Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
569 pages.
Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love
SYNOPSIS: This is the first of the Robert Langdon series. The second of the series is probably Dan Brown's most well-known work, The DaVinci Code. In Angels and Demons, Brown sets up Langdon's character with an adventure at the Vatican. The Illuminati have threatened the Vatican and infiltrated to set a bomb aimed at destroying the Vatican City and the Catholic church as whole. Landgon must work with a brilliant scientist, Vittoria Vetra, in order to follow a trail of symbols and mythology and stop the Illuminati from completing their mission.
WHAT I LOVED: Dan Brown is a master of pace. His novels always seem to be perfectly paced to keep tension high. Some of the chapters' obvious cliff hangers were a bit cheesy (cue orchestral "dun dun DUN!"). The cheesiness is part of the appeal for me. I don't read Dan Brown to become a better person. I read Dan Brown to be entertained.
WHAT I LIKED: I liked the mythology. I am a sucker for fun, mystical, Catholic conspiracy. I'm not an historian and I'm sure historical inaccuracies abound in this book, but if you can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride, the mythology is fun.
WHAT I COULD DO WITHOUT: The ending with the helicopter and the jacket. I won't go into detail and spoil it for anyone, but come on.
RECOMMEND FOR: Someone interested in a thrilling, fast paced, mystery that involves conspiracy theories and Catholic urban legends.
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Any historian or scientist expecting accurate depictions of religious history or physics.
3 darts out of 5.
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