Anybody here read it? Is it any good?
Not as good as The Da Vinci Code but it’s still decent. It’s tough to get too excited about it right after reading The Da Vinci Code because they both deal with religious conspiracies. It’s like he has a Mad Lib with a line for <insert religious conspiracy theory>.
I just finished reading it on my minister’s recommendation. It was a decent read, but kind of predictable after reading Da Vinci Code. I figured out the villain and part of the rationale for his actions pretty early on, but not the whole plot. I got very annoyed at the end when one character who has been pragmatic and straightforward starts playing little girly games, but it didn’t suck. Dan Brown’s no P.D. James, but I sat up late reading, trying to figure out how he was going to get his characters out of one preposterous mess after another. Oh, and like DaVinci Code, the action all takes place in 24 hours, but there is absolutely no way it could have. Apparently there is absolutely no traffic in Rome.
It’s one of the worst books I’ve attempted to read this year. I received The Davinci Code as a Christmas gift but decided to put off reading it until I read the first book. I found a copy of Angels & Demons in a used book store a few weeks back and started reading it last week.
It’s horrible. The plotting is bad; Brown tries to go from one cliff-hanger moment to another without ever stopping for a moment of characterization. The dialogue is corny with losts of exclamation points!
But worst of all is the general ignorance of the book. Brown obviously intends his characters to be smart people but they’d be laughed off this board for their ignorance. They’re constantly being amazed by the revelation of things most of us learned in high school (Atoms are made up of smaller particles! Matter can be transformed into energy! There was a secret society called the Illuminati! Mr Ed was played by a zebra!) And when Brown does reveal these tidbits of knowlege he apparently cribbed from a “Smart People for Dummies” book, he often gets his facts wrong.
Incidentally the book is based on the idea that Science and Religion are locked in a centuries long war. Literally so. Brown writes as if it’s a given that every scientist is an atheist who wants religion banned and every religious person wants the Inquisition restored and all books burned.
Well, I’ll say it. I disliked it. Too many characters acting implausibly, too many implausible situations. And I don’t mean garden-variety implausible (hell, I’ll suspend disbelief long enough to read mysteries where amateurs stumble upon dead bodies repeatedly for no good reason). I mean IMPLAUSIBLE!
It was too much for me, but I had to read it for a book group, so I finished it. It’s a fast read, anyway.
Oh yeah, you just reminded me of the first thing that annoyed me. The stupid ambigram. Egads! It must be authentic! The top minds in the world have tried for years and years to make such an ambigram and they couldn’t! It’s just not possible!
Can you say :rolleyes: ?
Hmmm…upon preview, that doesn’t flow exactly from what I quoted, but trust me, they’re connected in my mind. 
Three posts in a row to one thread, shoot me now…
I just wanted to clarify that I don’t think the above needs a spoiler box, as it is pretty much on the back cover of the paperback edition I had. If anyone disagrees (I’m new to posting in book-related threads), let me know and I’ll email a mod.
For what it was, I liked it. It’s not a terribly good book when you compare it to others, but if you’re looking for something light to read, it’s pretty good. I thought it was better than The DaVinci Code.
Same for me. Amusing bathtub reading but nothing more.
I’ll second this. It was the first book I read by Brown. The first part of the book was interesting in a summer fun book sort of way. Toward the end, the implausible situations were too much to not laugh at. That it was not written in jest amazes me.
[spoiler]
So, among other things, this average college prof goes on a day long adventure where he travels to Europe and solves a mystery that has eluded top people for decades. During the course of the day, he does not exibit any jet lag. Then, during the course of 20 minutes (?) he does stuff that would take probably all day long, logistically.
At one point he falls TWO MILES from a helicopter after detonating a bomb and is taken to an emergency room - upon which HE WALKS AWAY. I remember reading it and thinking “yeah, RIGHT.” I have been told that it is possible to walk away from such a fall. I just keep thinking of what shape my college profs were in and I think that there’s a fat chance in hell they would walk away, let alone survive.
oh! and I just recalled another thing.
There’s this bit where a PRIEST and a NUN go through artificial insemination. In the 1960’s. a) This is mentioned as if it were a casual every day occurance as it is in our era and b) How on earth did they pay for that?
I’m sure I probably have some of the info wrong as it has been a long time since I read it. [/spoiler]
In short, if you don’t have a sense of humor regarding this story, you should be gravely insulted by the implausable story line.
Perhaps it would be useful if people rated A&D relative to DaVC - since it seems like people have polarized opinions of both books, and both books have similar strengths and flaws.
I haven’t read either book, so tell me this - is it better than Shea and Wilson’s Illuminatus! books? Smarter? Funnier? Crazier?
I didn’t like the book - it is momentum, nothing more. Brown piles on twists and stuff simply to pump the reader up and get them to turn the page - the actual integrity of the plot is non-existent for a variety of reasons.
I have come to the conclusion that the DaVinci Code phenomenon is the thriller equivalent of The Bridges of Madison County - a combination of factors thrust this book onto the bestseller list and kept it there and in the public’s imagination for far longer than the actual book deserved. Once the hubbub dies down, the book will be revealed (as Bridges was) for what it really is - crap. The textual equivalent of a #1 pop song that sold that year, but is really a stinker, like “Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks or something…
and Angels and Demons is just along for the ride…
Oh god no. Not even close. Brown’s books are pretty much Oprah Book Club Pablum. Entertaining, but certainly not clever.
I don’t think any conspiracy book could possibly be as fun as Wilson and Shea’s books.
fnord
I picked it up at the Buffalo Airport where my flight was delayed by two hours. It was more interesting than staring at the other passengers who were also pissed off about having to wait. And it was more interesting than looking at the shopper’s showcase catalogue in the seat pocket of the airplane for the third time. And it was also more interesting than reading American Airlines’ magazine for the third time. So it served a purpose. Will I ever read it again? meh. Doubtful.
I may have come up with an explanation for you, Bad News Baboon. Maybe this average college is professor…
is Jack Bauer’s long lost cousin!
Think about it. Makes sense.
I agree with everything Little Nemo said! In addition, most of the allegedly “top secret sneaky Catholic secrets, did I mention they’re secrets” are things I learned in CCD! It’s really secret if you go around telling a bunch of 7 year old kids! And the abuse of exclamation points will make your blood run cold!
The one thing that kept me going with this book was that the puzzle in the center of it all was fairly well-crafted. Sure, it’s not the most plausible plot in the world, but I thought the clues were clever and interesting, like a good Encyclopedia Brown mystery (although not as well written). Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite make up for the amazing ignorance displayed by the characters, and dialogue that was so seriously goofy that I found myself reading it over several times to make sure I was understanding it correctly.
Oddly enough, I found myself nearly recommending this book to people, along the lines of “oh man, this book is so bad you just HAVE TO read it to believe it.” I made Mr. Del read it so he could share my misery. It’s a quick read.
Wordman, I don’t think anyone here is tauting The Da Vinci Code as literature.
That doesn’t mean it’s not deserving of praise. That is one hell of a tautly written thriller. I think if there wasn’t any controvery over the truth of the theories it presents, the book would be criticized less. Some people seem to think that because some people take the theories as truth, it doesn’t make good fiction (Not saying this of you necessarily).
I think the fact that he tries to claim it’s accurate in the forward is what riles people up a lot. If the forward had said “Every fact stated in this book is incorrect. Just enjoy it,” they might mind less, though it would lose the interest the factuality claim gives.
BTW - “tauting”, very freudian, “taunting” is very accurate.
Is was entertaining, something different to read.
That’s about it.