Eh. Angels & Demons was just so-so. I read The Da Vinci Code before this and they are so similar in writing style, plot and outcome.

In each book, there’s a protagonist (Langdon) who immediately gets the help of a pretty lady (Vittoria Vetra in A&D, Sophie Neveu in DVC) who is related to the first victim who gets murdered in the prologue, (father/daughter in A&D, grandfather/granddaughter in DVC) who then helps him fight against the sado-masochistic murderer who’s being fueled by an unknown antagonist.

You are lead to believe that both assassins in each book are expertly trained, yet this Harvard professor ends up being the demise of each one. After dodging death like 364 times, of course.

And the center of each book is a highly controversial, but real brotherhood; The Illuminati in A&D and Opus Dei in DVC. Both group which involves symbology and symmetry and ties to genuine historic sites.

In other words, Robert Langdon is a superhero in a Harris Tweed jacket who gets the girl in the end.

Don’t worry, I didn’t spoil the plot. There are plenty of twists and turns in his books, and even the most laziest of readers should figure this book out pretty much from the get-go. As someone else said, there is much foreshadowing and it doesn’t take a Harvard symbologist to figure out who’s the puppeteer.

With all that being said, it is enjoyable, it’s fast-paced and a good read if all you want is suspenseful fluff.

I read Angels and Demons before the Da Vinci Code, and was really let down with the Da Vinci Code after reading this book. I loved the characters and storyline – I had trouble putting it down. Da Vince Code required more effort for me to finish.

I picked this up ’cos I wanted something trashy and non-thought-consuming in the run up to my exams. Instead… well, it was still trashy but also so much fun! Damn Dan Brown!

This not only came out before The Da Vinci Code, it’s pretty much the same story, only told so much better. Robert Langdon is called in to lend his knowledge on the Illuminati – and anti-religion cult that may not be as extinct as believed, when dead bodies start turning up branded with Illuminati symbols.

There were things about this book, especially at the start, that annoyed me immensely. Brown’s style is so sensationalist that I can only scoff – sentence structure so hyped that want to slap the man. His characters’ response to the Illuminati are also laughable – okay, I couldn’t tell you a lot about them, but I have heard the name and wouldn’t react with the shock of being told zombies are roaming the earth – which the people here seem to. And there’s something dire about a book trying to present mysteries or gizmos as so clever-clever: “even modern computers couldn’t come up with a way to write the word ‘earth’ ambigrammatically” … ur, right, but somehow there one is, printed in a bit of pulp fiction. It takes you out of the suspension of disbelief, imo.

That said, the pace is fantastic, the settings perfect, and the whole religion v. science handled better than I would have suspected. The twists are often over-drawn out, but otherwise okay. I thought I saw the ending coming, but then another twist hit me.

Best of all, unlike The Da Vinci Code, I liked the ending here. DVC just… stopped short. This left me smiling. Still trashy, right enough ;)

i thought this book was researched well. i wouldn’t say it was well written but i would say it was written well. it is the perfect summer beach book. it’s geared towards the masses and pulls you in quick. the chapters are short and the storyline is good. plus the ending has some major twists.

but close. more action. it’s a good read.

It’s fluff, but it’s fun. Brown’s not a great writer, but he’s got a good imagination. Easy beach read.

Dan Brown uses foreshadowing quite a bit… However the last 1/3 of the book was filled with so many plot twists and turns, I couldn’t put it down until I was finished.

His main character, Robert Langdon was well developed. His depiction of the church and science has been a hot debate for a long time. His realistic approach gives both a historical perspective and a believeable story line. I’ve already borrowed another book from his collection.

I’m halfway through this book. My cousin recommended it and I picked it up from the library. Dan Brown also wrote the Davinci Code… which I have yet to either see or read. This book is full of interesting facts. It certainly is an interesting read~

I really enjoy Dan Brown’s books. This is the third one I’ve read so far. Angels and Demons is a lot like The DaVinci Code. The main character in both books, Robert Langdon is introduced here and I think Brown spends a lot more time letting the reader get to know Robert Langdon. All I could really tell from him in The DaVinci Code was that he was a Harvard professor. In Angels and Demons, Brown spends more time developing all his characters and providing details about their background which help you understand their current actions.

I found much of the book very predictable. Brown gave away too many clues that allowed you to guess what was going on before it was revealed. The last 100 pages are so are filled with plot twists and turns and while it’s fun, it leaves the mind reeling a bit.

What I especially love about all the Dan Brown books I’ve read so far is that they are written in real time and do not contain a lot of fluff. I can’t wait to get into the last book of his I haven’t read, Deception Point.

Another good book for commuting. Again, it’s not literature, just a fast-paced thriller. Not particularly well-written but still entertaining. All the fuss has just made Dan Brown extremely wealthy. People make me laugh.

I admit it, I finished Angels & Demons on the plane ride home. It was a light read and it did confirm one thing: that Dan Brown’s writing style improved considerably between this and its sequel. Still, that’s not saying a whole lot. We’re talking huge swaths that read like bad fan fiction:

“The Hassassin smirked. He had been awake all night, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. Sleep was for the weak. He was a warrior like his ancestors before him, and his people never slept once a battle had begun. This battle had most definitely begun, and he had been given the honor of spilling first blood.”

The writing’s worse, but the story is somewhat better, at least until it all falls apart in the endgame. I enjoyed the fact that we’re finding our heroes looking for answers at an honest-to-goodness library when the doomsday clock is ticking — though it makes me long for an adventure book starring a librarian rather than a “professor of religious symbology,” whatever that means.

I think I’m Dan Browned out for the rest of my life. Jessamyn told me over the weekend that Deception Point was actually a fun read, but it will have to wait. I need to read things where the words are beautiful, at least for awhile.