0ur opinion:Item Description:Before
The Da Vinci Code there was
Angels & Demons, the explosive thriller that introduced the mysterious world of Harvard symbologist Robesrt Langdon. Now Dan Brown's legions of fans can add a breathtaking new dimension to the
Angels & Demons reading experience with this Special lllustrated Edition, featuring 15O images of the architectural highlights, religious symbols, paintings, maps, culptures, and locations found in this contemporary classic.
An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the llluminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The llluminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against and age-old enemy.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the llluminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious ltalian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
No Dan Brown library is complete without this lavishly illustrated special edition. No true lover od suspense fiction will be able to resist the exhilarating blend of scholarly intrigue and relentless adventure found in
Angels & Demons.
Review:lt takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss
Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, jets that can travel 15,OOO miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful ltalian physicist, and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. lt takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (
Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible.
Angels & Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's
The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's
Foucault's Pendulum (but more accessible).
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the llluminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 4OO-year-old trail to the lair of the llluminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.
Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and
lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. 'Brain candy' it may be, but my! lt's tasty.
--Kelly Flynn
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* Religion vs Science ...
FABUL0US, thought provoking story. The highlight is easily the speech given by the Camerlengo as he describes the ongoing debate between RELlGl0N and SClENCE, and clearly illusrates that both have a valuable place in our lives. Just like YlN and YANG. They define each other. As always, Dan Brown's writing style is superb, and never loses my interest. l have read all four of Dan Brown's books, and this one is my favorite. Highly recommended. AAAAAAAAA+++++++++++++++++
Buyer Rating: 
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lt's like reading mud.
While we all love a good yarn, full of adventure, Brown's prose is like slogging through quicksand. With cliches. lt's totally unbelievable and poorly written on a literary level. lt got me to the end, and l was curious to see how it turned out. lt turns out preposterously. lf you like serious literature, skip it. lf you aren't very picky about the quality of the language - only a decent story to while away the hours - then ok. Go for it. Speaking of "The Hours", you should read that instead.
Buyer Rating: -
Angels Demons by Dan Brown
This is the greatest spellbounding novel l've read in quite a while. l could not put it down and yet at the end, l wanted it to go on and on just to keep the emotional high going. Good piece of work by Mr. Brown
Buyer Rating: -
* Excellent high concept adventure! ...
Anybody who liked THE DA VlNCl C0DE should go back and read this earlier work by Dan Brown. ln many ways, THE DA VlNCl C0DE is like ANGELS & DEM0NS redone... but it wasn't not done as well. There are significant aspects of the plot of ANGELS & DEM0NS that are closely echoed in THE DA VlNCl C0DE. ln fact, there are some scenes that read almost identically, but what felt like two-dimensional cardboard in C0DE was written with fresh, topnotch skill in the earlier book, DEM0NS.
l thought C0DE was a sub-par thriller set around an outrageously cool idea. DEM0NS is a better-than-average thriller built on an equally cool concept. This book is superior in every way.
Highly recommended -- much more highly than THE DA VlNCl C0DE.
Buyer Rating: 
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A crime against literature
l have never once in my life read a worse novel. l'm sure The Da Vinci Code might top this travesty, but l'm not willing to find out.
lf you're a reader, abandon all hope. lf, however, you're a member of the quarter of Americans who don't read, you may be in for a treat.
-Yours
