Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, flawed, but worth reading...even twice.
Review: If you're a fan of the Indiana Jones or James Bond type stories where the hero is continuously finding his way in and out of impossible situations, then you will probably enjoy this book. It's fast paced, while taking the time to provide a lot of detail. However, for me, the author stretches the limits of credibility a bit too far for this to be a great book. For example, as the story begins, the protagonist, Robert Langdon, receives a fax with a picture of a murdered man with a complex diagram burned into his chest by the murderer. The diagram is barely legible when viewing it in the ink-and-paper medium of the book, but we're expected to believe that Langdon is able to decipher this lettering while looking at a FAXED photo of the same diagram BURNED INTO A MAN'S CHEST! Has the author ever seen a photo that's been run through a fax? I can't imagine that this branding in the man's chest would even be legible if one were looking at him in person. Because of this, the book lost a lot of credibility with me from the very beginning. It continues with a string of implausible episodes that make for entertaining story telling, but take the plot way over the top. Much of it seems to be done just to sensationalize the plot, such as the fact that Langdon is mysteriously whisked away from his home in a supersonic aircraft (that goes "mach fifteen"!) of his own free will, even though he has no idea where he's going. I guess he had no other plans for the day, but he goes along a little too willingly. There are several other things in this book that spoiled it a bit for me. It could have been made much more believable, without sacrificing the quality of the story. For instance, there's one chapter where (MAJOR SPOILER COMING UP...) a bishop is found murdered. So what do the local authorities do when they find the body? Do they close off the crime scene and do an investigation? NO- THEY THROW HIS DEAD BODY IN THE TRUNK OF A CAR AND HAUL IT AWAY because they're trying to keep the media from finding out! In another chapter (spoiler #2...) Langdon is left in a helicopter that's about to explode. Somehow you know he's going to survive, even though he has no parachute... so he jumps out of the helicopter, then realizes he grabbed a piece of tarp on the way out (how convenient!). Of course, he's able to use the tarp as a parachute, even though the explosion of the helicopter caused the tarp to smolder as it opened into a chute above him. In another section of the book, Langdon finds a clue from the Bernini sculpture "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa" in which an angel holds a spear. Langdon supposedly looks to the direction that the spear is pointed to see where to go next, if I understand the author's description of this clue. However, anyone familiar with the sculpture can see that the actual spear points down towards the ground- not in any direction that would tell our hero where to go next. The majority of the plot has him following these obscure clues that remind one of the computer game "Myst". These are clues that seem a bit too far-fetched for anyone to be able to string them together under the kind of deadline that Landon is under (the entire story takes place in about 24 hours). However, he manages to do so, albeit too late much of the time. All through the story, the author is constantly reminding us that Langdon wears "Harris tweed" in order to stereotype him as a typical east-coast college professor. Okay, we get it- you don't need to tell us 5 or 6 times throughout the book that the guy wears tweed. The story doesn't leave time for allowing Langdon and his female co-star to get to know each other (they're too busy following clues to track down the villains). Their relationship advances in spite of the fact that they never really share anything personal with one another. In fact, we never really learn a lot about Langdon at all on a personal level, except for the fact that he had a bad experience as a child which gave him claustrophobia. Nevertheless, you just know all the way through the book that he's going to get the girl in the end. It would have been nice had the author taken the time to develop these two characters a bit more beyond a superficial level- it certainly would have made the reader care about them rather than simply following the action of two people trying to save the day from imminent doom. This book redeems itself quite a bit in the end, however (aside from the predictable romantic closure) with an ending that is a bit unexpected and will make you want to re-read some of the chapters, if not the entire book.
Rating: 
Summary: Science vs. Religion.
Review: The war between science and religion has been raging for centuries. The argument is essentially a battle over what constitutes 'real' knowledge. This is an epistemological conflict between the rational, irrational and the spiritual. Religion has provided guidance, morality and hope in a predominately meaningless existence. However, in modern times, our faith in a power greater than ourselves has waned considerably, particularly in traditional religions. Our new God is science. Or so the argument proposes. Science has given us means to heal the sick on a grand scale and like never before. Technology has given us the means to feed an entire planet, though ironically, the powers that be choose other ways to use this knowledge. The vast majority of the planet continues to starve. The further irony, though, is that since the renaissance, religion and science have been pitted against each other in a play for power over the undiscerning masses. The arguments in each camp are certainly compelling. ~Angels and Demons~ addresses this argument in a modern context. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to read, 'The Da Vinci Code', another Dan Brown thriller, will be acquainted with the lead character, Robert Langdon. As a Harvard art historian and expert of ancient symbols, the CEO of the largest and most important science facility in the world contacts him. A gruesome murder has been committed. One of the lead scientists has been found dead with a grisly brand burned into his chest. Langdon is reluctant to get involved until a fax is sent to him of the murder scene. Branded on the victims chest is an ancient symbol that read: 'Illuminati'. What draws Langdon in is that the symbol is an ambigram, a perfectly symmetrical word that can be read both ways. Academics had been arguing for centuries over this very symbol's existince. And as an expert on the Illuminati, Langdon knows that they were and are the sworn enemies of the Chatholic Church. What is surprising about this novel is that Brown has managed to bring together a huge subject into a highly entertaining read. Another reviewer called him a juggler of disparate themes though he doesn't drop a ball. This novel is a riveting read with many switches and turns from start to finish. This is five star material.
Rating:
Summary: well, maybe 3 and half
Review: Yah, sad, isn't it. Why do all the women have to be so beautiful? Vittoria's beauty was irrelevant to the plot. All these beautiful people in books just makes me want to crawl under a rock sometimes... :-) Now, I'm a little annoyed with a couple things in this book. First of all, if they were travelling at mach 15, and Geneva is only 3600 miles from Boston, it wouldn't have taken an hour. Secondly, if Vittoria is such a smart physicist, why should Langdon be surprised that she knows that 503 in Roman numerals is DIII? Or don't they teach that stuff at school any more??? Ugh! Granted that I'm a mathematician, but still !!! I found those little errors to be extremely distracting to me. (I hate to admit it, but I spent half an hour complaining to my neighbour!) But I guess it didn't bother others too much. Now, I did appreciate the reference to Star Trek, since I'm a trekkie, but surely more people have heard of anti-matter than the book seems to imply? Or is Langdon a person with such narrow interests that he only sticks to his own little field? In this day and age? I don't think that's too realistic. Or maybe it is, but you wouldn't want a major charactor like that, would you? Look, I'm a mathematician, but I'm also interested in languages, cooking, music, literature, etc. I don't claim expertise, but the point is that there's a wide variety of things I'm interested in and read about. So I'd expect a Harvard professor to be more catholic in his interests. (Yes, pun intended... :-) catholic in the sense of broadnesss....) And might I also point out that not all scientists find it hard to have a place in their hearts for religion. But I will say that on the whole at least the action is entertaining, and certainly very fast paced. Should be a good movie.... (Maybe that's the problem. Seems like these days so many authors write with movie scenes in mind.... Some of the details that bother me may well not show up in a movie.)
Rating:
Summary: What a ride!
Review: This rocket propelled novel starts off at mach 10 and only slows down a little bit to help the reader fully absorb new plot twists. Before I knew it, I was on page 150. Absolutely thrilling! Dan Brown's mix of little known historical facts and little known technological wonders is breathtaking. After finishing the book, I felt compelled to do a little independent research on the many historical references. Not surprisingly, the author was spot on every time. And the way Brown intertwined the historical references was genius. I finished this book faster than any other book I've read and rushed right out to buy "The DiVinci Code" (the sequel). This is the first book review I've written. I just can't help but recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: What a terrible writer!
Review: I wish I could assign less than one star. I bought this because I wanted to start with the earlier books before reading the DaVinci Code. I'm assuming that the writing is much better in his later books. The triteness of his prose, the lack of continuity (where was the editor?) and his undeveloped characters with their stitled dialogues made me abandon my efforts to read the entire book. Umberto Eco he's not. Suspending belief is one thing, but you would have to suspend any expectation of good literature to read this. I have too many specific complaints to list here. Don't waste your time, even for a beach read.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding with problems at the finish
Review: The build up of this novel is excellent. The details of the Path of Illumination were engrossing --although I share one other reviewer's annoyance at Langdon's propensity for remembering (not discovering) critical facts just in the nick of time. The appearance of a CERN-operated X-33 Mach 15 aircraft is a nifty, if totally unbelievable plot device. The details inside the Vatican and in Rome are enthralling. Too many characters are two dimensional. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the story is just too fantastic to be believable and drags my rating down, although I still gave it four stars (barely!).
Rating:
Summary: Wow - amazingly bad
Review: I read "The Da Vinci Code" a few weeks back and was blown away by the pace, the style, and the fun I had reading it. So ... I decided to try his earlier novel. It's practically the same story! So how could this one be so bad and Da Vinci be so good? I'm still trying to figure it out. This one has such a formulaic feel to it that it becomes insulting. And what is with the exclamation point?!! Earth! Wind! Fire! Water! And sometimes, question marks followed by exclamation marks?!! This guy has read one too many Robert Ludlum novels.
Rating:
Summary: Holy Smoke!
Review: Despite historical and factual errors, this thriller does move fast and kept my interest until it's outlandish, ridiculous ending. The characters and dialog are cartoonish at best, but this isn't serious fiction, just a silly romp. In fact, it's very, very funny at times. The author's acknowledgements at the end are a real hoot in themselves. Based on this opus, I think I'll skip his latest blockbusting triumph.
Rating: 
Summary: Cardboard characters, interesting information
Review: The idea has a lot going for it - the execution is poor. The only reason I finished it was to read about the sites in Rome and their history. This reminded me of Clive Cussler - male series character, new woman in every book, obligatory relationship. Ian Fleming did it better. Nowadays the females get interesting professions but it's really their appearance and attraction that get the attention. There isn't any character development that is shown rather than told. The villain became obvious fairly early on. The last couple chapters involve a twist that seems written in according to formula. I had high hopes for this. The author obviously has a lot of knowledge and good plot ideas. The writing, however, is so flawed that it robbed the book of any charm.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book -- Intelligent & Interesting
Review: I purchased both Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code. I decided to read Angels & Demons first because one of the reviews on this site mentioned that DaVinci Code was much better. So I figured I didn't want to finish the books on a low note, and started with this one. But boy was I in for a surprise---I absolutely loved this book. It was thrilling, intelligent, educational, and thought-provoking. And if this was the weaker of the two, then I can't wait to pick up The DaVinci Code next!!
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