false 960 107 It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss <I>Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire</I>, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, 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 (<I>Digital Fortress</I>) for achieving the nearly impossible. <I>Angels & Demons</I> is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's <I>The Eight</I> (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's <I>Foucault's Pendulum</I> (but more accessible).<p> 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 murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.<p> Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and <I>lots</I> of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty. <I>--Kelly Flynn</I> 3338963 book 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1) total:127562|5:34969|4:42125|3:32633|2:12589|1:5246| 127562 471668 151200 10399 2 29 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 22 09:42:36 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 09 16:08:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 21 false false Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Tue Aug 14 18:44:34 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 16 22:37:29 -0700 2008
No dice. I am convinced that Dan Brown does absolutely no research into the subjects he writes about. Or if he does, h...more...]]> 1 18 false false Tue Feb 19 23:42:12 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 11:32:03 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 9 false false Tue Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jul 03 20:08:05 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 13 09:46:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 6 false false Thu Nov 29 07:50:49 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 08:00:11 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 5 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Jun 23 21:09:29 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 23 21:15:06 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 10 false false Thu Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sun Mar 30 13:51:49 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 21:49:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 07:48:39 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 08:08:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 4 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 01:34:39 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 02:47:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Aug 31 13:58:33 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 31 14:04:31 -0700 2007 kudos to dan brown!!]]> 4 8 false false Mon Jan 26 14:45:51 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 14:46:57 -0800 2009 1 3 3 false false Fri May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 09:57:24 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 08:41:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 14 13:59:22 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 13:59:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Dec 18 17:27:42 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 18 17:40:52 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 4 false false Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Mon May 14 22:39:45 -0700 2007 Mon May 14 22:54:07 -0700 2007 good book in any respectable sense of the word.

Not unlike The Da Vinci Code, Angels ...more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Tue Apr 24 13:48:13 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 26 07:57:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 2 false false Sat Aug 23 11:03:51 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 11:17:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 25 10:19:48 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 12:13:42 -0700 2009 My conflicts with this book are simple. The implausible was constantly coming to pass during multiple mome...more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Jun 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 10:20:32 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 11:17:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 6 false false Fri Dec 07 09:18:27 -0800 2007 Mon May 19 16:30:34 -0700 2008