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74   nwhyte | Mar 5, 2009 | 
Another absurd outing with the Jack Ryan of the new millennium. Angels & Demons is Robert Langdon's first adventure, as hinted at in The Da Vinci Code, and the same pattern that turned a nation of beach readers into bleating cattle is employed here. A scavenger hunt of symbology is spread across the breadth of Rome, and while Brown's puzzles are a little more obscure and tricky this time, the path they lay out is still agonizingly contrived and predictable. The one thing that makes it semi-tolerable is the time frame; the main body of the story takes place over a period of only six hours. Pretty neat, actually. (  ) conformer | Feb 9, 2010 | a good book but not as interesting as the first (  ) bookworm546 | Feb 3, 2010 | I read The Da Vinci Code first and this book was too similar for me to really be impressed. ( ) lesteraj | Feb 1, 2010 | Good fun reading. Kept me up a couple of nights. Very similar to the DaVincy Code, but kind of oulandish at the end. (  ) JUANCORTIZ | Jan 29, 2010 | a powerful and entertaining book! A lot of twists and turns to keep you entertained. Now, because I have been influenced by the movie, though I have not seen it, I can not help but to see Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. Langdon is a symbologist asked to assist in solving the mysteries behind the murder of a great scientist, Leonardo Vettra. There he meets his daughter,Vittoria Vetra. They both soon realize that Leonardo's death is part of a larger sceme aimed to destroy the Vattican. I will definately re-read this book so that I can pick up what ever I missed the first time around. ( )1 bitemeeric | Jan 19, 2010 | A great tale with some truth woven in with the fiction. Provides some excellent background on the corruption and falsehood upon which the church has risen. ( )1 nEtVolution | Jan 15, 2010 | Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I finished it in 2 days. I liked this book better than the Da Vinci Code. I felt like the Da Vinci Code had a few spots that were too slow, but this book was pretty much non-stop action. Of course this is not the best literature out there, but I would recommend it if you're looking for a fun and light read. I saw the movie before reading the book, so I didn't find it troublesome that pictures of the statues were not in the book. ( )1 mauveberry | Jan 3, 2010 | The original Robert Langdon novel is filled with art history (like The Da Vinci Code) and vivid descriptions of ancient rituals (like The Lost Symbol). Though Brown had yet to perfect his talent of suspense and cliffhanger, Angles and Demons will still surprise and excite, whether you have read the sequels or not. (  )1 missmaddie | Jan 1, 2010 | not too interesting, maybe the first dan brown book you read becomes your favorite. i liked da vinci code, and this one felt like old hat. i would, however, someday like to read the edition with pictures, because it would be cool to see the art, etc they're actually talking about. ( ) stipe168 | Jan 1, 2010 | A clever book. I guessed the twist but it was exciting enough anyway. Wasn't impressed by the preaching or the attempts to bring science down to the level of religion. (  ) hankreardon | Dec 30, 2009 | A very good read altho a bit formulaic. If you liked Davinci Code you'll probably like this. Learing about all the symbols was quite interesting. ( )1 harperhaven | Dec 9, 2009 | I haven't read The Lost Symbol or Digital Fortress, but this is certainly the best book of his that I've read. Da Vinci code was the first one I read, but I feel this is a superior novel. ( )1 slarsoncollins | Dec 3, 2009 | Much like the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons was a page turner for me. It took me only two days to finish its 710 pages because the riddles and adventures were ever so gripping. The ambigrams were my favourite part of the book, as well as the many references to sites in Rome. But as I read beyond the murders and the brandings, when I was still in preparation to call this one "much better than The Da Vinci Code", the "real" plot started to emerge, and it bothered me. To me it didn't make much sense, how everybody's not who they said they were, the deceptions, the reversals of roles... Never had I thought that someone could abuse cliff hangers like Brown did in the book. Nor had I ever thought that authors could twist and turn plots into something that would lose its audience. I honestly did not care for anything beginning at the 11th-hour Samaritan. And from there on were another 200 or so pages to go. Many of the books I read and enjoyed I had bits of down time in the middle with them, and found that their endings got better and better. Brown's books tend to be very good at the beginning and very exciting in the middle, and crumbles towards the end. Frankly the book needn't be this long. ( )2 siafl | Dec 2, 2009 | Entertaining, but not great. ( )1 Cailin | Nov 30, 2009 | Mystery about faith and Rome. ( )1 Nancy.Mosholder | Nov 30, 2009 | The first, and in my opinion, best Langdon novel in Dan Brown's series. You are immediately swept into a world full of suspense, history and action. This book takes place mainly in Rome, Italy. Vatican and Christian history plays a big role. You learn much about religion and science as you are held captivated by the story. 1 chibiju | Nov 29, 2009 | I actually thought this book was much better than the Da Vinci code. The concept was far more thought provoking. My one complaint would be that Dan Brown seems to be a one trick wonder. This is far too similar to Da Vinci Code, however it is well written and definitely worth the read. ( ) trinibaby9 | Nov 24, 2009 | Mein erstes Dan Brown Werk...: Ich habe mich lange gestreubt diesen riesen Schinken in die Hand zu nehmen. Jetzt habe ich ihn so schnell durchgelesen, wie kaum ein anderes Buch zuvor. Ich denke wirklich, dieses Buch muss man gelesen haben... Auch wenn es an einigen Stellen etwas ausschweifend ist, wird die Spannung durchgehend auf einem hohen Niveau gehalten. Alle Achtung. Viel Spaß beim Lesen!! r1hard | Nov 22, 2009 | 2004 (  ) katiemertz | Nov 20, 2009 | Reviewed by Mr. Kome ( )1 hickmanmc | Nov 18, 2009 | WORST ENDING EVER!!! ( )1 spywall | Nov 14, 2009 | Angels & Demons was a thrilling book that I seriously could not put down. The suspense and mystery of the story kept me wanting to read more and more until I figured it out. There were many twists which kept the story interesting and unpredictable and I could not believe the last twist. The book was truly a work of art. I have never seen such incredible storytelling as Dan Brown does here and I doubt I'll see it again for a long time. This book is a must read. ( )1 jrosenfeld | Nov 9, 2009 | This is one of my favorite books. I found it hard to put it down because of the continuous action and clever plot that always kept me wondering what was going happen next. The ploy flowed nicely, containing some twists and surprises that really glued my eyes to the page. I enjoyed how the book is centered around Rome, and, thus, contains many facts about the history of the city, adding to the layers of the book by intertwining a non-fictional aspect into the generally fictional novel. To name a few of the facts, the book showed how the Popes are elected, the basic papal administrative structure, and who painted, built or sculpted some of the most famous works of art in history. Another part of the reason why I liked this book so much is because i generally like books centered around conspiracy and mystery. This one is centered around the Illuminati, their underground attempts throughout history to destroy the Catholic church, and their supposed revival. Angels and Demons has you going to the end, not stopping until one of the best plot twists (in my opinion) comes out of no where. The ending is what really makes this book one of the best. 1 aterracciano | Nov 5, 2009 | Me FAcino!! :D es uno de mis favoritos!! me encanto la trama, el suspenso y todo. Claro lo unico que nome va mucho es sobre el tema y sobre como la cristiandad esta llena de falsedad y esas cosas, pero esta muy bueno me mantuvo conectada en el desde el principio hasta el final. ( )1 mesalina | Nov 5, 2009 | It's a pity Dan Brown is such a horrible writer, because his plots are actually quite clever. It's more or less the exact same plot at The Da Vinci Code and the movie National Treasure - academic follows clues in famous landmarks to find something supposedly lost centuries ago - but it's a nice light read anyway. ( )1 melydia | Oct 28, 2009 | |
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You are the Director of CERN, and one of your senior colleagues is killed in his room with a peculiar word branded on his chest. Do you:
1) inform the authorities
2) google the word branded on the dead man's chest and then phone the first Harvard professor whose name appears in the search results
3) have a nice cup of tea?
You are the head of the Swiss Guard, responsible for the security of the Vatican during the conclave which will elect the next Pope. You receive reliable information that an explosive of unimaginable power has been hidden somewhere in the Vatican and will detonate in a few hours. Incidentally, four senior cardinals have also disappeared. Do you:
1) evacuate everyone, including the cardinals and most of the population of Rome
2) lock the cardinals into the Sistine Chapel and hope that the explosive device will be found by the Harvard professor and the cute physicist who have just turned up
3) have a nice cup of tea?
What was the fate of Copernicus?
1) executed by the church for heresy
2) died in his bed after a lifetime as a priest and senior government official in a church-run statelet
3) he had a nice cup of tea
How likely is it that a Catholic priest would be allowed to adopt a daughter?
1) if they are both interested in physics and she looks good in shorts, I can't see why anyone would find it unusual
2) you must be joking
3) perhaps they could have a nice cup of tea together
Was Winston Churchill a Catholic? Are only cardinals eligible to be elected Pope by ballot?
1) Boring technicalities!
2) A poor excuse for research
3) I've put the kettle on
Who do you trust most for good information on the historical relationship between religion and science?
1) Dan Brown
2) Richard Dawkins
3) Stephen Jay Gould