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 therefore, I might not be the appropriate judge of this story. And I'm also aware that this is not the next literary classic. HOWEVER. I loved this book. Every time the action picked up in this book, I had a serious adrenaline rush. My heart raced, my eyes frantically read line after line, and my hands automatically went to my mouth. I was totally engrossed in the story Dan Brown told, even though I had already seen the movie. Watching the movie before the book is very uncharacteristic of me, but I'm glad that it happened that way in this case. Reading the book cleared up a lot of unanswered questions for me, and the book was different enough from the movie to keep me gasping out loud at plot twists. For me, I was hooked along for the ride, and even though some might find his twists unbelievable or even predictable, I was just in it for the story and found myself completely absorbed. I appreciated the facts (or "facts") throughout the story that were presented to the reader about the Illuminati, Vatican City, etc. and I loved the feeling of being on the inside of solving a puzzle while racing against time. I appreciated Robert Langdon's character, and I'm so glad they cast Tom Hanks to play his character because even when I read The DaVinci Code years ago, Tom Hanks is always how I pictured Robert Langdon. Pretty damn intelligent, resourceful, and witty. Dan Brown can be pretty witty, too, and I found myself chuckling from time to time. I even enjoyed the general mechanics of this book--I liked the short chapters that kept me coming back for more. They made it easy to fly through the pages. I would look down maybe after a half hour or so into reading and be 150 pages further in the book. The "dun-dun-dunnn" moments at the end of pretty much each chapter had me flipping, too, even though I could understand how some might find that worthy of an eye-roll or two. My favorite part of the book, besides the adrenaline rushes, was how he bounced from one point of view to another without leaving the reader feeling disoriented. Rather, it had the opposite effect for me, clarifying everything by being able to watch the story unfold from all angles. After reading The DaVinci Code a few years ago, I was a little hesitant to pick this one up...would I love Dan Brown as much (or more)? Or was The DaVinci Code a one-time deal? Well, I'm here to say that I can officially consider myself a fan of Dan Brown, however crappy others might want to declare him.
When The Da Vinci Code phenomenon happened, I read most of Brown's novels and I enjoyed all of them. But for some reason I didn't read this one, his first one with his famous hero Robert Langdon. And now I really wonder why... because I loved it!Dan Brown combines action with mystery, historical and science elements in an outstanding way and he creates an action thriller that you just cannot put down. One of the greatest aspects of his books are the historical elements. There are times that it feels like you're watching a documentary, but an exciting one at that! Sometimes it feels like all those information are too much, it even feels like Dan Brown wants to impress the reader with his knowledge, but after you are done with the book you will still find yourself wanting to learn more about them.Another great element that really is one of the reasons that I like his books so much is the setting. Brown always uses a gorgeous place as the background of his story. Τhis time the setting is Rome, one of my favorite cities in the world. The descriptions of the city and the places are breathtaking. Mesmerizing. You feel like you are there. And what I also like is that he uses places in Rome that most tourists don't know about. He presents a hidden side of the city. Places that when you read the book you will want to visit. The whole story takes place in 12 hours and this really is a great idea that Brown fully takes advantage of. You can feel the pressure of the time. I found myself many times throughout the book wanting to scream at the characters to hurry up! This energy that radiates from the pages is what made me read this book in two days. You feel like you are there with the characters, you want to solve the mystery.What I don't like sometimes about Brown's books is that he rushes the ending too much without giving a full explanation to all of my questions (Dear "The Lost Symbol", I am talking about you). But this is not the case with this book. The ending is as amazing as the rest of the story. There are three huge twists at the last fifty pages that really took me by surprise! After that three twists everything is positioned into place perfectly. You rarely find such enjoyable, action-packed thrillers and this is why his books are so popular! They are nothing more than what a popcorn-blockbuster is for the cinema but we all need a book like that sometimes!
What do You think about Angels & Demons (2006)?
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 could spell it. Catholic Church? Has he even read any history about the Catholic Church at all? His descriptions of the Church seem to be based on whatever anti-Catholic propoganda he could find, Chick Tracts, and superstition. So it comes to no surprise that he has 2 massive bestsellers that are more or less, anti-Catholic. Cuz you know, Catholic baiting and prejudice to the Catholic Church is the only real acceptable prejudice left. The underlying superstition and hostility towards Catholicism, priests, the Pope, Vatican, etc is very close to the same sentiments that lingered in the decades and centuries before WWII in Europe. Think I am overreacting? If someone wrote these books but instead baited the Jews or Muslims there would be a huge outcry. Bashing Catholics and depicting them and their history in the way Dan Brown does in these books is outrageous and should be criticized and shunned. And I didn't even delve into how awful of a writer he is, did I? The only thing more embarassing than his writing that will never be remembered 20 years from now, is the fact that so many people bought into his piece of shit and wasted their time with it. Including respectable people like Tom Hanks and Ron Howard. There's time you will never get back again. Congrats!
—Brian
tIf 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 out years ago. So why kill a man of science? His research had proved the existence of God’s force, in creating dark matter. His murderer gruesomely accessed his work and stole away to Vatican City. Soon after a terrorist threat was made, with no demands, and four of the preferiti were kidnapped. The preferiti were the preferred elects for the pope election. Meanwhile, the chamberlain has to take care of the election and make orders to find the dark matter. Robert is also kept very busy attempting to decipher the ancient Illuminati clues to locate the four preferiti, who are under the threat of murder. With the help of the murdered scientists daughter, Vittoria Vetra, they race across Rome to arrive a few seconds late. The first of the preferiti was suffocated with dirt and branded with the ambigram of earth on his chest. At this point it’s impossible to put the book down. Brown’s use of mystery and riddles keeps you on the edge of your seat as you struggle along with Langdon to solve the puzzles. Personally, my favorite part is at the very end when the conflict of the dark matter is resolved, but the question of who is responsible for everything is still in question. Robert ends up jumping out of a helicopter to save his life, and that’s how he solves the final problem. The most unsuspected person turns out to be the bad guy and the return of the Illuminati was used as a scare tactic. Because Vittoria and Robert were dependent on each other for that 24-hour action packed day, they began to feel attached to one another. At the very end they spend a romantic night together in celebration of saving Vatican City. Unless you are sensitive about religious views, this book is a fun read and will make your brain work! Don’t expect to do anything else while your reading this book, since you simply can’t picture wanting to do anything else other than solve the mystery.
—Christine
دعوا الملائكة ترشدكم في بحثكم ...تلك هي عبارة المفتاح لذلك اللغز لغز كبير وحله عصيّ علي الجميع فماذا يحدث ؟؟يبدو ذلك بأنه برومو لأحد أفلام الأكشن :Dالرواية رائعة جدااااا قد أستعمل عبارة مستهلكة من نوعيةإنه عالم دان براونولكنه عالمه فعلا ما في ذلك من شكالوتيرة السريعة والقصة التي تحدث وتنتهي في أقل من يومالألغاز الصعبة والطريقة الذكية في الحلوكمية المعلومات الرهيبة التي تحصل عليهاهي ليست برواية بقدر ما هي كتاب تخصص بها قدر هائل من المعلومات تدل بوضوح علي كم الجهد المبذول من دان براون في كتابتهاإنه يجعل كتبه تأكل لك الوقت بل تلتهمه التهاما فلم أشعر بالوقت مع تلك الرواية خصوصا إذا كنت أقراها مع مذاكرة صيدلة المستشفياتمزيج هو لوز اللوز :D :D
—أحمد نفادي
