can do it -- and quite well. If DaVinci hadn't come along Brown would be producing a nice shelf of thrillers. There are a few sequences that have a high 'wow' factor. The plot is a little ponderous -- but no more so than a typical Cussler. There's some descriptive imagery (particularly in the Arctic) that stick in your brain for a while. Atmosphere, A; Action, A; Plot, C; Character Development, yah right. (less) It may seem like a cheap shot, but this is not Angels & Demons. It seems as though Dan Brown attempted to repeat the A&D formula, almost item-by-item, leaving us a now familiar and uncreative thriller. The political intrigue has been transplanted from the Vatican to the White House. The hapless civilian is female this time, and like Robert Langdon, she has some old phobias which she will predictably face. The elite killer is now a Delta Force team, and everybody travels in the most unnece ...more It may seem like a cheap shot, but this is not Angels & Demons. It seems as though Dan Brown attempted to repeat the A&D formula, almost item-by-item, leaving us a now familiar and uncreative thriller. The political intrigue has been transplanted from the Vatican to the White House. The hapless civilian is female this time, and like Robert Langdon, she has some old phobias which she will predictably face. The elite killer is now a Delta Force team, and everybody travels in the most unnecessarily exotic modes of