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A review by carlaabra
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
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.