Angels and Demons

Angels & Demons is part techno thriller, part enigma and all action. Dan Brown dexterously combines a fast moving,fascinating and probably a well-researched plot that weaves together the secret nuclear research facilities of CERN and the ancient - modern secrets of the Vatican. Not only is this a highly entertaining and page turning thriller, it's also an insightful and perspicuous examination of the ever present dichotomy/duality of faith and science.

Angels & Demons introduces the character of Robert Langdon, professor of religious iconology and art history at Harvard University. As the novel begins, he's awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from the director of CERN,Geneva. One of their top physicists had been murdered, with his chest branded with the word "Illuminati."Langdon being an expert on the antediluvian secret society known as the Illuminati, he's asked to help solve the murder. A high tech X-33 plane transports Langdon from Massachusetts to Switzerland in a little more than an hour(lmao in 60mins..i wonder which fuel was being used :P)

The murder victim is one of the world's leading physicists and a Catholic priest.Vittoria a beautiful, tough, intelligent girl,is his adopted daughter and also a scientist at CERN. This was the largest abeyance of incredulity for me.A man who is a priest,be a father and a top physicist !! but accepting it sets the remaining story in motion. Vetra(the victim) and his daughter were using the world's largest particle accelerator to create antimatter(ahhh..i love this), and then suspend the antimatter properly in 'canisters' so that it doesn't interact with matter. If a canister is removed from the electrical system which keeps the matter and antimatter separated, then backup batteries will serve the same purpose for 24 hours. When those 24 hours expire, the two will collide in an instantaneous explosion of unprecedented power.

The antimatter was created in order to simulate the Big Bang which in turn would show proof that God exists, being able to create new matter and antimatter in the same way God created the universe. But the murder,allows one of the canisters to be stolen. The question of who stole the canister and what they planned to do with it is soon answered. The canister is quickly found on a security camera in Vatican City, with its LEDs counting down the time until the batteries run out. But the camera, however, is nowhere to be found, leaving the canister's whereabouts a mystery too. Langdon and Vittoria are sent off to Rome and Vatican City, to help find the canister and return it to CERN before it explodes at midnight.

Not only does the canister threaten to destroy Vatican City, but with the recent death of the Pope, the cardinals of the Catholic Church are all within the city for the conclave to choose the new pope. They are all about to be locked within the Sistine Chapel where,they must remain until a new pope is chosen. They are awaiting the 'preferiti', the four cardinals from four different European countries who are the preferred candidates to become the new pope. While Langdon and Vittoria are try to convince the chief of the Swiss Guard and the Camerlengo that the antimatter bomb is real. A phone call is received from a man who claims to be from the Illuminati. He has the four cardinals, which he will murder one by one, and then destroy Vatican City, not only the centre of the religion but also of its possessions and wealth. He makes no demands; his only wish is the destruction of the Catholic Church in vengeance for the church's treatment of scientists and the Illuminati.

Langdon and Vittoria dig through archives and ancient mysteries to find clues, which also requires an extensive background in art history and religious symbology. This makes Langdon the expert guide through all this esoteric knowledge with his friendly and scholarly fashion, doing his best to educate without seeming superior with his own intelligence.Just like in The Da Vinci Code, Langdon understands enough about each mystery to go in search of the missing pieces necessary to solve each puzzle, which leads him to the next one.They both remain one step behind the Illuminati, and once the Swiss Guard and Vatican City have been penetrated by the Illuminati, they don't know whom to trust. This leads them through churches, fountains, crypts, forgotten passages, secret passages, and tunnels. Death haunts them at every turn.

Angels & Demons has a more cliff hanging storyline with the antimatter bomb and the race to prevent the destruction of Vatican City. Both A&D and Da Vinci Code share a hired assassin, a tough and beautiful woman as Langdon's compadre who is lamenting the murder of a loved one, and mysteries that require extensive knowledge of art history, religious symbology, and secret societies. Robert Langdon is a protagonist that you can't dislike in any way, with just enough vulnerability to go along with his intelligence and right amount of charm. Angels & Demons is a looser story.

Angels & Demons is a highly enjoyable read. For those who love plot-driven novels, and for those who love thrillers and mysteries full of strange bits of information that tie everything together.

P.S - I read Angels and Demons 2 years ago,So if there exists any mistakes in this review(esp. wrt. characters)please let me know :)