Better than Angels & Demons, Not as good as DaVinci Code
598271
Let's start this way:  Dan Brown's books make great movies. Why? Because the films don't have time for his "mystic-tristic-bulls--t," -- they can get down to the heart of his thrillers.

I've been dealing with esoterica, especially the religious kind for the last 40 years of my life, ever since I started my journey away from Catholicism.  Brown's books are generally convolutlated paths as he picks and chooses between established history and fact and the pseudo-history and commonly held falacies which guide people away from reality, to a degree that sometimes confuses people who understand which is which. (Warning:  If you read a book that promises to tell the truth about a mystery, count the exclamation points.  If there is more than one in the first 20 pages, put it down and never come back unless you're reading it for a giggle.)

The Lost Symbol falls into this category.  Brown has taken historic and "occult" information and twisted them into a mishmash to support his plot, even if there is no real sense in the ideas. This is a boring attempt at something that he succeeded at in The DaVinci Code (although the allegations in that book include things I truly wish were true).  Poor Robert Langdon must deal with the torture of a friend, all the while trying to stop something that he has little background to help himself, since he, himself, has no access to the hidden secrets that are contained in the Masonic dogma.  &
While Masons do, indeed, have secrets, as Langdon contends in his lecture, they are neither occult (in the commonly held definition) nor people who are trained to lead the world:  For every Washington or Franklin, there are thousands of members who treat the Order as a form of fraternity with secret handshakes and signs, dedicated to trying to make the world a better place.  The best of them are more responsible for the creation of projects like the Shriners' Childrens' Hospitals than in plotting world domination.  This dedication to making the world better is why Masons exist, and if some of the world's greatest leaders have been members of the group, it is because of this goal rather than a craving for some magical power to employ it attain their greatness.

Go rent the DaVinci Code or Angels & Demons and you'll have a better time and won't waste the many hours it takes to read this thing.

Read it if there's nothing entertaining on TV or because you really have nothing else to do, but don't take it seriously.  On second thought, wait until the movie comes out -- at least then you can enjoy a shorter, more coherent version.
1674453
Verdict: A thoroughly mixed bag

1. The pacing is very slow.
2. My impression is there less substance and the author is trying to conceal it.
3.  I would recommend this books for all lovers of the supernatural, all takes on the origin and purpose of devils, and anyone interested in the supernatural.
4. Viewpoint and settings: alternating
5. Pro: at times it can be thrilling, especially if you are interested in discussions of the supernatural & spiritual.
3920422
Let me preface this by saying that fallen angels really appeal to me, as does any book that challenges mainstream views of God and religion.  I LOVED the His Dark Materials trilogy and really liked The Mortal Instruments series.  I wanted to like Fallen--I really did--but it just fell short of my expectations.  I was hoping some great revelation would lead to an amazing plot.  I was kept reading for something intelligent that would make me reconsider all I thought I knew about God and angels.  Unfortunately, this was just another sappy YA love story with little more substance than Hush, Hush.  Fortunately, there wasn't a scorned female lover (i.e., Evermore and Hush, Hush) that ended up being the antagonist.  This, in my book, made Fallen much more tolerable than Hush, Hush.  And for the record, Fallen is not a rip-off of Hush, Hush.  They both happen to be about fallen angels, and that is where the similarities end.

Although Fallen wasn't a literary masterpiece, it was mildly entertaining.  I enjoyed it more than some of the other YA novels out there, but I was slightly irritated that none of the big mysteries were cleared up in the end, and the conflict wasn't even resolved.  In fact, a smaller conflict (Miss Sofia) was introduced and resolved, only providing more questions than answers.  I realize that this book was a set-up for Torment, but some of the issues could be resolved without revealing the entire plot of the series.  I finished the book feeling very unsatisfied, and unsure that I wanted to waste my time on Torment.

If you want a good angels and demons book with a great love story, check out Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments.  Much more satisfying in the end.
4795384
Well this is the book the started it all for the most part. Fans that read Dan Brown based solely on his popularity with The Da Vinci Code probably won't be running to read Digital Fortress anytime soon (sorry DF fans out there, but it's the truth). As far as popularity is concerned, to read an "early" Dan Brown usually means picking up a copy of Angels & Demons.

Taken for what it is this book doesn't disappoint at all!

Unfortunately some reviewers seem to forget that Dan Brown is not an authority on any of the topics he mentions and his books. That being said the average reader is sure to grasp that the author researches his work only as much as it's needed to provide the reader with entertainment. (I mean come on, in the world of The Da Vinci Code we're asked to believe that the Nag Hammadi library as well as similar Gnostic writings with strong religious implications are known only to a few writers in his world whereas in reality such topics are more widely known about. Or, if you will, in Angels & Demons we're asked to believe in the "implausibility" of Mach 15... oh well, science fiction isn't science reality.)

That said Angels & Demons is a fun work of fiction, heralded by many to be one of Dan Brown's finest novels. The appeal is in a level of excitement not found in his other works. However some of Brown's later works are better researched (this isn't due to any lack of research on Brown's part, the topics in the book are simply not as solid as those found in later works). If Angels & Demons has any other flaw it would be its size. It does drag on toward the end just as The Da Vinci Code did, and quite like The Da Vinci Code, the plot twists might leave a few fans disappointed. But with Brown it's about the journey not the endings.

But that's where all the negative characteristics of the book end. Unlike other reviewers I didn't find the characters "too flat," in fact I thought Langdon was better here than in Da Vinci (since, I believe, this is the first book that features Robert Langon), he's presented with a background and personality. I think the same could be said for all of the characters present in the novel, but to each his or her own.

One thing is for sure: what do you get when you combine a really cool living descendant of an 8th century Ism&#257;'&#299;l&#299; Assassin sect and a bomb in one of the world's most sacred cities? A fun adventure you're bound to remember if you're into the genre. I would recommend reading The Da Vinci code first and then reading Angels & Demons and in order to truly appreciate one of Brown's first novels.
474610
To me, the book seemed a bit disjointed and preachy. Not nearly on the same level as Angels and Demons, or even Lost Symbol. Still, a decent read
858117
I read a lot and rarely buy new. Book is good but I didn't enjoy as much I enjoyed the "Da Vinci Code" "Lost Symbol" and "Angels and Demon".
3604430
The Da Vinci Code became the runaway success it is because of three factors:
a) It was polemic in popularizing a theory about the descendants of Jesus being the Holy Grail.
b)  It presented an innovative mixture of fast-paced thriller and history book that was fresh and new at the time.
c)  It was picked up by Hollywood for a movie starring a major name.

Angels & Demons, which many see as the sequel to Da Vinci Code was actually published three years earlier, and its success was largely due to riding the coattails of the Code. Then came a six-year hiatus until 'The Lost Symbol made its appearance. However, this third book featuring Browns protagonist, Robert Langdon, left many feeling disappointed because it tried, and failed, to touch upon issues that raised public hackles.

Its clear that Brown has gone back to the original formula with Inferno. With worldwide overpopulation, he has chosen a subject that is certainly far more controversial than the possible continuance of Christs bloodline. He has tied up this theme with Dantes Divine Comedy, allowing for a similar mix of historic fact with fast-paced thriller. And, of course, Hollywood has fallen over itself to sign it up for a movie.

A Guaranteed Success, you would think.

So why in Hells name has Brown written a Tourist Guidebook?

Its clear, from the last quarter of the tale, the author has a decent suspense thriller to tell. Of that there is no doubt. Its better than The Lost Symbol and is reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code as the protagonist and female companion race to prevent an unspeakable disaster. In fact, if you took ten percent of the first three-quarters of the novel and tacked on the last quarter, you would have a fine thriller.

The problem lies with the remains.

The following is fiction: (maybe)

Publisher: Mr. B, Your new novel is overdue (theres a wink to this in the text of Inferno) and we need it now.
Mr. B: Okay. I have a great story but it only pans out to 50,000 words.
Publisher: No problem. Just pad out the rest with stuff from tourist guidebooks to Florence and repetitions of lines from Dantes work, get it up to around 140,000 words, and that will do.

Am I being grossly unfair to the author? Sadly no.

I write heavily-researched thrillers too, and two of the Golden Rules about them are:
1) Not all your research has to end up in the final draft
2) Only include whats necessary and relevant to move the story along.

In Inferno Dan Brown breaks both of these repeatedly: hence my rating.

The good news is that, should he wish to give up his writing career, he can easily get a job with the Italian Tourist Board  after all, hes been working for them for years!

My recommendation: buy a guidebook for Florence. I honestly think the author is ripping-off his fans with this one.

Is it going to be a runaway success? Of course it is!
4305123
Good background comparison between old & new. Liked the characters & the "visuals" at the Vatican!  Really not sure what happened at the end????
136670
JoeDanDonigi

Why do I say better than Dan Brown?  Well, I read Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code and two things irritated me.  One, I'm not sure what was fact and what was fiction about the religious history he was presenting-and I don't want to spend my time thinking when I'm reading a fiction book for enjoyment.  They were obviously wildly popular so maybe he struck the right chord with his audience.  The second thing that annoyed me is the main protagonist acts seemingly without thinking as he's having constant epiphanies throughout the book.  The Shekinah Legacy is fiction but the characters are all reacting to outside events and the constant epiphanies are more explained by having an autistic boy as one of the main characters.  Gary Lindberg surely did make the book fast-paced, moving as well as exciting.  I definitely recommend it.  I said in another review Tom Clancy good and that's high compliments coming from me.

Photoman35mm
4125190
Dan Brown's stories peaked with Angels and Demons, and Da Vinci Code.
This book was good, but no where near the other two. You might enjoy it if you lower the expectations.
2556805
Dan Brown's THE DAVINCI CODE is a novel for those who think they are reading a serious book about a serious topic: the very sources of the Church's right to exist. For more than two milennia, the Church has based its dogma on its express belief that Jesus Christ was born of divine intervention, was killed by mortal hand, and rose from the dead by divine intervention. During this 2,000 year history, many have come forth with claims that Christ was born mortal, died mortal, and remains mortally dead. Dan Brown now writes of a Christ whose life, death, and resurrection has been manipulated by high Church officials to ensure the longevity and ongoing power of its own structure. There is no way to prove the claims either way, though recently Brown has been sued by another writer who claims that Brown plagiarized plot elements from his own book.

In this book, THE DAVINCI CODE, Brown writes in a style that carries the reader along in such a manner that there is no chance that any implausibilities of plot will become evident. It is almost as if Brown has taken to heart the plot rules from a text called HOW TO WRITE A BEST SELLING NOVEL. He begins with a murder in an art museum by an albino who leaves his victim alive just long enough to etch onto the floor the first in a series of tantalizing clues that propel the reader from page to page.  The hero is a cardboard character named Langdon, who follows these clues as if each one were the Hoily Grail. The point of the novel is that Langdon is seeking the Grail.  Along the way, he (and the reader)are given some fascinating if unverified assertions about the birth and death of Christ. What he learns is that each clue is sort of like reading a text explicating the deconstructionist literary criticism of Derrida, who states that each element in a work of literature is no more than a sign pointing to other signs, which in turn point to still other signs.  The result is that you have a whole lot of signs but not much meaning. When I finished reading THE DAVINCI CODE, I felt that I had just been taken on an extended journey of biblical road signs with Templars pointing to Mary Magdalene pointing to Rosicrucians pointing to the "The Last Supper" painting, and so on in an infinite loop.  And all of this is not necessarily a bad thing.  What Brown has given the reader is all that most readers really want--a good read that teaches something along the way.  What it teaches is a function of that reader.  In my case, I learned to look at certain historical paintings with a new eye to see if the hand on Jesus's shoulder is more feminine than is usually assumed.
4781613
The DaVinci Code was a total page turner, I could not put the book down.  Alas, the same could not be said for Angels and Demons.  It is as if Angels and Demons was the rough draft and DaVinci Code the final copy.  Dan Brown's writing style for these two books is clearly formulaic.  In both books the overall cast of characters differs little.

Character list

Harvard symbologist

Symbolically slain person

Daughter of slain victim as female lead

A physically disabled person

A ruthless killer following orders

A ruthless, cold, calculating leader issuing orders

Catholic Priest/s

Security forces (Police in daVinci, Swiss Guard in Ang & Dem.)

Overly skeptical person in charge of security forces

Synopsis:

The lead character (Langdon), a symbolic murder, Langdon brought in to investigate the murder and is introduced to the daughter of the slain man.  Together they trot off to solve the case.  Tons of art and religious references. Blossoming love between lead male and female characters.  Happy, heroic ending.

Please save your time and money and don't bother with this book.
3774588
Debates on historical inaccuracies aside (after all, this is a work of FICTION), Da Vinci Code is a thrilling page turner, packed with tidbits and esotheric facts. You'll enjoy it you're a fan of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Umberto Eco's works.  That is, if you haven't read Dan Brown's earlier Angels & Demons. The problem with Da Vinci Code is it's almost a rewrite of the earlier novel, it's as if Brown has a template for Langdon's adventures. The plot devices are the same: Both have a mysterious assassin tasked by a faceless villain to carry out a mission based on a historical secret. And both books feature the revelation of the villain as the least person you'd suspect (although he doesn't do a good job of throwing readers off, you'll know pages before the revelation).  Another problem is Robert Langdon's involvement in the Da Vinci Code chase. It's so forced/contrived, you can have Da Vinci Code without Langdon!  Sophie Neveu is supposed to be a crack cryptologist and she could've solved the riddles without Langdon's help, sooner or later.
Again, I'll say it's an enjoyable book IF YOU HAVEN'T READ Angels & Demons. If you have, it's like watching a rerun.
4255790
Ok, I read it just because of the controversy.  A lady at church handed out "rebuttal" books to everyone and I figured if I'm going to read the rebuttal, I need to know what it's rebutting.

I don't read many bad books, but this was one.  It wasn't quite as bad as Tim LaHaye's "Babylon Rising" at least.  I finished this book and it is a page turner, even if it's completely unbelievable.

The only good thing was the way Dan Brown laid down clues leading you suspect very different people than the actual perpetrators.  I liked that because just when I thought I had it all figured out, I had my brain tweaked by a big twist.

However, it's just bad fiction.  The characters do things that make no sense, and are way smarter than is believable.  And while I can enjoy revisionist history, you need to have the historical facts right in order for people to suspend their disbelief when you start rewriting the things in dispute.  I've read a lot about church history and Dan Brown gets sooo many things wrong.  Rewriting well-known historical facts (such as what Constantine did and did not do) makes the rest of the novel less enjoyable.

In short, it's not just bad theology that makes this book bad.  I can overlook bad theology for the sake of a good story.  But the DaVinci Code is a sloppy bit of fiction with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through.  (For example, why does Langdon run upstairs to talk to Sophie when he should be focussed on escaping the police?)  Bad theology aside, it's not even good fiction, and therefore, surprizingly forgettable.  I won't be reading any more Dan Brown books.

Yeah yeah, I know most people will find my review "unhelpful" simply because I don't say what they want me to.  Get over it.
4044888
I'm not sure why but my expectations for this book were fairly low before I started reading. It far exceeded those low expectations. I'm not sure if I wan't to re-read it though, which is why I docked it one star. I've read both Dante's Inferno and the Niven&Pournelle's Inferno. In many respects this "Inferno" is about half way between them. The theology seems closer to the Dante version than Niven&Pournelle's. In terms of readability and enjoyment I'd say it's much closer to Niven&Pournelle's. That is, I liked Niven&Pournell's Inferno quite a lot and Dante was a slog.
1313491
After having read the Da Vinci Code I ordered Angels & Demons immediately to read up on a previous mystery adventure of Robert Langdon. This time I found myself in Rome and yet again confronted with the intrigues of a dark, mysterious, ruthless secret society.... (or that's what I thought anyway.)
The pope died and all the cardinals are assembled to elect one among them as their new leader. However, the three most potential candidates are missing and Langdon accompanied by a very capable and intelligent female scientist finds himself drawn into a thrilling chain of events. Brutally murdered bodies duffed with the signs of an ancient secret society thought to be inexistent for centuries mark his way. There are a mere 6 hours left till mayday.. Breathtaking and full of good views on Rome and insights into art and science the adventure unfolds.
There's just one thing which stood me up yet again: What's up with Dan's endings? His "special-effect" endings just don't work for me.
4315115
His soul damned for a suicide gone wrong, John Constantine wonders the streets of Los Angeles, CA looking for demons to exorcise from human hosts in an attempt to buy his way into heaven ("If I send enough demons back to hell, he'd have to let me in"). That's your plot. Along the way, he occassionally runs into demons on the loose ("I just got attacked by a demon right out in the open"), an angel (Gabriel) who's motivation for interacting with Constantine is questionable (this angel even curses) and the occasional trip back to hell (kind of cool in a post-apocolyptic-futuristic-wasteland kind of way). Constantine, you see, has the gift of being able to see demons like few other humans.

The effects were well done (especially a scene near the beginning of the movie where a guy is killed and rises) but unless a computer generated human can stand next to a real human and I'm not able to tell the difference, my reaction is "been there, seen that".

The dialog and story are filled with pseudo-catholic mumbo jumbo which made little sense to me. Rachel Wiesz seems to get more stunning in every movie I've seen her play a roll. Tilda Swinton is pretty good (and funny) as Gabrial the angel. Keanu Reeves is dressed similar to Neo but speaks in the same tone as Agent Smith throughout the movie but I'm not a Keanu basher. I like the guy. Limited acting abilities be damned (pun unintended).

I kept looking at my watch throughout the movie so I guess all in all, it pretty much was a waste of time. But it was slightly enjoyable.