"Angels and Demons" is possibly the worst book I've ever read. It's a work full of errors and misconceptions too numerous to mention. The dialog is stilted and unconvincing--does Langdon really have to explain to an Italian what the Swiss Guard are?

The villains are ethnic …more stereotypes and the supposed dichotomy or clash between science and faith is so outdated that it's hard to imagine Brown ever heard of quantum physics and the philosophers of the early 20th century. His character Langdon exists in a similar philosophical vacuum though we are expected to believe he teaches at Harvard.

Brown's lack of understanding of Catholicism and the Catholic Church and the farcical activities he imagines at the Vatican border on bigotry, as does his depiction of predictable stock villains, Middle Eastern assassins and terrorists, whom he describes as "dark and potent."

Then there's the plot--to say it is strained would be kind. Like the rest of the book, it's ridiculous (complete with gratuitous sex thrown in .....[text deleted by BookBrowse to remove plot spoiler].

The only good thing I can say about reading "Angels and Demons" is that it saved me from reading "The Da Vinci Code." (less)