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Opiate of the Masses This is one of the most painfully lame mass market paperbacks I have read. In light of the rabid success of "The Da Vinci Code", I decided to read Dan Brown's works, starting with his first and ending with his most recent. What a colossal waste of time so far! "Angels & Demons" is really horrible, in every way possbile. While not as bad as "Digital Fortress", this novel is much worse than "Deception Point" (and that's pretty rough). "A&D" is one of the most low-brow novels I have ever read. I had to force myself through this book in spite of my better judgment. I have met junior high students who could write better than Brown. Why on earth people love this book so much is not only a mystery, but a tragedy. The novel, in a nutshell, is a painfully drawn out narration of a twisted scavenger hunt with a Roman Catholic theme. In typical Dan Brown fashion, the protagonist of "A&D" is a virile, intelligent, handsome MAN who, thank heavens, is available to save the well-meaning but all too helpless heroine. He is always able to think on his feet, never makes a wrong decision, and always happens to be in the right place at the right time. The characters are utterly ridiculous, behaving in completely unbelievable and laughable ways, and speaking in awkward and cumbersome language. For example, I have never met an American who uses the expletive adjective "bloody", let alone a Harvard faculty member. As in all Brown's work, characters only appear in unvarying extremes. The Vatican clergy are are holier than humanly possible. The evil Illuminati are the devil incarnate. Scientists are callously cold. Christians are uncommonly quaint. Military members are dangerously impassive. Journalists are despicably hollow. The lowest point of "A&D" comes in the form of a pseudo-papal monologue (broadcast so very melodramatically to the world via BBC) lamenting the sacrificial role that religion has played at the behest of the Great Beast Science. Where's the fast forward? When reviewing mass market paperbacks like "A&D", I try to examine the work relative to similar books, rather than holding it to any kind of literary standard. Even under this generous threshold, "Angels & Demons" should be reserved only for the lowest common denominator of readers. I'm embarrased to have finished the whole book, but since I did, and since all the sentences had subject and verbs, I'll award it 2 stars. The ideal way to enjoy this book is to find a copy in the airport, read it during the flight, and then leave the copy, regardless of where you stop reading, in the seatback pocket in front of you. As a courtesy to the next traveler, make sure you also leave an air sickness bag.