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Dec 17, 2009

Brian rated it:

I read this after the drivel that is called "Da Vinci Code." I decided to give the author another chance, and take on something that maybe wasn't so formulaic.

No dice. I am convinced that Dan Brown does absolutely no research into the subjects he writes about. Or if he does, he decides it is not "titilating enough for him" so he makes it up. I mean why even include actual real things in his books if he chooses to ignore any facts about them. Opus Dei? I doubt he More...

30 comments like (60 people liked it)

Jun 09, 2009

Russell rated it:

This was Brown's book before the infamous "The Da Vinci Code." In many ways, this book was like a rough draft for "The Da Vinci Code", same character Langdon, same other characters, same basic start, same concepts, same bad research passed off as fact, same trick of having nearly every chapter end in cliffhanger, the same in so many ways.
Sadly, I think he did a better job the first time around.

I recommend you have a computer handy so you look up what Brown More...

10 comments like (42 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2008

Mike rated it:

Angels and Demons is one of the most insidiously-constructed page turners I’ve ever read and unlike other such efforts (Richard Laymon’s IN THE DARK) I actually raced to the end of it rather than throwing the thing half-finished against the wardrobe in rage. Think of Hercules Poirrot. Think of Inspector Morse. Think of Agatha Christie. Once you strip all the character and soul from these genre writers you have Dan Brown. They all have in common the one writer trick, etirwer (the backwards rewrit More...

7 comments like (28 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2009

Wendi rated it:

So I honestly want to give the book three stars. What I enjoy about Brown is how he can write almost 600 pages of a book and I get almost to the end and realize that it has taken place all in the space of one day. As a writer, I would love to be able to do that. The weaving of religious and scientific themes into an adventure set in European locales is also right up my alley.

What I don't like... and why I am forced to drop down to two stars (just a few examples):

That sa More...

4 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Gavin rated it:

I liked this book. In as much as a person can like, say, cotton candy. It tastes good at first, but after a bit the taste starts to lose some of its sugary goodness and just becomes a sticky mess that you hope doesn't get in your hair or on your shirt.

The premise was interesting: I liked the whole Illuminati and church conspiracy. The suspense of the novel kept me engaged. But like I said, too much of a good thing just becomes problematic. To be honest, after a few hundred pag More...

3 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Susan rated it:

As soon as I finished Angels & Demons, I started feeling guilty--and a bit two-faced. You see, I've been telling anyone who would listen (my poor husband, mainly), about Dan Brown's atrocious writing style. Nearly every page was riddled with exaggerated descriptions, cartoon-like characterizations, implausibilities (even for a thriller), and just plain clumsiness.

But I am forced to admit that I turned those pages pretty rapidly--maybe a hundred a day near the end. After all, I had More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

Jess rated it:

Wow.

Before I begin my review, I want to preface it by saying a few things.

I know a lot of people think Dan Brown is a crappy writer who writes crappy books about crappy stories with crappy characters and crappy, unbelievable plots.

I know a lot of people think Dan Brown is one of the best at the "cheese factor" and roll their eyes at his stories.

I know a lot of people out there know more about European history, etc. etc. than I do, and therefo More...

5 comments like (20 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rachael rated it:

In the first, I don't know, 30 pages or so a character is "overwhelmed" by the smell of frozen urine. Frozen things don't smell, let alone overwhelmingly. Shortly thereafter an expert in religion (or whatever he is, I've tried to block it out) is shocked to see a study containing both scientific and religious items. I should have put the book down then, but then I would have missed unbelievable characters, hackneyed descriptions and spitting in the face of the laws of physics and ph More...

3 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Claire rated it:

Granted, my family owns this both in print and as an audio book- so I can't deny the entertainment I gather from this sad excuse for a detective novel on a regular basis- but I still refuse to call it a good book in any respectable sense of the word.

Not unlike The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons is made up of archetypal characters thrown into unfathomably implausible situations in which facts tend to be sort of twisted or thrown aside for the sake of a good, pulpy read. Sure, our More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rosey rated it:

Religion always was, is, has been, and always will be a very sensitive subject for me. However this book was a "battle" of religion and science. The storyline was engaging. I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow, but as the book progressed, the pace really picked up to a point I pruned myself out in the bathtub finishing it. There was a page I found to be very thought-provoking.

"Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2007

Megan rated it:

I enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" as a trashy good time, but then read this one and just couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Not only was it silly and formulaic, it made the silly formula underlying "The Da Vinci Code" all too clear. Really? Another middle-aged yet strangely attractive/brilliant male protagonist -- oh wait, the same one from the other book? Another grisly murder of an old dude kicking things off? Another hot foreign chick, related to the dead dude, helping solve the m More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Nicole rated it:

it is a real page turner and beautifully written.
kudos to dan brown!!

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2008

Danielle rated it:

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown was one of the best page-turners I have ever read. From the very beginning I couldn’t put it down. I did not know where Dan Brown would take the story next. Following the main character Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist on his first great adventure was breathtaking. I wanted to learn more, to know the secrets of the Illuminati and the only way to do it was to let the story naturally unfold as I read. I can usually guess what is going to happen in thrillers, but More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Jared rated it:

This Dan Brown thriller kept my attention from the very first chapter. I read Brown's Code and thoroughly enjoyed. After enjoying TDC and seeing the movie trailer for Angels and Demons, I decided to read the book while on my honeymoon - 710 pages in five and a half days. Throughout the read, I often wondered when the story would become dull - and it simply never did. Chapter after chapter, Dan's style of writing (intelligent, visual, and well-researched) kept the pages turning. The intriguing co More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I actually prefered Angels and Demons over The DaVinci Code.

14 comments like (17 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2011

★ Jess rated it:

This book almost ruined my education.
Seriously, whilst I was supposed to be doing homework, I spent three hours reading this.
When I was supposed to be studying for a maths test, I read this.
During science, english, Religion, Drama and Humanities lessons...I read this.
It was that amazing.
For the past week, I have not been asleep before 1AM, because I have been reading this thriller.
And well after I turn of the light in the early hours of the morning, Angels A More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2009

Christine rated it:

If you enjoy suspense and mystery novels like myself, Angels and Demons is a great novel. Dan Brown combines religion and science to create a rather controversial read. The story starts out by introducing us to Robert Langdon by awakening him with a phone call. Maximillian Kohler summons him to the science base, CERN, for his expertise of symbolism following the murder of their top researcher. He was branded with the mark of the Illuminati, an anti-religious cult that was believed to have died More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2007

Jeana rated it:

A quote from the book: "Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and...provided an array of gagetry for our convenience...but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies... Even the technology that unites us, divides us. We are electronically connected to the globe and yet we feel utterly alone. Skepticism has become a virtue. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than at any point in human h More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2008

James rated it:

What a piece of crap. Some of the worst writing I have ever encountered. Fortunately, most people can't form a sentence of their own these days and that renders pap like this a commercial viability. Which is great because we all get to share in Dan Brown's genius. I'd give it 0 stars if I could. I am offended by how bad this book is. But I have to admit, actually, that I did not finish it. I threw it across the room in disgust. So, maybe, just maybe, it gets really good after the steamin More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Drew rated it:

Do you ever wish you could channel surf on the subway? Dan Brown's writing mimics the thrill of watching multiple television channels at once. Perfect for the ADD reader.
For any sexual deviants out there (yeah, premaritals - that includes you) the most thrilling bonus of Angels and Demons is watching the Catholic Church leadership systematically murdered in a gruesome fashion. Angels and Demons is better than Davinci, and Vittoria is way cooler than that passive Frenchy Sopie Neveau. The More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2011

K.D. rated it:

This is actually better than Da Vinci Code and I look forward to seeing the movie. I particularly enjoyed the descriptive killing of the priest (not that I am a sadist) but the connection to the different elements gave a good spin to the usual killing spree! Just like Da Vinci could when I started reading this novel, I could not put it down. Jillian was even angry at me already when we were vacationing in Paradise Island in Palawan the time I was reading this because I was just sitting there whi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Heather rated it:

On a quest to save the Vatican in around 24 hours, Robert Langdon, a Harvard Professor, and Vittoria, a physicist, unlock clues to gain ground on the cunning plan of the Illuminati.
My conflicts with this book are simple. The implausible was constantly coming to pass during multiple moments of the main plot. A certain weapon was left behind during a pivital scene. The elements of earth, air, fire, and water were not part of Vittoria's common knowledge. The specialties of the main c More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 10, 2009

Miriam rated it:

I picked up this book because I wanted some mindless action with a fast-moving plot. This book was exactly the opposite: political, too much dialogue, and slow moving. At first the politics of the book intrigued me because Brown attempts to take on the clash between science and religion, however he seems to be completely ignorant about science and religion in the very ways that feed the clash between them.
For example, he talks about cutting edge scientists studying the big bang. (Cutti More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2011

Meshary rated it:

أفضل ما كتب دان براون من وجهة نظري الشخصية .. تجربة سينمائية فريدة على الورق ..
و تفوق إثارة كلماتها مشاهدَ الفيلم الذي تم انتاجه في 2009 ..
يُرجى ربط الأحزمة فور قراءتك الصفحة الأولى منها .. و تمتع بـ رحلة "تاريخية - مليئة بـ الرموز"..

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2011

Enrique rated it:

Try to imagine a fifth grader looking through a library. Now imagine that fifth grader finds a copy of Angles&Demons. Yeah that was the day I respespected Dan Brown.The book introduced Robert Langon, a Harvard "Symbologist" who is called to CERN to investigate a murder and subsequently goes on a race through the Vaticant to stop someone believed to be working for the "Illunminati" who plan on destructing an antimatter bomb. This was just too interesting to put back on the sh More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Joyzi rated it:

I can't put it down and read it in one day. I remember my mom was mad at me because I'm like, "I don't want to eat yet, I'm reading a book!" After that I ate lunch, at our table while still reading and I'm holding the book in my other hand and holding the spoon in my other hand. That's how good this book is.

27 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 19, 2008

Rachel rated it:

Oh dear God please do not read this book. You don't notice what a bad writer Dan Brown is when you read the Da Vinci Code because it is so exciting, but you read this and you want to kill yourself for ever liking Da Vinci Code. Really.

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2008

Gwenda rated it:

A fun but implausible romp. Falling out of a helicopter from 10,000 feet and receiving just a few bruises??? Really?

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Amy rated it:

I bought this book for 50 pence while I was taking advantage of a massive charity shop book sale and decided that, as it would be easy-going and (hopefully) kind of entertaining, that I'd take it with me on a weekend with a lot of traveling. I actually read less than I thought I would but I still managed to finish this - and yes, it was easy-going and yes, I found it quite entertaining. (Embarrassing to read it in public, though. I was convinced everyone was thinking that I was a complete moron. More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2010

Ben rated it:

Right, so, I don't really want to write this review. In fact, re-reading this book was a bad idea, but I chose to do it for reasons that will soon become clear (that, and I wanted to give it a more accurate rating on Goodreads).

I love to tear into bad books—and make no mistake, Angels & Demons is a very bad book, and not in the naughty sense. But the problem with bad, popular books published ten years ago is that most of the witty deconstructions have been done. Bashing Dan Brown More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

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