" at the end are just the cap on a collection of incredible (in the strictest sense) plot gyrations that induce a mental gag reflex. The text is replete with numerous stylistic and even a few grammatical boners. The writing is "hack" at best. Don't waste your mind or your time on this. I certainly won't bother with the Da Vinci Code.
Rating: Summary: Page turner Review: I will give Mr. Brown his due, this book is a page turner, after reading it however I wish I could get my 12 hours back. Calling this book immature would be an accurate critique. Don't bother reading this book.
Rating: Summary: A gripping book with...... Review: ....fabulously few details about our hero. Most books drone on and on about how the main character looks, feels, acts. Patricia Cornwell began to do the same thing in her Scarpetta books. But Dan Brown gives his readers enough credit to know we can imagine Robert Langdon in our own mind without mindless dribble. The writing is smart, quick and does not insult readers with a boring plot. Each page reveals a new twist or "aha!" moment, BUT not so much that you can predict what's going to happen.....At the end of the book, I was sure I knew "whodunit" but then I found out I was totally misled, which was a fabuluous surprise! Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: the only angels you see in this book is in the title Review: A much over-rated book by a much over-rated author. OK, you learn a bit about the Illuminati, and the Freemasons society, but other than that, pure drivel! The author builds some sense of suspense, but then, nothing happens! It seems that the only ones who really liked this book were people who rarely, if ever read! I was going to read the Da Vinci Code, but after reading this thing, why bother? It seems the author is more interested in gettting his misguided point across, than writing a thriller!
Rating: Summary: Oh my god, this is so bad Review: Every once in a while, you read a book that just floors you with its low quality. This is one of those. Let me see if I can summarize it for you. A sexy, single, well-liked-by-his-students Harvard professor with a swimmer's bod (he swims fifty laps a day) hooks up with the smartest woman on earth (she is also very sexy)to thwart a "Hassassin" who was hired by the illuminati to blow up the Pope with anti-matter. Yep, that's it.
Rating: Summary: Good storytelling; lousy writing Review: Rather like the late Alistair MacLean, Dan Brown has opted to provide edge-of-your-seat plot pyrothechnics and cloak-and-dagger spook stories about secret societies than put any effort into his writing skills. Yes, the book is highly entertaining, but you will hope nobody sees you reading it when you see, on NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PAGE IN THE BOOK, SOMETHING IS IN ITALICS. It's rather like reading a comic book where every sentence ends in an exclamation point. Look! he cried. What?! she gasped. The mark of the Illuminati! The secret organization hiding within the Masonic brotherhood! Gasp! Shiver! GASP! (This is a parody of Brown's writing, not a quote from the book). It is well worth reading, but, like the Harry Potter tripe, was written with a very unliterary audience in mind. Nothing more than a guilty pleasure.
Rating: Summary: Great Follow Up to Da Vinci Review: Angels & Demons - WOW! I loved it. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons is another you must read.
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