Customer Reviews
Very similar to The Davinci Code - By: M. J. Fox, 03 Oct 2008 
As soon as I had read the first page of this book I wanted to put it down.... forever. It is identical to The Davinci Code. But I forced myself to read it & in time became hooked. Dan Brown obviously researches historical fact thoroughly. However, he lets himself down with the action sequences which are, in places, ridiculous. I won't give the story away but planes cannot travel at 15,000 miles per hour & people cannot survive fallling out of a helicopter without a parachute 2 miles up in the air. Also the action is very cliched & at times you are left thinking not only would that not happen but people would simply not behave or react that way. This alll adds up to a book of two sides. Dan Brown sucks you into a plausible, interesting & clever plot & the next it alll becomes a little too silly. If you loved the Davinci Code then give it a try, otherwise you may as well forget it.
Breath-taking - By: Jack Baxi, 21 Sep 2008 
Its alll been said already - in my opinion the best STORY ive ever read. Yes the writing isnt world class, but the story & pace are like nothing ive ever read before, & i thought the ending was crazily out of this world.
For sheer fans of story telling, this cant be beaten. Yes it might stretch the imagination but the details, research & characters are amazing. In awe of the story - how on earth did he come up with the mother of alll twists at the end?!!!!!!!!
like the clock that struck 13 ... - By: F. Merritt, 18 Aug 2008 
An entertaining read, though the last quarter gets tiresomely silly.
I would have admired Mr Brown's much-vaunted 'extensive research', & the ingenuity with which he constructs his plot around the topography of Rome (of which I am ignorant), except that in the one area in which I do know a little, he makes such astonishing errors that I cannot take seriously anything else he holds out as fact. Two examples:
1. Yoga, he says, is 'a Buddhist art'. No, it isn't. Its Hindu roots go back hundreds of years before the Buddha lived.
2. More astonishingly, our revered professor of symbology is of the opinion that Chritianity 'borrowed' the concept of the Eucharist (partaking of the body & blood of God) from the Aztecs. Now you can possibly argue that the origins of the eucharist lie in ancient Egypt, or maybe even the Roman cult of Mithras, but the Aztecs? Not only did Aztec culture flourish two continents & a fairly large ocean away from Jerusalem - it only arose about 1100 years after Christianity, by which time the Church had been celebrating the Eucharist, with full transubstatiational theology, for at least 800 years.
If Mr Brown can include errors so basic that 10 minutes on Wikipedia would correct them, what other howlers underlie his book? Of course it's fiction, but not as anchored in the real world as the author would have us believe.
upon this rock i will build my church - By: SKYW4LKER, 17 Aug 2008 
Religion vs Science...Illuminati with a deadly killer out to destroy Vatican City. Robert Langdon in this first thriller with Vittoria race against time to find the 'bomb' - antimatter & to find the signs/path leading to finding the 4 missing cardinals.
The plot to this thriller focus the deeper meaning of creating scientific 'miracles' against the believer of religious gift from God. Who is to say there is a link between God & science. [Spolier] The camerlengo challlenge this & review further secrets to his plot to destruct what was so dearly to him & God intentions.
I read this way after i saw the movie Da Vinci Code - I have to say i thought of Tom Hanks as the image of Robert Langdon in this part of the thriller. I also prefer this thriller more so that Da Vinci Code. Good read abit drag at the end, but still manage for a 4 Star.
lived up to my expectations - By: , 02 Aug 2008 after reading The Da vinci code my mum said that i might enjoy this. she was very right. it is a great read the keeps you guessing until the very end. it makes alll the the characters come alive. Dan Brown wrote in a way that i think help the book & the plot. he wrote in one part swapping between people, so you read about Robert for a while then he swaps & writes a smalll amount about the Hassain & Victoria. this leaves you wondering if Robert will get there in time, until finnaly he merges the two toghter as they meet.
this book makes many questions alot clearer & the speech made by the camerlengo was very riviting & uplifting & one of my favioute bits in the whole story.
this book is a must read.
p.s. sorry for any spelling mistakes.
