Angels & Demons by Dan Brown Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Angels & Demons
Book Review: A Captivating, One-Weekend Read
Summary: 5 Stars
If you like a good thriller, this is the type of of book that you read in the gym, while you dry your hair in the morning, fall alseep reading at 2 a.m., and read at stop lights. I couldn't put it down. The lovable Robert Langdon finds himself caught up in a plot to bring down Catholism. Can I give it more than 5 stars? Give it a read. You certainly won't be disappointed, and its a great lead-in to the infamous Da Vinci Code.
Book Review: A Convoluted Tale
Summary: 3 Stars
Angels & Demons (2000) is an intellectual technothriller about nuclear physics, secret societies and murder. This work introduces Robert Langdon, a noted professor on religious iconology at Harvard and the author of The Art of the Illuminati. Thus, it is a prequel to The DaVinci Code.
Early one morning, Langdon receives a fax depicting a dead man branded with an ambigram reading Illuminati. He flies to Geneva, Switzerland, in a Boeing X-33 prototype at Mach 15 and a black Peugeot sedan at 170 kilometers per hour. Arriving at CERN, he is taken to meet the director and to view the corpse of Leonardo Vetra, a prominent physicist as well as a Catholic priest.
Langdon is convinced that the brand is some remnant of the Illuminati society, a secret organization of freethinkers. The brand is an ambigram that reads the same rightside up and upside down. It had often been described in the literature, but never illustrated or duplicated.
The Illuminati society had been formed four hundred years past to oppose the self-assumed role of the Holy Roman Catholic Church as the arbitrator of the Truth. The society was particularly concerned by the murder of so many scientists in the name of Christ. The Church had responded by declaring the Illuminati to be instruments of Satan.
Langdon doubted that the Illuminati were involved in the murder. They had never been terrorists. Besides, they were unlikely to still exist, despite popular opinion to the contrary.
Later he meets the adopted daughter, Vittoria Vetra, who is also a physicist. They find that the murderer has gained entrance to Leonardo's underground laboratory and has stolen a canister of antimatter. Vittoria wants to report the theft to Interpol, but the CERN director objects. Returning to the surface, they find that the Vatican has just called about the missing container.
Langdon and Vittoria immediately fly to Rome and are met by a member of the Swiss Guard. The Commander shows them a screen displaying an image of the CERN antimatter container with a flashing indicator showing the time remaining until power down. The wireless security camera transmitting the image is not in its normal location and has not yet been found.
The Vatican is totally involved in Il Conclave, the assembly of the College of Cardinals to select a new Pope. The Commander is not pleased to learn that the whole complex and a good part of Rome might disappear in a fireball at midnight. At first he declares it is only a hoax and locks them within his office. But Vittoria calls the camerlengo, the official in charge during the assembly, and asks for assistance in handling the Swiss Guard.
This volume is the third novel by this author. His writing skills have noticeably improved in this work and its sequel. Yet the following work seemed to strike some accord with popular taste and thereby achieved considerable fame. This novel, however, lays the groundwork for the sequel. Read this one first!
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys tales of secret societies and high adventure.
-Bill Jordin
Book Review: A Deal for Dan Brown
Summary: 1 Stars
I hate to write bad reviews, but this Dan Brown hysteria is really getting under my skin. I am going to be generous, however. I will forgive Mr. Brown for being such a horrendous hack writer if he'll simply fly high in the air in a helicopter (two miles ought to do it) and jump out with a tarp, say 12 feet by 6 feet, with no harness, no method of gently unfurling it and no method of keeping it open. Once he survives this fall (he would, of course, wouldn't he? See Chapter 125), then, perhaps, we can talk about aerodynamics, terminal velocity and other interesting topics in physics that Dan Brown has absolutely no interest in reporting correctly. My sincere thanks to the readers who suggested Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, now that is some very fine writing.
Ken Coffman is the author of Steel Waters and several other novels.
Book Review: A Decent Read
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been immersed in a world of hidden text, secret societies, symbologists, iambic pentameter and the near destruction of the Catholic Church. It is the story of one of the oldest rivalries known to <s>priests and scientists</s> man; the eternal conflict between science and religion. Both groups claim to be searching for the ultimate answer, er...wait that was an entirely different story. They are both in search of the ultimate...oh, who am I kidding, both of them are striving to be the first to say: "Nanner, nanner, I told you I was right. Your entire life as been for naught." Which, if it were the scientist that were right, means that there were a whole lot of celibate people roaming around saving themselves for no apparent reason. But then again, if the church is right, then there are a whole lot of really smart people tumbling around in a sea of fire, playing naked twister with the devil.
When a humble professor from Harvard (is there a such thing?), receives a phone call in the wee hours, it could only mean that he is about to be launch on a whirlwind adventure. Robert Langdon faces dangers unimaginable. He is put in harm's way by a society that any scholar worth his salt will tell you has been dead for centuries. I am referring to none other than the Illuminati. Their agent, an ancient Hassassin, will commit unthinkable acts against the most unlikely victims.
You have no idea what I am talking about, do you? Well...I guess you will just have to read the book. What book is that you might ask? I am referring to none other than Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.
Before we go any further, I want to make it perfectly clear that I really enjoyed this story. Having said that, his mechanics in this one were a little rough and in many places, it felt rushed (I prefer to be pulled into a story rather than pushed), but the overall effect was a fast paced story that was full of enough twists and turns to keep you turning pages. In my humble opinion, this book wasn't as good as Digital Fortress but it was still a damn good story.
Book Review: A Definite take along on vacation!
Summary: 5 Stars
all the research that Dan Brown does always pays off... Not only for his rating, but it is a treat for the reader. I love the idea of the Illuminati's ultimate plan, the way that it was choreographed and how it all transpired. Whoever said this book was not worth reading, has a very closed mind. I believe that it is one of Dan's better works!