Travis Simpkins: "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown

"Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown

Simon & Schuster, 2000

Review by Travis Simpkins

The reemergence of the secret brotherhood of Illuminati, an Antimatter weapon of mass destruction, the Vatican during Conclave, four abducted and murdered Cardinals and a desperate quest through the riddle-filled churches and ancient streets of Rome… uncovering clues left behind centuries before by great thinkers and artists, like Galileo and Bernini. In Angels & Demons, novelist Dan Brown is in top form, introducing the world to the intriguing character Robert Langdon, Symbologist and Harvard University Professor. Controversy aside, the book is masterfully-written… and a splendid precursor to Brown's best-selling follow-up, The Da Vinci Code.

The story is rapid-fire and brilliant, taking place in a 24-hour span. Robert Langdon is summoned to the CERN laboratories in Switzerland, where a priest/scientist has been murdered, a mysterious Illuminati brand seared into his chest, and a catastrophically volatile canister of Antimatter stolen. The Illuminati, long thought extinct, have reemerged to exact devastating revenge on the Catholic Church… opening the deciding battle of Science and Religion, utilizing technology and the bloody hands of a ruthless Hassassin. With access to the Vatican Secret Archives, Robert Langdon discovers a hidden verse in the work of Galileo Galilei… a persecuted member of the Illuminati. The four kidnapped Cardinals will be executed and branded on the altars of Science, indicated by the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Then, at midnight, Vatican City will be imploded with the Antimatter bomb. Following the "Path of Illumination," Langdon and the murdered scientist's daughter, Vittoria Vetra, find 4 marker points in the Baroque sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini in churches across Rome. Their efforts uncover deadly secrets and modes of infiltration leading directly to the Papal offices… and cataclysmic danger in the catacombs beneath Vatican City.

From CERN to St. Peter's Square, from the Pantheon to the Chigi Chapel, from the Sistine Chapel to Castel San Angelo, the story stays intriguing and art-filled. Robert Langdon, as proven in the other books in Brown's series, is profoundly interesting and shrewd. Vittoria Vetra is characteristic of Brown's strong-willed and intelligent females. The Camerlengo is one of the most intriguing characters in the book, however, offering great dialogue, true emotion and a riveting plot twist. Angels & Demons has been criticized by both the Church and Scientists for containing inaccuracies on both sides of the equation. However, as a work of fiction, some latitude for artistic license must be allowed for Dan Brown to carry the story along in an entertaining and enjoyable fashion… which he does, with clever and mysterious brilliance.