Review by ladylaw (2009-10-21)
Until The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown was a relatively unknown author (at least to me). So once I read it, and found out he had written other books as well, I dashed off to the shop to get Angels and Demons.
I found it a very entertaining book, I even preferred it to The Da Vinci Code. It is fast-paced, with surprising twists and turns, and it grips you from the very first page.
I would definitely recommend it as the sort of book you read whilst on holiday!

Review by polarisdib (2009-03-21)
It's not that his ideas are bad. It's that Dan Brown needs to work with another author or something to flesh out his novels so that they don't read like a creative writing seminar with a surprising amount of research.

Angels and Demons is, by far, much better than The Da Vinci Code. In here, Brown actually shows the ability to misdirect a little bit (took me to page 300 to figure out the bad guy, as opposed to DVC, in which I still don't honestly comprehend how the reveal makes a lick of sense), plays with a lot more facts in the scientific, religious, and art worlds, and provides an interesting mystery in the Illuminati. In comparison, The Da Vinci Code pretty much stuck close to the previous book's form with half the eagerness in research and a too-strong focus on "the divine feminine." Angels and Demons at least tries to introduce some compelling arguments about science and faith.

Too bad too many sections of this book read like they were recovered directly from encyclopedias. The story is good, but the believability of the characters, the building of a dynamic world, and the development of anything other than "Ooops, wait for the answer next chapter!" suspense is practically nil. I haven't a problem with the research; in fact, he plays closer to the real facts than most of the authors I love. I just think he needs another co-author in there to work the description, build the characters, fashion and furnish the world with more than art history paraphernalia, and try and make the cliff-hangers less knowing ("If only he knew what was about to happen...." Ugggghhhh...).

I think the thing that drives me the most batty about Brown's writing is how everyone in the room in his books somehow collectively know every last detail of every topic they need to know to move on to the next section of the story. If there's a scientist in the room, a question of science will arise... if the scientist leaves, suddenly there are no scientific fact clues. If Robert Langdon doesn't instantly or next-to-instantly know some trivium about a particular statue, say, suddenly a guard standing near by "patrols there daily" and is able to give the missing clue. It really sucks a lot of the magic out of the suspense to know the answer is within the next couple of pages (and the pages don't take too long to read, either).

The imagination is great. A co-author could help. The editors and such do their jobs with the story suggestions and the copy, but put some flesh on these bones. We got the core, now give us some apple to chew on.

--PolarisDiB

Review by StefanY (2007-08-24)
First of all, let me start by saying that I goofed and read this one AFTER Davinci Code. Not that it was that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but I already had some preconceived notions coming in to this one.

I enjoyed the book. Dan Brown's writing style is fast paced and enjoyable. He builds some nice twists into his story that keep you guessing as to what's going to happen next. In the two that I've read, I've managed to figure out some of the surprises before they are revealed, but he's always managed to surprise me with something at the end.

The main issue that I have with this book is one of the issues that I also had with the Davinci Code. Timeline. I think that Brown tries to squeeze WAY too much into such a short period of time that things get to be a bit unbelievable. The fact that the entire book takes place ovet the space of one day (Give or take some hours due to time zones) is a bit unrealistic to me. With an hour in between major events, Robert manages to be knocked unconscious, regain consciousness, travel to his next destination, research his problem and discover the solution, travel from there to the next place and do a multitude of other things before the next event takes place. And this happens again and again. Even if it logistically could be done, I don't know that it could physically be done.

Anyway, I did enjoy the book. I thought that it was well written and I would reccommend it to others.

Review by qwicksilfer (2006-11-25)
I don't understand why people only know Dan Brown for the Da Vinci Code! Although that was a good book as well, Angels and Demons intrigued me far more. Robert Langdon impressed me with his quick thinking, and the plot seemed more probable to me than the Da Vinci Code (where the ending spoiled the book for me). Angels and Demons is exciting, and a true page turner. I would recommend this book over the Da Vinci Code!

Review by method man (2005-12-17)
After reading the reviews already given for this novel, I find it very interesting how some can throughly enjoy the book, and others almost despise it. Five out of the six reviews on the book were against the idea Angles and Deamons is in fact a quality novel, however I think people are just sick of the hype that The DaVinci Code got, and are now applying to much criticism towards Dan Brown. (Those people of course would have not read the books in order)
Anyway, the start of the book told the reader about this scientific agent known as "Antimatter", (from memory), which was buy far the most powerful energy known to man. 100 times stronger than nuclear power I can recall. This was a FACT given to the reader to keep in the bacl of their mind throughout the book. Creating the sence of danger Dan Brown so often relies on. I found those few pager exciting, and eager to get into the book and find out what it has to do with the story. But to tell you the truth, it's existance was used in a horrid exageration. I remember laughing out aloud at 2 in the morning it was so hard to belive. Along with Robert's escape from the helicopter. So yes, as far as I was concerned, there were faults in the plot, but Dan Brown kept using "scrambled events" to keep the book in the readers hands.

Angles and Deamons was mildly enjoyable, and I would recomend it to anybody who has nothing else to read. I give it a final rating of 6/10

Brett Jackson.

Review by joebloggscity (2005-08-24)
a woeful book which pails into typecast characters and lazy literature best left for daytime television. the last third of the book is so ridiculous it would even make the writers of a James Bond novel cringe at the events unfolding. A travesty of a novel which held up due to the far far superior Da Vinci Code written by the same author.

Avoid big time.

Review by gsmith@rmbprivatebank.co.za (2005-07-27)
Angels and Demons is the first in what we now know will be a three part story of Robert Langton. The characters are not well developed as almost anyone who can read will tell you. But what lacks in Dan Browns novels he makes up with pace, ease of reading and a very addictive habit of putting a tad bit of fact in the pot. Personally I believe Dan just didn't want the novel to end and that's why the ending really starts pushing the realism barrier to the edge. However it is in my opinion a better novel than The Da Vinci Code.

Good information is that of Religion vs Science and the apparent animosity that exist between the two. It's worth a read if your looking for something to get you through a plane flight or a weekend indoors.

Review by eriksonmobile (2005-06-13)
I enjoyed this book more than The Da Vinci Code, however in my opinion Brown again does not succeed in finding a satisfying ending to his book. The main charcters stay flat but to be honest it does not really matter in a book like this. The pseudo-science and pseudo-historical facts are intersting to consider but don't seem all too real and believable.
Nonetheless it is an entertaining read which is great to read if you want to relax.

Review by predsy (2005-06-13)
After reading The Da Vinci Code, I didn’t think another Dan Brown book would be able to get me so enthusiastic. How wrong I was! Angels and Demons is wonderfully written and in a way, I even preferred it to The Da Vinci Code! Whereas I found TDVC a bit unrealistic at times (eg. reading about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene actually made me say out loud “Yeah right…”) I didn’t get that impression with Angels and Demons. It ‘had me’ from the very first page until the very last one. Those of you who haven’t read it yet: start reading!! You won’t be disappointed

Review by engla (2005-02-06)
Dan Brown does a very good job in Angels and Demons to keep you reading, but not much more. While the thick plot is written very much like 'Da Vinci Code', and cleverly adds in a little more information in every chapter, the result is not a coherent, solid story. While interesting, the physics introduced in the beginning of the book is not very plausible. Also, the resolution is a clumsy mess, leaving me feeling that the characters are very unreal. 5/10

Review by Beaver (2004-05-01)
Angels & Demons was structurally very similar to The Da Vinci Code. It's a murder mystery (the Hassassin vs. Silas), ancient secrets and conspiracies involving the Catholic church are revealed in both, both have poor characters and a weak romance, both have readable short chapters, and both have interesting topics with lots of exposition. I liked the whole Illuminati conspiracy, but I wish it had been fleshed out better. I thought that the idea of God being the singularity of the Big Bang was interesting. Through most of this book, I didn't care for it as much as The Da Vinci Code, but the twist at the end helps redeem the story somewhat. 8/10