Scan barcode
mrs_faith_owens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is perfect for all the conspiracy buffs and those Illuminati curious! While it is completely fictional, Angels and Demons is founded in reality enough to make you question. While it is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, it is a standalone book and a great read. I truly was kept guessing until the very end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
antmacro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
honestly so much better than the da vinci code, there were some pitfalls but those were more me being nit picky than actual flaws. also i like vittoria and robert SOOOOOO much more than sophie like oh my god so much more chemistry and i actually wanted them together by the end !!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
escaping_america's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I had high hopes for this book as I've heard great things about Dan Brown's writing but honestly this fell flat in so many areas that I found myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous everything was, and laughing at how forced the relationship between Robert and Vittoria was...and then the whole book just ends with an insinuation that they have sex? So weird. So beyond weird. Such an unnecessary plot point, and along with her being almost raped by the Hassassin. It was an interesting read for sure, but this was most definitely written by a man and for a male audience. I'll give a few more of his books a shot but this was a laaaaaame introduction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
emsbookshelf_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THIS WAS SUCH AN EASY 5 STARS OH MY GOD
This book was everything I want when I want to read adventiure. It had morally grey characters. fast pacing, and a well driven plot that - at times - descended into pure chaos.
The plot itself follows a Harvard Symbologist and Illumanti expert, Robert Langdon, as he attempts to stop the destruction of the Catholic Chruch at the Conclave. This novel explores the science versus religion debate very heavily and - as someone with an interest in this ares - I found this very enjoyable and interesting to read. Brown's writing was fast-paced, and at times, so-bad-it's-good. There were easter eggs peppered all over the plot, making for a reading experience that was easy to get sucked in to.
As far as characters go - overall, I did not think that the cast of characters were overly developed, or likeable. However, as the plot is the main forcys of this novel, that did not matter so much. Brown's use of mythical allusion for the more duplicitous characters (i.e., Janus) was a real stand out in this novel.
Overall, I would reccomend this book to those interested in fast-paced mystery thrillers, who edon't mind that the intensity of a plot leads to underdevelopped characetrs.
This book was everything I want when I want to read adventiure. It had morally grey characters. fast pacing, and a well driven plot that - at times - descended into pure chaos.
The plot itself follows a Harvard Symbologist and Illumanti expert, Robert Langdon, as he attempts to stop the destruction of the Catholic Chruch at the Conclave. This novel explores the science versus religion debate very heavily and - as someone with an interest in this ares - I found this very enjoyable and interesting to read. Brown's writing was fast-paced, and at times, so-bad-it's-good. There were easter eggs peppered all over the plot, making for a reading experience that was easy to get sucked in to.
As far as characters go - overall, I did not think that the cast of characters were overly developed, or likeable. However, as the plot is the main forcys of this novel, that did not matter so much. Brown's use of mythical allusion for the more duplicitous characters (i.e., Janus) was a real stand out in this novel.
Overall, I would reccomend this book to those interested in fast-paced mystery thrillers, who edon't mind that the intensity of a plot leads to underdevelopped characetrs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, and Kidnapping
carlaabra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Wow, a long book but it went (mostly) fast! Action mystery/thriller, this is a prequel to the Da Vinci Code with a violent showdown between the Illuminati and the Vatican, plus the two MCs (symbology at MMC and physicist FMC) trying to stop them.
Characters- bland, dialogue is funny in a cliche hokey way. Our main characters each suffered a Traumatic Event as a child that gave them very specific worldviews for the rest of their lives… meh. Also, FMC Vittoria the Bio Entanglement Physicist was particularly ludicrous, with her incessant references to “ah yes I know this Obscure Skill that comes in handy during Plot Event because a dolphin taught it to me” or some shit. MMC is The Hot Professor who does water polo, is super smart, but just doesn’t have a need for women in his life right now. Plus he’s fucking indestructible. Anywho, this is a plot book, just laugh and move on.
Plot- whew, so many twists and turns! I was hooked for a long while even though I don’t like history. The first really tense portion (for the first cardinal) and then the last portion were the best. In between the action lagged a bit, and the author has a habit of interjecting flashbacks or wordy descriptions of scenery into what *should* be tense scenes.
Writing- a step up from the Da Vinci Code, which I found almost unreadable when I tried it years ago. Yes, there are some cheesy cliffhangers and foreshadowing. (“Robert was scared now. Little did he know, later that day he’d be in more danger than ever before. <chapter ends>”). Skimming is your friend. I can only read about Roman architecture for so long.
There’s some messaging about religion vs science that got a little preachy imo, though the author ends on a fairly neutral stance.
One pet peeve: FMC in danger of rape by villain, MMC must save! Like.. this is a historical mystery thriller, did we really need that.
Characters- bland, dialogue is funny in a cliche hokey way. Our main characters each suffered a Traumatic Event as a child that gave them very specific worldviews for the rest of their lives… meh. Also, FMC Vittoria the Bio Entanglement Physicist was particularly ludicrous, with her incessant references to “ah yes I know this Obscure Skill that comes in handy during Plot Event because a dolphin taught it to me” or some shit. MMC is The Hot Professor who does water polo, is super smart, but just doesn’t have a need for women in his life right now. Plus he’s fucking indestructible. Anywho, this is a plot book, just laugh and move on.
Plot- whew, so many twists and turns! I was hooked for a long while even though I don’t like history. The first really tense portion (for the first cardinal) and then the last portion were the best. In between the action lagged a bit, and the author has a habit of interjecting flashbacks or wordy descriptions of scenery into what *should* be tense scenes.
Writing- a step up from the Da Vinci Code, which I found almost unreadable when I tried it years ago. Yes, there are some cheesy cliffhangers and foreshadowing. (“Robert was scared now. Little did he know, later that day he’d be in more danger than ever before. <chapter ends>”). Skimming is your friend. I can only read about Roman architecture for so long.
There’s some messaging about religion vs science that got a little preachy imo, though the author ends on a fairly neutral stance.
One pet peeve: FMC in danger of rape by villain, MMC must save! Like.. this is a historical mystery thriller, did we really need that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Sexual assault is attempted but not completed. Skip the portions from the villain’s POV if you want to skip this.pearlnavratik's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
excellent book, but was slightly thrown off by the sensualization of the sole female character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Gun violence, Blood, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual harassment
shetland_pone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
If you don't pay any attention, it's fun, but the moment you start to think about things it all falls apart. Langdon is a Mary Sue, most of the characters are seriously unlikeable, and the ending was a shitshow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Murder, Body horror, Sexism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
naiu_cs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Death
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual content
marialilypotter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
malignant_gnome's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Death, Blood, Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Torture, and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape