Angels & Demons by Dan Brown Review

Hello everyone,it is time once again for a review from Birdman/James.This review is on the highly acclaimed #1 Bestseller Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.He is also the author of The Da Vinci Code which was made into a movie a few years ago, and now the same is being done for the "prequel' to The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons.

I will start off by saying that I am not a really religious person.I have read many books on various belief systems and religions and learned to be more of a 'free-spirit'.Some people may view free-spirits as weirdos, tree-huggers and hippies.I am none of those, and view those terms as derogatory.I view "free-spirits" as people who are not tied down by society, by religion, by other people's opinions.I view myself as such.I view myself as a person who doesn't believe in Heaven or Hell, but believe those two metaphors are used to describe the good and bad in life.I believe in doing the right thing not for any religion or belief system, but for myself.I dubbed myself "My Own Personal Messiah" because the way I see things, I control my actions...not God, not Buddha, not my mom...I do.If I make a mistake, it is My fault.I believe in Myself and therefore live by my own code of morals and values.

I began with that little excert because this book is impacted greatly by religion, and many people did not enjoy it because it talks about corruption in the Catholic Church.That way, everybody will know my stance on the religious system.I am not knocking anybody(here anyway)or their personal beliefs, but I am trying to remain as objective as possible while describing a subject that makes people very defensive.

I first became interested in the book around 2005ish.A friend of mine had read, or was reading The Da Vinci Code and was telling me about it.She let my mom borrow the book Angels & Demons, and I was interested in it because it sounded intriguing.I never got around to reading it, but just bought a copy last week(along with about 4 or 5 other books)and after I finished my previous book Legends(an anthology of short stories by many of science-fiction and fantasies most popular authors and their famous series)I started reading it.I began my reading on Sunday April 26th and finished the 710 page behemoth last night April 29th.The book features many very short chapters throughout the book, but many of them are in the beginning which helps by not intimidating the reader and giving them breaks in between the longer chapters.That is especially good in the beginning of the book because it doesn't force you to read 20+ pages of something you may not fully understand.The book shifts from different characters for different chapters, which in my opinion is good because it makes you understand all the characters and not just what is observed.

The main character in this book, and Da Vinci Code is Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon.He is just a regular Joe-Smo and he lives a quiet life as a professor and history buff.In his spare time, he spends time at Harvards swimming pool and of course studying about history and symbology.He gets a phone call very early in the morning from a complete stranger demanding he needs his help.At first Robert thinks it is a prank, and is skeptical how this person got all his personal information.He thinks it is from his website, but he remembers that he didn't put his home phone number on it.Then he recieves a fax with a picture of the ancient Illuminati symbol on it.Still unsure, he rotates the picture and realizes that this person is telling the truth and agrees to meet with him.

This is just the bare beginning as Robert meets Maximillion Kohler, the leader at a huge scientific research lab CERN and the mysterious caller.Vittoria Vette, a beautiful scientist whose adoptive father was just murdered and branded, and everybody at the Vatican in Rome.Vittoria and her father were working on a highly secretive project in their lab at CERN, with nobody allowed inside, or knowing about the research being done...until it is stolen, meaning somebody now has it and knew what it could do.The project also has a timer attached for 24 hours until the batteries wear out and could cause a monsterous explosion.

With all the tragic events and the time frame in which to recover the time-bomb before it explodes, this book is very fast paced.They(the Swiss Guard, Robert and Vittoria)now believe the Illuminati is back and planning on making a HUGE bang in their 400+ year old war against the Catholic Church.Robert and Vittoria are racing against time to find the ancient Illuminati lair that many of the world's greatest scientists couldn't find.It is a great book to read, it has many historical facts about the Catholic Church and the artists and scientists that we have all heard about such as Galileo(sp?)and the art/sculptures created.It reminded me of the tv show 24 in that everything happens in that time period, the movie series National Treasure with all the clues being hidden inside different historical documents and artifacts visible for most to see, but few ever know about the hidden secrets behind.The book may not attract the Catholics because of the story, but that is really too bad because it is a wonderful experience that opens up your mind and helps you wonder what is really happening in the world that we are not being told.I highly recommend it, but am warning everybody that is a religious fanatical that it may upset some of you who cannot seperate religion from life and entertainment.I will give it a 9.5 because of the complex nature of religion because not everybody will understand the signifigance of science vs religion and the beliefs of Catholics.That is the only thing that prevents it from being a perfect 10.I highly suggest reading the book, especially if you plan on seeing the movie in the future...which I think looks good,but you never know how it will turn out with Dan Brown's other masterpiece being considered a major let down.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Hello all bloggers and blogettes out there who may be reading this...my first official blog describing my thoughts on the entertainment world.I know I already wrote an introduction blog,but this will be what most of my future blogs will be about in the future.If you would like to read other blogs about random stuff I can get bored enough to write about...feel free to add me on myspace at myspace.com/jameserickson.That is all for my introduction,and now on to the the real thing.

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is the current hot commodity among the book and movie world.I first heard about it when my local Barnes & Noble store put a big sign out front saying to preorder your copy of Breaking Dawn and that they were going to have a special opening at midnight for everybody who reserved their copy.I never heard of Twilight or Stephenie Meyer at the time,so I was a little surprised.I know they did that for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowlings,and maybe a few other books that I can't recall at the moment...but it took me by surprise.Shortly after that my girlfriend Sarah told me that her friend Jen has been reading the Twilight series and that she enjoyed it...and that she was a harsh critic of books too.That last part about her liking it AND being a harsh critic made me interested in reading it.I was told by Sarah that I may not like it because it is a teenage vampire love story...and I am not a romance fan...in books or movies.Nevertheless,around Christmastime last year,I bought it and a few other books and waited to read it...and waited...and waited.

I waited because I needed some motivation to read it,it didn't interest me and I was waiting for Sarah to start reading so I could compete with her to see who would finish first.Neither of us started it for quite awile,and I wanted to see the movie(I am a strong believer in reading the book first and then see the movie)so I suggested that we read it together when we hang out.We read the first chapter together,maybe more...but not much more,and just never read it together again.After a few weeks,I decided to go ahead and read it by myself.At first I didn't like it,and it just dragged on and on,making it hard to keep me interested enough to pick it up and read it.But I forced myself to,which is something I hate having to do.I think it makes for a less enjoyable experience with anything.

The first few chapters were the most difficult to read,as is the case with most things.However this book really sucked all excitement and desire to read out of me.I thought of stopping for awhile,but my mom and brother had seen the movie already and told me it was good,so I continued reading.The book did absolutely nothing for me...it was just like every other "new chick in town"high school book until chapter 8.I am not gonna be a spoiler for those who have not read the book/seen the movie,so I will try not to say too much other than that.From chapter 8-16,I loved it.It was exciting,funny,romantic,and the best part of it was that it was real to life.It didn't portray anything new for teens with their first love...but it differentiated with the vampire twist thrown in.It was not what I expected it to be.I thought it would be more of a typical high school crush...but Meyer did a nice job of making Edward hate his power/curse.Most would think he would enjoy it,or even make Edward be a split personality of a normal teenager...and then a blood-crazed vampire.Instead Meyer crafted Edward into a sort of anti-hero who everybody can sympathize with despite all the powers and things he can do.

The book becomes even better nearing the end beginning at chapter 17.It was so good,that I did not want to put it down.I was thoroughly engrossed in it.The book continues that same momentum,that drive all the way until it's thrilling conclusion.The ending did surprise me,but now it leaves me wondering what the next book will be about,what will happen,that sorta thing...which is what all good story-tellers do,make you want to hear more and more.

My final word on the book is it is a very good read.The target audience is centered around teenage girls(in my opinion)but has something for everyone and is definately worth your time to read.I am not usually high up on reading romance or teen novels,but this book surely delivered for me.I will be giving a rating out of 0-10 for everything I review.0 being the lowest,meaning if it comes within a 5 foot range of you,you need to walk away slowly and make sure not to let it get too close,and 10 which means it is something that you should go out of your way to find/get...even if it means yours kids starve.I would rate Twilight the book at 7.5.

Twilight the movie is part 2 of my review.I finished the book last week and got Sarah to start reading it so we could watch the movie together.If she didn't finish the book soon I was going to watch it without her.The book got me so hyped up,it pained me to wait as long as I did to finally watch it.I wanted to see the movie in the first place as that was a motivating factor in me forcing myself to read it.I must of lit a fire in her to finally finish the book because she picked it up and finished it last week while at my house.I asked her to bring the movie over with her this past Saturday so we could watch it.We were both pretty anxious to see it considering how we both really enjoyed the ending of the book.Unfortunately I felt the movie did the book and Meyer an injustice.

With all the hype and hoopla the movie made at theaters and with how good the book was,I had high expectations.It was like the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings with all the media exposure(well maybe not Harry Potter)and merchandise created around it.On the cover of magazines you hear about arguing and romances being had while filming.It is like a media frenzy with the series...but with one exception.Where the Harry Potter franchise and the Lord of the Rings movies lived up to the hype,Twilight didn't.It is near impossible to when the bar has been set so high,but this movie didn't even come close for me.Bella did not look how I expected,neither did her father,or some of her friends.That is something that should of been an easy thing to remedy...but it wasn't.I am not saying the actors and actresses hired didn't do a good job,considering everything I thought they did well,but at least have Bella look like the Bella we read about.I am sure with the amont of money she was paid,she could of dyed her hair for the movies.The hair is what really irritated me the most.I invisioned,and thought a light brown/blondish Bella with the dark-haired Edward would of really made for a good dynamic.The fair skinned,light haired Bella with the pale skinned,dark haired vampire Edward would of shown the opposite nature they share together.Haven't they heard "opposites attract"?Moving on,the movie does some minor geographical changes in moving Bella's mom from Phoenix to Tampa.Maybe her mom moved there in the movie to be with Bella's step-father,but I don't think they mentioned that she was living there in the book.I know movies and books differentiate,but it really annoys me.I also kinda wanted to see more of Dr.Cullen and his backstory in the movie,they told a little about it,but I was hoping for a black and white flashback kind of thing.One positive thing the movie does is it shows other people being hunted by the group of vampires well before they are even mentioned in the book.I like how they built them up,instead of the Cullens just getting word of it and then them popping up.They gave you a preview into what to expect from the ending.

Overall the movie was not utterly horrible,but when comparing the book to the movie,the movie pales in comparison which is usually the case.One thing I would like to comment on is the special effects. For a movie of this budget I thought it could have been so much more realistic and well-done. For instance, with Edward's running; it just looked so Sci-Fi Channel-ish. That is all for now. I would recommend seeing the movie only if you have read the book and want to see it in live action. The movie as a whole was not great but not bad. I would rate it a 7.5-8 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. But when compared to the book, I would rate it 5.5-6.

Welcome To My Blog

Hello all readers,my name is James. In my future blogs I will be discussing my personal opinions on new cds, bands, games, movies, books and that sorta thing. I think you should all know a little about my likes and dislikes so you can all get an idea into what stuff I prefer in the entertainment genre.

Music-I am a music fanatic. I will not say I "listen to everything"because that is too cliche and not true for many people who say they do. Instead I will name some categories of music and then some names that I especially enjoy:

Classical: Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin.

Country: Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Lonestar, Tim Mcgraw, Kenny Chesney.

Blues: B.B.King, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, John Lee Hooker(my guitar teacher taught me a bunch of his music).

Rap: Not much here Eminem, Ludicris, 50Cent.

Rock/Alternative: Metallica, Ra, Strata, Sick Puppies, Godsmack, Submersed, Dream Theater,Dropping Daylight,Breaking Benjamin, Exies, Trapt, Mudvayne, Cold, Submersed, Drowning Pool, Soil, Linkin Park, Powerman 5000, Alter Bridge, Good Charloette, Amity Lane/Trust Co, Ozzy, Evansblue, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Angels And Airwaves, Hurt, Theory of a Deadman, Stonesour, 30 Seconds To Mars, Rookie of the Year, Armor For Sleep, Seether, Shinedown, Crossfade, Adema, Green Day, Saliva, The Ataris, Unwritten Law, 3 Days Grace, Smile Empty Soul, Papa Roach, Stroke 9, Bayside, Skillet, Firescape, Something Corporate, Fallout Boy, Halifax, Sum 41, Blink 182, Disturbed, Yellowcard, Amber Pacific, Korn, 1969, Van Halen, New Found Glory, Flaw, and of course Butch Walker.

Movies- I worked as a video department manager at a local FYE, so I know a lot about them. Here it is broken down into categories:

Action:Braveheart, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dragon Heart

Comedy:Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, any and all Jim Carrey and/or Adam Sandler films.

Horror:Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween series, House of 1000 Corpses, Devils Rejects.

Sci-Fi:LotR Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy

Family Films:Disney Pixar films like Incredibles, Shark Tale, Toy Story, Finding Nemo

Books - I love to read about different cultures, religions and places. It broadens your horizons. I love Stephen King books. Have read all the LotR books before they came out in theaters, Harry Potter, and more to be discussed later.

Video Games - I own a PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and many others in the past. I like many different genres which will be discussed at a later date.