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Angels and Demons by: Dan Brown

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Rating: - book

I absolutely love this book, probably my most favourite book, (other than of coure the harry potter books).
Can't wait to see the movie although people have told me I will be disappointed.

Rating: - The Demons of Religion

In a typical Dan Brown manner this book provides suspense, the reader is continually drawn on to the next episode by a series of mysteries. Everywhere there is suspicion of conspiracy. What might be offputting to some readers is the extravagence of the violence towards inncent victims, but then again it is no different to in the other books. This particular story finds demons emerging out of religion and inhabiting a select group of scientists, the Illuminati, a group supposedly long disbanded, but appearing in a very dangerous form. There is adventure, even impossible adventure, a hero and heroine, and even romance. The underlying thought seems to me to be the same as in "The Da Vinci Code", a conspiracy on behalf of certain groups to hoodwink people into believing in their God rather than something different.

Rating: - the greatest mystery is why...

I read this book a number of years ago, and now that it's a movie (and possibly due to the fact that the Da Vinci code was on TV recently) I thought I should try and articulate my thoughts on this phenomenon.
In short, it can be summarised as follows, I just don't get it!
Angels and Demons (like the Da Vinci code, lets leave the others out of this discussion) has an interesting start and central story...a historical conflict between science and religion, (the Illuminati and the Roman Catholic Church).
Ok so far, where I do have issues with D. Brown books is their endings, which are examples of where the author seems to have got tired with his book and decided that anything will do.
This annoys me as a reader, as just when I get into a book, a naff ending ruins it (the prime example of this in my opinion is Hannibal).
So in short, this is not the worst book I've ever read, but please lets be realistic and put Dan Brown's novels in perspective. They are mediocre summer reading, nothing more.....

Rating: - ENJOYABLE.......................

This is the first book I have read of Dan Browns and I have to admit I found it entertaining.
The late Cardinal Hume wrote that science is not the enemy of the church. Wonder if DB knew this, because that is the book's plot.
It never ceases to amaze me how ubiquitous university lecturers such as Indiana Jones and Robert Langdon get into these fixes and come out squeakily unscathed at the other end.
On the negative side, it is far too long. 200 dry pages of physics before we get into the story for real. The idea of a scantily clad damselle physicist running around the Vatican made me cringe a bit. She must have been freezing in all those underground passages. And he did drag out the adventures of the Camarlengo, who was a wonderful character and who at one point moved me to sobs - the writing was so beautful. 100 pages before the end, I thought the book was finished, but no, he dragged it out a bit further.
In all fairness, Mr Brown does his research thoroughly, but then he changes it to suit himself. This of course necessitates endless debate and TV documentaries pointing out the true stories after the controversy Mr B. has created.
However, it is a good book and I am told the movie is brilliant - better than DVC.
At least in has convinced me that I must visit Rome some day. It will do wonders for tourism.

Rating: - A bit of a let-down after 'The Da Vinci Code' - but worth reading

Well, my hopes were high after The Da Vinci Code. I read that one in a day and couldn't put it down. Sadly, Angels and Demons didn't QUITE live up to expectations in terms of quick reading or 'not-being-able-to-put-it-down-ness' (there's probably an excellent word I'm missing in my search for appropriate terminology but it's a very humid day and my brain's gone a bit sloshy).

There was definitely more science and terminology to get your head round this time - whereas the religious references in The Da Vinci Code were recognisable to most people, Christian or otherwise - but that done, it took off at a good pace. A horrific murder has taken place, with a top scientist being killed and branded with the word 'Illuminati'. For Robert Langdon, a symbologist called to the scene by the head of the scientific institution in which Leonardo Vetra lived, it is a word that rings with panic and deep meaning. The Illuminati were an enlightened group of scientists meeting to discuss their work away from religious persecution, but forced underground they mixed with less desirable groups, spread in influence and became a name to inspire fear.

Now Langdon, with Vetra's beautiful daughter Vittoria, are in a race against time to solve the riddle of the Path of Enlightenment to stop four murders being plotted by a dark stranger, and to save Vatican City and the cardinals who have gathered there from a bomb of horrific power which has been hidden somewhere within its walls.

Throughout most of the mystery, Angels and Demons lived up to its promise. There were some suitably gruesome bits, plenty of artistic clues and religious intrigue, and a sense of menace that was quite satisfying. But towards the end Brown outdoes himself with a few TOO many twists and turns, each added onto the end of the one before, so that by the end I'd had enough and just wanted it to finish. The twists were exciting in themselves, but it was too much and ruined the novel a bit for me. Brown could have cut out a fair few pages there and finished with a taut finale instead of tapering back down to a bland ending...

I don't know if I'd read this one again - I'm sure I will be rereading The Da Vinci Code sometime soon - but I'll keep hold of it for now and will definitely not let the soggy finish put me off reading the other two Brown novels!

Review Pages: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next »