Rating: 
Summary: A Can't Put Down Thriller
Review: Before he penned the "Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown gave us "Angels & Demons" introducing us to renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and taking us on a reading adventure that will send chills down your spine at the realism of his narrative. Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze the symbol branded into the chest of a murdered physicist. Missing is a weapon with unimaginable and virtually untested power and clue after clue uncovers an ages-old vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries old organization the 'Illuminatti.' In a plot rife with murder, Langdon and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra travel to Rome intent on finding the bomb instead they must first discover who is killing religious leaders in line to become the next Pope. Brown's talented writing will have you wondering if his narrative is fact or fiction. The twists and curves in Brown's tale will have you guessing who is good and who is evil from page one through to the final conclusion. Brown is a master at religious thrillers and once you read one of his novels you will become a true fan of his memorable writing.
Beverly J Scott, author of Righteous Revenge and Ruth Fever
http://www.beverlyjscott.com
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but....
Review: I'm 3/4 of the way through, but I wanted to comment on some of the things people have brought up. The first thing that comes to mind is the flash back he has where the main character is lecturing to his students putting fourth the argument that modern religion is made up of a compilation of borrowed old past religious traditions and then proceeds to explain how the Catholic church borrowed the celebration of the Eucharist from the Aztecs. After I read this, I looked into the Aztec history, and here is what I found: It is true that the Aztecs had a tradition of consecrating food and then eating it, believing that they were joining with their God or gods. This was handed down to them from the Toltecs, which was handed down from the Mayans. Although the Aztecs lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, the tradition is older than they are. It dates back to the Mayan culture which dates back to BC. When Spanish missionaries came to Mexico during the 15th or 16th centuries they found that the natives already practiced this tradition. Now obviously Christ had already had the last supper well before this time, so I have trouble believing that Jesus, during his ministry, visited the Mayans and asked them what they did to have communion with God. Then adopted what they did and taught it to his diciples. Dan Brown is suggesting that the practice of communion in the church didn't exist before the Christian's visit to the Aztecs, then decided that it was a good idea for the Catholic church. I have not bought into that either, partly because the Bible shows it in the last supper (which is where the Church's practice of communion originates), and partly because I think Brown is trying to purposefully stir up controversy to sell the book. However, I think the interesting thing to walk away with here is that the Aztecs did practice something similar to communion before any Christian set foot on their soil. Think about it, what are the chances of two totally separate religions practicing the consecration of bread and then having communion, having never interacted with each other? I also looked into the claim this same flashback makes about Quetzacoatl, which is also an Aztec tradiontional story. The claim that the main character makes in this flashback was that the idea of one man dying for the sins of the world is not unique to Christianity, but can also be found in the legend of Quetzacoatl. I looked in to this too. Quetzacoatl was many things to the Aztecs and Toltecs over the Centuries. Originally he was a feathered serpent. But later he was a priest who chose to die for his people and said he would return. I have read that Quetzacoatl was to Mesoamerica, as Christ was to Europe. So in conclusion, I have trouble with the main character's (perhaps Brown's as well) assessment that modern religions have borrowed so many things from each other that there is nothing original. Brown is as good as any other paperback novelist, better than many with plot. But I hope everyone who hates it remembers that the more they trash this book, the more people will read it. Like gas on a fire.
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD BUT
Review: Like many people, I discovered Dan Brown through The Da Vinci Code. So when my Page Turners Book Club picked Angels & Demons as our March read, I was excited to read another book by this author. As much as I enjoyed the just-one-more-page-before-I-turn-out-the-light qualities of this book I still prefer The Da Vinci Code. Angels & Demons is the prequel for The Da Vinci Code and I could truly see Brown's growth as a writer in his later work. I would consider his plotting skills in Angels & Demons good, but by the time he went on to write The Da Vinci Code I believe they were perfected. Angels & Demons still possesses the page turning, fast paced plotting present in The Da Vinci Code. However, in my opinion, some of the plot twists, while being thoroughly entertaining, were also entirely unbelievable. I don't believe that fiction needs to be exactly like real life, but I can only suspend disbelief so far without falling out of the story. If this was your first Dan Brown, and you enjoyed this one, I would highly recommend picking up a copy of The Da Vinci Code. If you've already read The Da Vinci Code, you'll probably like this one too, just know before you begin that you've already read the best, now you're going back for the rest. You might also want to check out "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN" fun thriller.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it until the end
Review: Of course it wasn't as good as the DVC... but I like his style of writing. His books are easy reads. Twists and turns and all that good stuff (even though some were predictable), BUT I didn't enjoy the end! I thought it was too far fetch, and it left me feeling sad (for the camerlengo). Overall it was a good book, (until the end).
Rating: 
Summary: You Must be Kidding
Review: It's astonishing that this is currently one of the biggest bestsellers in the world. It's a formula (Ludlum, Cussler, Clancy) and no better. It's a pageturner only in the sense that you wonder just where will this silly story go. If you want to read something that is well written, full of surprises and a mystery, buy anything by Arturo Perez Reverte. This book doesn't even reach the level of a good beach read. A waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Plot, similiar to Davinci Code
Review: This book is full of twist and turns in which i really love...however, after reading this book, I started on the Da Vinci code, and disappointed on how similar the background of the characters are....Dan Brown, you writing is awesome but I would love to see more different plot lines.
Rating:
Summary: God Awful
Review: This is the first book I have ever chucked across the room in frustration. After reading the Da Vinci Code, I figured I was in for more of the same. I can't stand Dan Brown's writing style, but enjoyed the plot and factual background of the story.
Angels and Demons has about half the historical and factual background as the DVC, and the plot is a million times more ridiculous. Too many twists and turns. I'm all for poetic license, and can shrug my shoulders at a few "well that would never REALLY happen" moments, but this book is just silly.
Rating:
Summary: Some books are made in the end...
Review: ... and some are broken. The book's strengths (excellent pacing for much of the first half, an astonishing level of attention to detail of art and architecture) are overpowered in the climax by a series of questionable coincidences concocted to make the implausible conclusion have any sense of narrative cohesion. This isn't Tom Clancy, where you can suspend disbelief and pretend that one man can indeed stop nuclear war if only he is on the telephone at the correct time, no, it beggars the imagination. For a book which seems impressively researched, there are errors in Catholic theology (from who is eligible to be elected Pope to the Church's rationale for celibacy) and particle physics (too numerous to mention) which could have been caught by running the text past one of the undergraduate students of the main character. Profoundly disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Not as interesting as Da Vinci Code
Review: I read The Da Vinci Code first and loved it so I thought that this one would be as good. It is only exciting in the middle fifth of the book. The beginning drags on and on with too much "set up" before the action starts. The ending is completely impossible and then, after the climax of the plot, it rambles on and on for about 50 more pages. It was disappointingly boring.
Rating:
Summary: Angelic & Devilish!
Review: I really, really enjoyed this book very much. I am not a very easy person to impress and frankly I hardly read any fiction these days...especially mass market fiction. More often than not I just end up throwing it down a quarter of the way into it because it's either boring or predictable (this includes Deception Point also written by Dan Brown). If this book had not been on sale I probably would not have touched it. But I am glad that I did. I found Angels and Demons to be a compelling read and very hard to put down. In fact I loved it so much that I bought several copies and have added it to my list of all time favorite books. It was straightforward and intelligently written without being pretentious or verbose. It's obvious that Dan Brown likes the written word. But unlike other authors I did not feel that I was reading a pretentious tome where the author was trying to show off to the reader, his knowledge or how many degree s/he had. It could have easily been made into a 1000 page plus door stopper with useless material that did not add anything to the story. But to Dan Brown's credit he just stuck with what was necessary. There was nothing superfluous in this book. But at the same time it was very intelligent. It was well paced, and things went smoothly from point to point. Idea to idea. You sort of get the idea of that the book was written with a TV or big screen movie in mind. Right down to where the heroine (beautiful of course) spends virtually the entire book outfitted in shorts and a tank top. I found the protagonist Robert Langdon to be quite well written and interesting. It was nice to see an "intellectual" hero who wasn't quite the hopeless nebbish nerd. More to the point he was quite likable. And unlike Corso in the Club Dumas, I wasn't made to believe that this a man like that would really have a beautiful woman throw herself at him. I also liked the heroine Vittoria. For once it was nice to read a story about a man and a woman working together without having it turn into a Harlequin like romance or a sexual escapade. I liked the way Langdon's and Vittoria's worked together without the overt sexual shenanigans. One of the things that surprised me was Browns treatment of the Church...or to be more precise Christianity. Unlike many of his contemporaries Brown did not use his book as an opportunity to take pot shots at Christians or the Church or ridicule it. In fact several portions of the book show what a boon the Christian faith has had on the characters lives. It was as if Brown was showing that one could both be a person of faith and a person of science. The scientists and their mean narrow minded condemnation of faith came off worse of all in this book. Especially in one instance where a group of scientists rejoice when a cardinal is murdered. I also liked the construction of the Illuminati...considering the modern times we live in, the attack on people of faith I had to wonder if they really do exist. Unlike some other reviewers I saw nothing against the "Church". If it was against anything it was against the strict adherence to tradition and legalism. As a Protestant I already know that Christianity is about having a personal relationship with God. Not a stone building and rituals. Finally to address the negative reviews. I found most of the negative reviews towards this book to be rather specious and petty if not a trifle arrogant. I find it hard to take seriously reviews by people who question the intelligence of others or accuse others of not "having read much" because they enjoyed a book less than a bit credible to say the least. I love reading the classics as much as the next person. And I still think that Angels and Demons is a wonderful book. I will concede that the end was remarkably over the top. It was as if Dan Brown had this great idea for a book but he was not certain how he should end it. And yes the end did stretch ones level of credulity. The action scenes appeared to go on for a bit too long. But since most of the book was such a page turner I am willing to forgive him for that. In fact I This book is for people who like a well paced, intelligent story and recognize if for what it is. A good yarn. Dan Brown has managed to make me do something I haven't done in years. Read a mass market fiction book from cover to cover in no time flat!!
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