Angels and Demons (book): Good in the way The Core was good
One of the actors in the Angels and Demons movie was recently quoted as saying "I think Dan Brown is a terribly bad writer, but he has cliffhangers after every chapter which makes you continue reading. It's like eating peanuts at a bar. You don't like them, but you keep on eating them anyway." Apparently he only agreed to the movie because Ron Howard un-retardeded the script.
I had read the Da Vinci code, and while I didn't find the writing stellar, I didn't think it was bad either. So I decided to read Angels and Demons before watching the movie, expecting more of the same.
Holy shit.
Maybe it's because I'm more knowledgeable about things such as, I don't know, science and Catholicism than Renaissance painters, but this book is BAD. HILARIOUSLY bad. All except a few characters are one-dimensional, the plot twists that aren't utterly predictable don't have ANY clues leading up to them, and the author obviously has only surface knowledge of the subjects on which he writes. The "puzzles" are mildly entertaining as are the descriptions of the art and architecture, but for all I know he is pulling these things straight out of his ass. The only redeeming quality are the laugh-out-loud-absurd statements he makes about science, scientists, and the clergy. Also, the plot seems to be cut from the same rough template as the Da Vinci Code (I guess I credit him for getting it sort-of right that time around).
So for your entertainment, I will present a series, called Tig Sums Up Angels and Demons, one chapter at a time. It has something ridiculous like 140 chapters, but they're all pretty short.
I had read the Da Vinci code, and while I didn't find the writing stellar, I didn't think it was bad either. So I decided to read Angels and Demons before watching the movie, expecting more of the same.
Holy shit.
Maybe it's because I'm more knowledgeable about things such as, I don't know, science and Catholicism than Renaissance painters, but this book is BAD. HILARIOUSLY bad. All except a few characters are one-dimensional, the plot twists that aren't utterly predictable don't have ANY clues leading up to them, and the author obviously has only surface knowledge of the subjects on which he writes. The "puzzles" are mildly entertaining as are the descriptions of the art and architecture, but for all I know he is pulling these things straight out of his ass. The only redeeming quality are the laugh-out-loud-absurd statements he makes about science, scientists, and the clergy. Also, the plot seems to be cut from the same rough template as the Da Vinci Code (I guess I credit him for getting it sort-of right that time around).
So for your entertainment, I will present a series, called Tig Sums Up Angels and Demons, one chapter at a time. It has something ridiculous like 140 chapters, but they're all pretty short.