Birds of Prey

The book grabbed my attention from the first chapter on. The characters are so realistically portrayed and the action scenes dragged me to read on. The crew of the Lady Edwina are in desperate need of a new ship, as their own is being eaten away from beneath their feet my the sea. The English and the Dutch are at war, and these enterprising seamen are after the dutch galleons that are loaded with riches. What confuses me though is why did the Gull, the other ship in the flotilla, leave them. I also believe that the Dutch governor's wife is going to play a big part in the story, based on the amount of time given to describing her. She seems to have a "outgoing" personality, liking to elope with many different men. That is not going to be good for her. Still, as i keep reading, this book is very good and i wish to find out what happens later through the book.

The Lost Symbol: Part Two

Unfortunately, the great impression that I had on this book vanished as I delved further into the plot. Despite the great beginning, the rest of the book falls into the pattern that authors try to avoid: repetitiveness and a plain plot. The plot follows the exact same pattern as Angels & Demons; it just doesn't work two times in a row. Having the main character in a hopeless situation, then saving him in a miracle, is almost cliche in writing. Dan Brown needs to get more creative. I dislike the parts where the reader knows exactly what is going to happen without any clues. Its takes the trill out of a so called thriller and suspense novel. A disappointing read. I expected better. 6/10...

The Lost Symbol: Part One

A mysterious message is sent to Robert Langdon in the middle of the night, demanding his presence in Washington D.C. Supposedly its from his friend Peter, but something is just not right. Langdon goes anyways but soon is dragged into a hellish race to save his friend, with secret societies and the government intervening. And appearances can be deceiving; friends morphing into enemies and loved ones into monsters. I wonder, despite his intelligence, how Langdon does not realize simple things, such as threats or thinly-veiled implications. He is ignorant of what lays in front of him but can solve problems that require extreme logic. That is a major contradiction in Langdon's personality. Perhaps Dan Brown, the author, made his this way to make Langdon seem more of a mortal. In classic Dan Brown style, The Lost Symbol is a intriguing book right from the beginning. It keeps up with the high standards the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons set. A great book so far.

Angels and Demons: Part II

Angels and Demons completes any checklist for a great read. After leading the reader though a maze of riddles and mysteries, the book takes a sudden turn. The good are now the evil and vice-versa. Nobody could have anticipated such a move by the author, Dan Brown. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and despite its length, I finished it rather quickly due to its captivating nature. When the true alliances of the characters play out, it stunned me. The subtle clues and red herrings threw me off. It had seemed that the mystery was solved, and then, the underlying plot that was introduced in the beginning reveals its true meaning. Although not as radical as the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons still brings out the best of Dan Brown. I would recommend this book to anyone who can handle challenging vocabulary and the 700 or so pages. Good book, 10/10.