Angels & Demons (2000)

I have read all of Dan Brown novels (except Origin), and I like the Robert Langdon books more in general. This, in my opinion, remains his best novel till date. ( )

On the plus side: Short chapters and vaguely interesting subject keeps the pages turning quickly.[return][return]On the negative side: he's already written this book. at least twice. ("The Da Vinci Code" even has the same main character !). Time for another character and a different plot I think

An American professor and well-known Illuminati scholar, Robert Langdon is invited to make sense of the gruesome murder of a CERN scientist and locate some missing antimatter which has turned up somewhere in Vatican City. Together with Vittoria Vetra, another CERN scientist and daughter of the murder victim, they fly to Vatican City to try to locate the missing antimatter. However, they arrive just as the ancient tradition of Conclave is about to begin as the cardinals assemble in the Sistine Chapel to select a new pope. They are met with contempt by the flamboyently dressed but deadly Swiss Guard and eventually find out from the Camerlengo that four preferiti - Cardinals who are favourites to be the next pope, are missing. They also learn that the antimatter is set to explode at midnight and that the Cardinals have been kidnapped to be killed one per hour in Churches around Rome that were secret pointers on the Path of Illumination to the Illuminati's headquarters. With the antimatter potentially able to destroy the whole of Vatican City and the Catholic faith itself, the Swiss Guard concentrate their search for it. Robert Langdon tries to save the cardinals by gaining access to the Vatican's secret archives to find a clue to finding the churches on the Path of Illumination in the only copy left of a book written by Gallileo, the founder of the Illuminati...

There were some interesting twists at the end, which were not entirely unforeseen, but I enjoyed this, a fast-paced romp through two of the most notable institutions in Europe. Makes me want to visit Rome to see for myself the magnificence of the architecture and art there. ( )

Much like the other books of his I've read. It was good and I liked it, although it was rather unbelievable as usual. ( )

Book Review
Book tittle: Angels and Demons.
Author: Dan Brown.
Publisher: Corgi Book.
Review
“Angels and demons” is a book by Dan Brown, a part of his famous bestseller Robert Langdon series, published on May 1, 2000. It is a fiction thriller suspense novel, but the references of art, tombs, tunnels, and architecture used by the author are completely real and in fact can be seen today. It is the use of these references that merely after a few chapters the reader finds it difficult to differentiate the story of the book from some truly occurred historic event.
The Protagonist of the book is Robert Langdon. A professor of History of Art and Symbology at university of Harvard. The same character that has been the protagonist of rest of Dan Brown’s series. The character of Professor Langdon is portrayed as a person with a vast knowledge of art, history, and symbology. Also, he has keen interest in his field and a passion for his work. In this book too he can be seen as making the best use of his knowledge and passion throughout his adventure.
Dan Brown, who himself worked as a teacher, based a piece of Robert Langdon's character on himself. He worked the plot around the old religious debate against science with some other sub-lots around him. The previously controversial topic leads to tension in the plot.
The plot of the story starts from the murder of one of CERN’s brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra and the theft of a dreadfully dangerous substance ‘Antimatter’. Which later unfolds into a quest for saving the four high cardinals of the Vatican church ‘I preferiti’ (four of the potential cardinals, the one’s with the most probability of being elected as the new pope). Ideas such as interconnections between people, the voice of God and even the presence of God are discussed and tried to explain scientifically.
Most characters get into trouble because of their loyalty. People like Ventresca are horrified that a priest and a nun can have a love story even when there is no physical relationship involved. People like Kohler condemn science because he has been refused medical assistance as the 'Will of God'. Science is accused of trivializing global issues in terms of equations and numbers, and religion is accused of controlling humanity's potential.
This is also reflected in the title and ambigrams attached to it. It is never apparent that between religion and science, who is angel and who is demon. This issue is heightened by the use of the ambigram. An ambigram appears in both directions. This is reflected in the heading of the front page.
The plot also includes myths about ancient scientists and their disappearance fueled by religion. It is almost ironic that bishops are killed by researchers in the same way. The plot is fundamentally an attack on religion through science, but turns out to be vice versa, thus proclaiming that both cannot sustain together.
"Angels and Demons" is an interesting thriller for the way in which it mixes religious and historical elements with a sense of threatening. It presented the general public to an ages-old secret civilization and was an exclusive entry into the world of conspiracy theory mysteries. The book might not be great of literature, but it is very entertaining. The movie is well planned and explosively paced. The movie is filled with Vatican conspiracy and modern drama, Brown’s tale is laced with twists and shocks that keep the reader wired right up until the final revelation.
The book received its part of criticism, generally for its historical incorrectness presented as fact, a criticism that would carry over into "The Da Vinci Code". Some Catholics took offense at "Angels and Demons," and with its succeeding outcomes, saying that the book is only an insult crusade of their beliefs.
On the contrary, the book's highlights the secret societies, different explanations of history, and plot theories that may strike logical readers as more of a fantasy than a fact-based suspenseful story.
Submitted by: Amna Bano (21-SE-54)