It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of anti-matter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible. Angels and Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville s The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco s Foucault s Pendulum (but more accessible). Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murd...

#A fantastic read! (2008-12-21) A book that is very difficult to put down! Although similar to the Da Vinci Code it certainly doesn t mean you can t read both. I really enjoy the way Dan Brown uses historical events and places and entwines them with fiction to the point where it is difficult to distinguish reality from fiction.

#Shockingly Poor- Hard to believe the hype (2008-12-15) The only explanation for Angels and Demons sales success can be that people bought it AFTER having read the Da Vinci Code. If Dan Brown had never written the Da Vinci Code this book would have sunk without a trace. The premise is admittedly quite a decent one- a Clive Cussler style historical thriller (Cussler incidentally is a far better read). Unfortunately the plot twists are either so clearly markered that they were clear from the beginning or so unbelievable that they destroy any credibility the historical back story ma...

#Book review (class project) (2008-12-03) The novel Angels and Demons deals with the murder of Leonardo Vetra. Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology, and Vttoria Vetra, the adopted dauther of the dead physicist, have to find the murderer. During solving the murder, they come across a deeply rooted conflict between the church and science. The whole book, with its well thought-through plot, creates great tension and excitment in the reader. The book is very recommendable for everybody who loves thrillers.

#Fantastic read from start to finish! (2008-11-23) I read this book after reading The Da Vinci Code and I think its far better. Its a brilliant page-turner from start to finish! I would strongly recommend this book to anyone.

#Was he joking? - No stars! (2008-11-07) Ok, I am bit depressed and the only books I can read must be easy to grasp, so I cannot say I did not enjoy Angels and demons. However the mistakes in Italian are appalling!!! A good writer and a good publishing house would have certainly asked a native Italian speaker to check the sentences. Sadly, this did not happen. Not to mention some plain ignorance (Raffaello Santi?? I don t think so!) and some remarkable lack of cultural awareness (a Swiss Guard who calls a Cardinal Signore, anyone?) that make this book almost disrespectful towards i...

In the world of page-turning thrillers, Dan Brown holds a special place in the hearts of many of us. After his first book, Digital Fortress, almost passed me by, he wrote Angels and Demons, which was probably one of the half-dozen most exciting thrillers of last year. It is a pleasure to report that his new book lives up to his reputation as a writer whose research and talent make his stories exciting, believable, and just plain unputdownable. The time is now and President Zachary Herney is facing a very tough re-election. His opponent, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, is a powerful man with powerful friends and a mission: to reduce NASA s spending and move space exploration into the private sector. He has numerous supporters, including many beyond the businesses who will profit from this because of the embarrassment of 1996, when the Clinton administration was informed by NASA that proof existed of life on other planets. That information turned out to be premature, if not incorrect. The emba...

#Kept me hooked the whole time (2008-12-05) I recently listened to the Audio CD version of this book and I give it 10 out of 10. The whole story unravels just like a movie. I recommend anyone to buy the Audio version as it is great for putting it on your ipod or in the car whilst driving. Makes time go by really quick.

#Deception book! (2008-11-30) What a bore. . . Extremely clichéd and repetitive, I mean how any times do I need to be reminded as to what s going on? I gave one star because of the slight twist at the end. Put me off all his other books. . .

#His weakest book (2008-10-22) I disliked this book less than the other reviews on here, but I would say this is definately the weakest of his 4 novels. However it for me was still a good read, and if you enjoyed his others I think you will still enjoy this.

#brilliant .. just brilliant (2008-09-03) another brilliant dan brown book, grabs you from the first page,excellent characters,fabulous plot I enjoyed the twists turns and it was so gripping I couldn t put it down an absolute must read. . . I highly recommend it.

#Red hot action in sub zero Antarctica. (2008-08-03) Deception PointDan Brown gives us his most action packed and fastest paced novel to date, at the same time retaining all the complexity of his plots and the continually shifting suspicions of the main characters. However there are some flaws, too many very short two page chapters, cliff hangers at every switch of the action becoming a mannerism, and with four main strands of plot this is a little too much. Having said that as always with Dan Brown his research is first class and we are drawn into some fascinating technology and in ...

With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoterica culled from 2,000 years of Western history. A murder in the silent after-hours halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching not only for Neveu s grandfather s murderer, but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England and histo...

#A Great Story in a Mediocre Book (2008-12-16) I had expected amazing things when I picked up the Da Vinci Code earlier this year and perhaps I was always going to be disappointed. The sad truth is, the Da Vinci Code is an interesting book, but not a good one. What has made this story such a roaring success is its engrossing plot and the truth behind the fiction. For those unfamiliar with the blood line, sang-real, holy grail, templar etc legends this book is at least a decent introduction. What lets it down is Brown s amateurish writing style. Although it is a vast improvement on ...

#Hardy Boys anyone? (2008-12-08) Reminded me of a Hardy Boys book I read 20 years ago. About the same level of literary sophistication - and resemblance to reality!

#AMAZING (2008-11-24) best book i have ever readthats all i can sayface-paced, well-described and full of twists and turnsyou never know whats going to happen nexti personaly loved the characters and the way they were built up, i htough the book was jampacked with clever escapes and fabulous jinxesa must read for ALL - adults and teenagers

#Utter Tripe (2008-11-05) I read this only to find out how bad it is and it is very very bad indeed. I couldn t care less whether the supposed facts are fictitious but i don t believe i have ever read worse prose (H. P. Lovecraft at his worst could run him close though). It reads as though he had how to write fiction manual open beside him and many sentences made me laugh out loud. I despair that when hundreds of thousands of people decide to read they choose this. Brown before starting writing recorded an album of love songs sometime back in the 1990 s, it may well be the wors...

#Not as good as I was lead to believe (2008-10-10) I know that, with the 1000+ reviews this book has, this review is pretty pointless. But, for reasons explained by many other reviewers, I found this book absorbing, and the only thing that kept me turning the pages was so I could back up my arguments :D. I didn t find it to be difficult to tell what was going to happen, which wrecked the mystery element I was told it had. It, quite frankly, is written badly, which ruins it as a thriller. And Dan Brown is constantly adding random snippets of information in the form of flashbacks...

In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoterica culled from 2,000 years of Western history. A murder in the silent after-hours halls of the Louvre reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his daughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu s father s murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, Neveu and Langdon embark on a breathless flight through France, England and history itself. Brown has created...

#I wish my son were an author..... (2008-11-27) I only wish there was the facility to grant zero stars. . . I m actively encouraging my son to take up novel writing as I believe he could turn out a novel far superior to this trite, hackneyed stereotyping waste of paper. DIRE. the characterisations are appalling, the plot unconvincing and at times so laughable that I thought it must have been written as a kids/comedy novel. I read the entire book waiting to see when the punchline would be delivered. Awful.

#Dark Vinci Code (2008-10-28) OK - but not too well written or plotted. For a parallel conspiracy and more depth - try:Dark Windows

#The Da Vinci Code (2008-10-23) Once I began this extraordinary book, I could not put it down. The Da Vinci Code is so much more than a gripping suspense thriller. Dan Brown takes us beyond the main plot and leads us on a quest for the Holy Grail - a Grail totally unlike anything we have been taught to believe. With his impeccable research, Mr. Brown introduces us to aspects and interpretations of Western history and Christianity that I, for one, had never known existed. . . or even thought about. I found myself, unwillingly, leaving the novel, and time and time again, going onlin...

#A Disappointing Read (2008-08-02) I ve just finished reading the Da Vinci Code. Everyone persuaded me to read it but I found it extremely disappointing. It started out OK but it soon became bogged down in fictional trivia, plus it had so many puzzles to solve I felt like I was 10 years old and back at school on some sort of paper chase - it became boring! And because its pace almost slowed to a halt, I nearly dozed off several times trying to finish it, after which I wanted to toss it out of the window! Dan Brown also Americanised this novel - and they re suckers for happy en...

#This is really not a good book! (2008-06-26) I approached this book with a determination to have an open mind - however, having previously read Brown s other book, Angels and Demons , which I found to be well, rubbish, this was probably never going to be achievable! I don t wish to condemn the book without at least trying to offer some reasons, so here goes:-He tries to hint at things (such as something scandalous Sophie saw her grandfather doing) at an attempt to be compelling but it just ends up being irritating. By the time you find out, you ve either worked it out yourself a...