Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

4 reviews

pearlnavratik's review against another edition

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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

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kit666's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Ich muss ehrlich sagen, dass ich nicht mit dem Ende gerechnet habe! Sobald Kohler zum Vatikan kam, dachte ich es ist klar, was Sache ist. CERN sind die Illuminati etc etc. Ich war sogar leicht enttäuscht, dass alles so ein "Happy End" hatte und habe nur noch auf die Aufklärung gewartet wir Kohler alles geplant und ausgeführt hat. Doch dann kam der Plottwist. 
Anfangs habe ich den Camerlengo sogar gemocht! Es wurde also super geschrieben! 
Am Ende hat mir besonders die logische Erklärung für alles mit einem Hauch von Mystik gefallen. Das war genau das, was ich haben wollte und weswegen ich vor dem Plottwist so enttäuscht war. 
Ich finde es schade, dass Vittoria eine vergleichsweise kleine Rolle hatte. Sie hätte definitiv weiter ausgebaut werden können/sollen. Man weiß so gut wie garnichts über sie und das obwohl sie doch fast immer mit Langdon zusammen unterwegs war.
Zwischen Langdon und Vittoria ist natürlich gaaaaanz viel Trauma-Bonding zu sehen, was aber nach allem was passiert ist verständlich ist.
Warum ausgerechnet Langdon so viel gemacht hat, macht in meinen Augen wenig Sinn. Ich verstehe, warum er als Berater hinzugezogen wurde, aber darüber hinaus? 
Es wäre sehr interessant und cool gewesen, wenn der Hauptcharakter jemand wie Rocher oder Oberst Olivetti wäre. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass ich Olivetti nicht sonderlich sympathisch fand haha. Wobei der wohl nervigste Charakter Glick ist. Meine Güte. Die Rolle hätte man auch einfach als No-Name Rollen verteilen können.
Es war unglaublich spannend, sich die Bilder von den echten Skulpturen usw. anzuschaue, während sie im Buch beschrieben werden! Das transportiert einen natürlich sofort ins Geschehen!
Das Buch hat mir sehr gefallen! Ich weiß, dass der Film sehr beliebt ist, habe ihn selber aber nie gesehen. Wenn man es also ohne Vorwissen liest, kann es super als alleinstehenden Roman lesen! Ich würde gern mal nach Rom, um mir die Orte auch in echt anzuschauen. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass das sehr Spaß machen würde!

Doesn't pass the Bechdel Test tho.. 

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purplehulk713's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The Catholic Church’s circus tent is about to come crashing down. Dan Brown is incredible at creating a fast-paced while still multi-layered thriller that at the same has the spectacle and religious esotericism as an Indiana Jones film. (Robert Langdon is effectively Indiana Jones without the aesthetic) The religious and artistic history entranced me like hypnosis—Christians stole the practice of “god-eating” from the Aztecs after conquering their empire. Some of the plot points seemed a little unnecessary though—why does Robert go into the helicopter? I did the love the fast pace but slow burn of the reveals, like the dead Pope actually being the camerlengo’s father and not just his foster father, and the camerlengo’s reveal as Janus. Vittoria and Robert are a cute couple, and they are definitely a good match—she’s determined and flexible (literally and figuratively) and he’s quiet and compassionate. The scientific theory, though advanced, is clearly and concisely explained to the non-scientific mind. The backstories (for Langdon and Vittoria especially) are incredibly compelling, like how Vittoria came to meet and grow up with the man that would adopt her. The Hassassin’s deadly inspiration and glorious delight in his cruelty weave a spell-binding villain. But the one of the most significant elements of the story is the fact that you can truly walk this Path of Illumination—from “Habakkuk and the Angel” in the Chigi Chapel in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Popolo (Earth—Terra) to the “West Ponente” relief in St. Peter’s Square (Air—Aria) to “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa” in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (Fire—Fuòco) to the Fountain of the Four Rivers in front of the church of Saint Agnes in Agony in the Piazza Navona (Water—Acqua) and finally to the Church of Illumination within Castel Sant’Angelo. The path is real though the story may not be. Let angels guide thee on thy lofty quest…

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

I admire Dan Brown for his ability to create these kinds of page-turners full of interesting facts. I'm not a huge fan of action books or movies where everything is centered around villains and violence, but all the nerdy stuff in this book surely made up for it :)

On the other hand, I really dislike Brown's way of writing characters, everything from creating backstories interesting enough to describing them in present day and action. I mean, of course Robert Langdon is as perfect as Brown's wanted him to be (bet he created him as a perfect version of his own self), but oh god, ARE THERE MORE TO FEMALE CHARACTERS THAN THEIR BODIES? Obviously there should be, but I wouldn't recommend using Brown's books as a guide to writing women. Or, tbh, any other characters either, so very one-dimensional, stereotypical, (and even racist) he made them all (apart from Langdon ofc). Especially the assassin — his actions and overall villain-ness didn't frustrate me nowhere near as his personality was written to be.

So, overall the story was adventurous and entertaining if you just treat most of the chacters as "necessary implementers to the required actions" and ignore their personal traits. Wouldn't recommend if you dislike science and/or history. 

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