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. (Cutting edge scientists dismissed the big bang as unlikely several years ago.) He presents religious scientists as being motivated only by a desire to prove scientifically that God exists by showing that the big bang and Genesis are consistent. (Not all religious scientists feel the need to prove God exists. Why would any scientist, religious or not, think of the Bible as a scientific text book?) He shows religious people as fairly fanatical. (Which is sometimes the case, but usually not.) At first I thought that this book was going to try to bridge the cultural perceptions that science and religion aren't compatible, but by the end, I think the book only deepened the problem.

Aside from that, the perspective in the book changes between at least 10 different characters who rehash material that has already been covered. It slows the book down whenever it seems to pick up even a little momentum. 150 pages could be cut easily without altering the plot even a little.

Also, the horrific violence in this book, which should be shocking, never really is. I haven't thought about it enough to figure out why that is. Hmmm... poorly described...too many coincidences....overdone...hmm. Something along those lines.

Overall, not a good read.