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Angels & Demons: A Novel

Dan Brown

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Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Brown, Dan
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Thrillers -> Suspense

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2188 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code comes the explosive thriller that started it all.

An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to his first assignment to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

Critics have praised the exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit found in Brown's remarkable thrillers featuring Robert Langdon. An explosive international suspense, Angels & Demons marks this hero's first adventure as it careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.

Stone Cold

David Baldacci

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 139 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The #1 bestselling author of The Collectors and Simple Genius returns with STONE COLD...an unforgetable novel of revenge, conspiracy, and murder that brings a band of unlikely heroes face-to-face with their greatest threat.

Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington, D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies-including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret work of the government.

Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises.

One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match.

As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw, leading to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. And when buried secrets are at last violently resurrected, the members of the Camel Club left standing will be changed forever.

With unrelenting pacing, stunning reversals, and two of the most compelling characters in modern fiction, STONE COLD is David Baldacci writing at his breathtaking best.

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3864 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

It's FICTION, kids. 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Everyone on the planet has felt the need to weigh in on this book, decrying it as blasphemy, screaming about whether or not the Knights Templars and the Priory were real, or, further, whether they had anything to do with the Sange Real or the Mergovian line, whether Christ died for our sins, whether He lived at all, etc.

First, this is a work of fiction. People became so angered about the alleged premise here that they seem to have forgotten that Dan Brown wrote this book as fiction and sold it as such. Books like Michael Piaget Holy Blood Holy Grail cover whether or not any of this is real. But even accepting that Brown never made any representation and people take things like this way too seriously, this book got too much press. This is not a bad book. It's well-enough written, and relatively fast-paced. But it's not a GREAT book, and not even the best of Brown's "heretical" novels (an honour I would reserve for Angels and Demons.) If this book had been about anything in the world other than suggesting that Christ had a child, it would have been on the bargain rack in most airports behind the unsold John Grishams within a week.

Remember, kiddies: Just because it's controversial does NOT mean it's great literature. (For further lessons on the medicocre-book-propelled-to-international-stardom-by-religion, please see The Satanic Verses) [close]

Editorial Review:

An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

As millions of readers around the globe have already discovered, The Da Vinci Code is a reading experience unlike any other. Simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail, Dan Brown's novel is a thrilling masterpiece—from its opening pages to its stunning conclusion.

The Camel Club

David Baldacci

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 242 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

The Camel Club is cool! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Camel Club is cool. They're an odd group of conspiracy theorists, led by Oliver Stone, on a quest for the truth.

Baldacci weaves quite a tale that keeps your attention and is full of twists and turns.

I thought this was a great mystery thriller with a bunch of interesting characters.

This is the first Camel Club novel. The second is The Collectors and the third is Stone Cold.

Really enjoyed this one... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Really enjoyed this book and I am placing orders for the next 2 that follow. This was the first "serious" book that I have read in years (since college) and I must say it was great. I endured a few late nights as I didn't want to put the book down. I just finished the book and I am sad that I don't have the next one to start reading right away.

Editorial Review:

Conspiracy theories--everybody has one. The difference with this conspiracy is that it's all too real. David Baldacci's The Camel Club takes readers inside the Beltway as four unlikely misfits struggle not only to survive, but to save their president and their country from a plot that will lead to nuclear disaster.Bestselling BaldacciLast Man StandingThe WinnerTotal Control The Simple TruthAbsolute PowerSaving Faith

The Collectors

David Baldacci

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 147 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good escapism 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I thought this was better than the Camel Club - & the plot was top notch. It took a while to get into it & though he tidied the 2 separate plot lines, it was still a bit disjointed. Sure - it was a bit 'fantastical' in places but then again it didn't make a difference to the overall story. Good effort - i look forward to the next installment.

Editorial Review:

People are dropping dead in Washington, D.C. First the Speakerof the House falls victim to a hitman in a carefully orchestrated murder infront of dozens of the city's power elite. Next, the director of theLibrary of Congress's Rare Books Room dies in a book vault, but no oneknows how. Caleb Shaw, Camel Club member, nearly falls victim, too. Acrossthe country, a gifted con woman assembles an A-list team to pull off one ofthe most audacious scams ever, against one of the most dangerous men in theworld. When the worlds of Washington and the elite con collide head-on, theCamel Club finds itself teamed with a person they don't really trust butwhose skill helps them unravel a secret that threatens to bring America toits knees.

Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

James Lee Burke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Trouble follows Dave Robicheaux.

James Lee Burke's new novel, Swan Peak, finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina.

But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are found brutally murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying. They quickly find themselves involved in a twisted and dangerous mystery involving a wealthy, vicious oil tycoon, his deformed brother and beautiful wife, a sexually deviant minister, an escaped con and former country music star, and a vigilante Texas gunbull out for blood. At the center of the storm is Clete, who cannot shake the feeling that he is being haunted by the ghosts from his past -- namely Sally Dio, the mob boss he'd sabotaged and killed years before.

In this expertly drawn, gripping story, Burke deftly weaves intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his uniquely graceful prose. He transcends genre yet again in the latest thrilling addition to his New York Times bestselling series.

The Winner

David Baldacci

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 316 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The Winner one of the best from Baldacci 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have read many of Baldacci's books, and from reviews "The Winner" stood out as one that I should read next. Others have discussed the story itself, so I will not add anything to their good comments. When I first began the book, it seemed slow and not very interesting. A sad desperate woman with a baby trying to make ends meet with a looser boyfriend, the father of her daughter. But I stuck with it, mainly because of the reviews and other Baldacci books. After several chapters the book picked up and rewarded my patience. From that point on the story went full steam ahead until the very end. I could hardly put it down. Put it at the top of your Baldacci list, you will not be sorry.

Editorial Review:

When LuAnn Tyler is asked to be part of a crooked lottery scheme, she refuses, even though it would mean millions of dollars. But when she is framed for murder, the frightened single mother is forced to participate. Ten years later she has become a wealthy woman determined to live a normal life. But it will take more than money to escape the attention of the FBI who may want her for murder, and the dangerous man from her past who wants to kill her--if she doesn't stop him first.

Deception Point

Dan Brown

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Total reviews: 192 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When a new NASA satellite spots evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory...a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election. With the Oval Office in the balance, the President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Milne Ice Shelf to verify the authenticity of the find. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic academic Michael Tolland, Rachel uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery -- a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy.

But before Rachel can contact the President, she and Michael are attacked by a deadly team of assassins controlled by a mysterious power broker who will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Fleeing for their lives in an environment as desolate as it is lethal, their only hope for survival is to find out who is behind this masterful ploy. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

In his most thrilling novel to date, bestselling author Dan Brown transports readers from the ultrasecret National Reconnaissance Office to the towering ice shelves of the Arctic Circle, and back again to the hallways of power inside the West Wing. Heralded for masterfully intermingling science, history, and politics in his critically acclaimed thriller Angels & Demons, Brown has crafted another novel in which nothing is as it seems -- and behind every corner is a stunning surprise. Deception Point is pulse-pounding fiction at its best.

The Tin Roof Blowdown (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)

James Lee Burke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the waning days of summer, 2005, a storm with greater impact than the bomb that struck Hiroshima peels the face off southern Louisiana.

This is the gruesome reality Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux discovers as he is deployed to New Orleans. As James Lee Burke's new novel, The Tin Roof Blowdown, begins, Hurricane Katrina has left the commercial district and residential neighborhoods awash with looters and predators of every stripe. The power grid of the city has been destroyed, New Orleans reduced to the level of a medieval society. There is no law, no order, no sanctuary for the infirm, the helpless, and the innocent. Bodies float in the streets and lie impaled on the branches of flooded trees. In the midst of an apocalyptical nightmare, Robicheaux must find two serial rapists, a morphine-addicted priest, and a vigilante who may be more dangerous than the criminals looting the city.

In a singular style that defies genre, James Lee Burke has created a hauntingly bleak picture of life in New Orleans after Katrina. Filled with complex characters and depictions of people at both their best and worst, The Tin Roof Blowdown is not only an action-packed crime thriller, but a poignant story of courage and sacrifice that critics are already calling Burke's best work.

Digital Fortress

Dan Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 919 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Unimpressed 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

While I am a fan of Mr. Brown's later work, I was unimpressed with Digital Fortress. His understanding of the technology is clearly lacking and his attempts to fictionalize them makes for a rather boring read.

Do. Not. Read. This. Book. 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This books sucks. It stinks. It is a waste of paper and ink and I resent the time I wasted on it - though by the end annoyance and incredulity had given way to wry amusement at the author's incompetence.

The plot is ridiculous and completely implausible, with holes an eight year old could spot. To say that the characterisation is cardboard is an insult cardboard. The technical details are so inaccurate as to be laughable.

Utter, unmitigated rubbish. One star only because no stars is not an option.

Editorial Review:

Digital Fortress is the best and most realistic techno-thriller to reach the market in years. Dan Brown's ability to paint in living color the gray area between personal freedom vs. National security is awesome. The story line is so good, readers will feel a chilling thrill a minute as the book makes one think who is truly the terrorist and who is actually freedom's guardian.