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Angels and Demons

By Dan Brown

(1700)

| Hardcover | 9780593054864

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Book Description

It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of anti-matter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible. Angels and Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (but more accessible).

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, anti-matter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilisation.

Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humour from Langdon and a little less bombastic philosophising on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but it's tasty. --Kelly Flynn, Amazon.com

Critics

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Leonardo Vetra had a mission - to reconcile the differences between science and religion. A physicist at Switzerland’s renowned Consiel Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire (CERN), Vetra, a Catholic priest, has discovered how to produce antimatter. B ... (read full critics)

themysteryreader published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

97 Reviews

7 people find this helpful

How comes a book like this has all the quoting in italian wrong? not enough money for a professional translator?
I used to live close to the Vatican, everybody in Rome knows about passetto and many other "surprises" Dan Brown is trying to sell...american friends, visit the city and buy a good ... (continue)

How comes a book like this has all the quoting in italian wrong? not enough money for a professional translator?
I used to live close to the Vatican, everybody in Rome knows about passetto and many other "surprises" Dan Brown is trying to sell...american friends, visit the city and buy a good giude, but please forget about this book!

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Littlelakes said on Jun 21, 2009 about the Others edition | 3 feedbacks

3 people find this helpful

Fun for fun

If you love Dan Brown, this book is a good one.
Otherwise, at the end, all remaining things are the unlikely story and the dull prose style.

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Matteo De Simone said on Feb 10, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

This is better than The Da Vinci Code and a wonderful read.

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KayParfait said on May 19, 2007 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | 1 feedback

fantastic book. even more fascinating than the da vinci code.
descent paced. enough amount of detailing. and breath stopping. a lot hard to put down midway.

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Akashmanvar said on Apr 14, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

It has been a long time since I read the Da vinci Code.
I usually make some time passing between the reading of thwo best sellers of the same author in order to not get my judgement being influenced by the former book.
In this case, this was useless.
I mean, the trademark that made the Da vinci code ... (continue)

It has been a long time since I read the Da vinci Code.
I usually make some time passing between the reading of thwo best sellers of the same author in order to not get my judgement being influenced by the former book.
In this case, this was useless.
I mean, the trademark that made the Da vinci code so stirring was its allegedly continous connection with the storic reality that made you think it was something that could perfectly happen.
In Angel and Demons, this feature seems to be quite neglected: an antimatter bomb under the Vatican? Come on!
Beside this, all the story, all the dialogues, all the scenaries, look far more a plot for an american movie than a book.
Nice thriller, though.

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Gatto Nero said on Apr 7, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Brown just doesn't do it for me anymore...

A few years ago I loved Dan Brown but now... I wonder what appealed to me in his books. I've re-read Deception Point and now Digital Fortress in the last few months and I'm shocked at how bad I think his writing style is. Deception Point was cringe-worthy at the best of times. Digital Fortress is sl ... (continue)

A few years ago I loved Dan Brown but now... I wonder what appealed to me in his books. I've re-read Deception Point and now Digital Fortress in the last few months and I'm shocked at how bad I think his writing style is. Deception Point was cringe-worthy at the best of times. Digital Fortress is slightly better but still at times so cliche and Hollywood or something it's embarrassing.
At least Digital Fortress has a better plotline but as with all Brown's books it's easily recognizable and you know who the bad guy is going to turn out to be by the end of the third or fourth chapter.
I'm kind of in two minds about whether or not to re-read Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code beacuse I really have them in my head as amazing stories so I don't want to ruin that. I'll think about it!!

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Lauraolsthoorn said on Mar 7, 2012 | Add your feedback