Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons
A personal review of the book “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown.
Title: Angels and Demons
Author: Dan Brown
Genre: Suspense
Number of Pages: 569
Last month, I was lucky enough to get a paperback copy of Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ at a garage sale. Since it was sold for only P5, I did not think twice about it. But aside from the heavenly price, I bought the book mainly because I was not able to watch the film version of this novel and would love to know why the author became controversial in his other novel turned movie, ‘The Da Vinci Code.’
Although filmed later, the novel ‘Angels and Demons’ is actually written earlier than ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ As in that controversial novel world-renowned symbologist Robert Langdon, is also the main protagonist in ‘Angels and Demons.’
The story unfolds when Langdon gets a call from the director general of Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire (CERN), a top scientific research facility based in Geneva, Switzerland. Apparently, one of the facility’s top physicists was murdered and marked with a cryptic symbol on his chest. The director general calls Langdon for his expertise on symbols to help shed light on the reason for the heinous crime committed as well as the meaning of the symbol on his chest.
In Switzerland, Langdon meets a beautiful scientist, Vittoria Vetra, the adopted daughter of the murdered physicist. What follows was a suspenseful journey into the secret world of the Illuminati, a centuries-old underground organization of scientists, and one of the great adversaries of the Catholic Church.
As the story goes deeper, Langdon and Vittoria find themselves in Rome and the Vatican following a mysterious trail in a desperate hunt for truth regarding the Illuminati and to prevent a tremendous catastrophe from happening. Together they go through sealed crypts, treacherous catacombs, abandoned cathedrals, and the most guarded vault in the world – the ancient Illuminati lair.
While seemingly mind-boggling, the plot of this novel is very imaginative and surprisingly well-crafted. As an officemate of mine said, the subject of this novel is out of this world. What is good about it is that Dan Brown was able to weave it masterfully with the historical facts regarding the Illuminati’s existence and evolution, together with that of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.
I found the book very hard to put down, as mysteries upon mysteries seem to unfold with every page. And it tells a lot of information about the Vatican and the churches in Rome that I did not know before. Overall, I found Dan Brown to be another master storyteller whom I plan to read again given the chance. He surely knows how to manipulate fascinating twists and turns in his book to hold the reader’s attention to the very last page.
Image via Wikipedia
So when I found his novel, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ at another garage sale, I did not hesitate to get and read it too. But while this novel has reaped monumental controversies with its outrageous plot, I personally find it less intriguing and interesting than ‘Angels and Demons.’ In fact, I did not have the same urgency to finish the book, like I had when I was reading the first novel. For me, ‘Angels and Demons’ is a more enjoyable and entertaining novel than ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in many ways. This is really a must-read for everyone who loves suspense thrillers and mystery-loaded stories.
Warning: Just remember you are only reading a work of fiction so you should not allow the story to affect your faith .
Liked it
Enjoyed your review.
The article is as well-written as the novel itself. Masterful review kabs.
Thanks for the bird’s eye view kabayan. I really don’t have time to read pocketbooks nowadays but I suppose Booksale is still selling secondhand books at cheap price. I wish the typhoon has passed already.
Best regards,
Will
Thanks for the reviews. I haven’t read either book yet but must make an effort to. Good work.
Christine
Thanks for the book review. You made me wondering to read on this book. Great article as usual, have my “liked it”.
I want to see the movie. Your ending comment is crucial for all readers. Well done and very mind captivating.
Interesting review.
i have read his Da Vinci code. i loved it. i will read this when i find it. good review
Sounds like a great book will have to look for this now.
Yes, an unputdownable book! Intelligent writer. Fine review.
I’ve heard that it is good. Coming from you, I’ll definitely check this out.
i like it better. I read also his previous books. I like the simplicity of his words. a light read but intriguing.
thumbs up
I agree completely with what you said at the end, very well put.
Another point that I always find quite funny is that because of the order in which the films came out most people think that the Da Vinci Code is the first book when actually at the beginning of the book it is clear that the events in Angels and Deaomns happened first
Liked ur review
Thanks for the review. I haven’t read this one yet but I would love to see the movie.
I loved the “Da Vinci Code”, so I know I will like “Angels and Demons” great review.
Nice review. Sadly, I have not read any of his books or seen the movie.
I enjoyed your review. Like Papa, I haven’t read any of his books or seen his movies, but maybe I will check it out now.
This book got me thinking and it was fantastic
I absolutely loooove Angels & Demons as well. I had the same problem with Da Vinci Code. I still thought it was pretty good, but it didn’t keep me intrigued the whole time like Angels & Demons. I had to force myself to finish it unlike A&D. And I completely agree with your WARNING at the end. It bothers me so much that people will bash books so much because it’s too against their religion, when in reality it’s just a work of fiction. If they’re as devoted to their religion as they say, then it shouldn’t be a problem.
The movie version is so *ugh*
You won’t understand it if you haven’t read the book yet!
I had the daVinci code given to me, but I lent it out before reading it. I had heard so much controversy and lead such a busy life I was not sure if it was worth the time. I might be inclined to try the other book upon your recommendation as I love a good mystery.
Great reviews. You’ve done it well. I’ll check it out asap..Thanks for sharing thos wonderful work!!:)
I have read the Da Vinci Code but not the Angels and Demons one. I think that all the publicity the first book got from the media rather spoiled it for me. It was so over exposed that it became boring, but I must admit that the author succeeded very well in getting so much hype around his book. Clever!
I enjoyed this review. Nice way with words!
nice review…
I glad you enjoyed the book.
Although I no longer enjoy reading fiction, I do like reading about someone else’s review of them. Thank you for filling me in.