Angels and Demons

Doesn’t feel used and in good condition

I've never read any of Dan Brown's books before and was looking for something a bit different to read. As his new book Origin has just been released, I thought I'd have a look at the Robert Langdon series from the beginning. When I saw it was on offer on Amazon - I knew it was the perfect time try out the series. All in all a great story and one that definitely keeps you interested. The story moves along at a good pace, however there are one or two parts which could be slightly shorter but it doesn't detract from the book. The writing was very good and the descriptions of Rome and the Vatican were great. I loved the twists at the end, although I did suspect one of them from an earlier part of the book! I gave it 4 stars because it was a good book and an enjoyable read but it didn't blow me away. I have however purchased the other books in the Robert Langdon series and will delve into them between other reads.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown was, again , another non-stop thriller. I read the Da Vinci Code and could barely put it down. If I awoke at night, I had to read some more. It not only was full of adventure and thrilling but I felt I learned a lot about history and the beautiful places that exist in this World that I have not seen."Seeing" the Vatican as never seen before was outstanding! As for Angels and Demons, there were so many twists to the story, I was completely fooled. At a few points, I was so moved, it brought me to tears. At other points, I was willing Robert on and cheering . There is no point in going into the story line as that takes away from the thrill of this fantastic read. Thank goodness it was long enough to get really into the story instead of rushed through like some of the other authors who write short stories like an assembly line just to make money. The research into each of his stories must take an enormous amount of time but ah, the story he reveals out of his efforts is well worth it. I look forward to reading any and all books this gifted author publishes.

Robert Langdon is searching for a series of clues that will lead him along the “path of illumination” following this path will lead him to the spot where the illuminati has regrouped in order to get their revenge on the Catholic Church.

The path of illumination is marked by the four elements of science “Earth, Air, Fire & Water”.

Following works of art by the Italian artist Bernini, Langdon races against the clock to save Vatican City and the people in it.

Wow. What an adventure. I adored this novel. As a wannabe art enthusiast the way Brown fuses historical, architectural, & artistic fact with fiction is just such a pleasure to read.

The story is clear and easy to follow, perfectly paced, engaging and immersive. The characters in the book each have a well thought out role and a reason to be there.

I enjoyed the beginning, the middle & the end and wouldn’t change a single word, plot or person in this book.

I’m heading for a short break to Rome in March of this year (2023) and I will absolutely be visiting each of the four pillars and church of illumination.

1. Chigi Chapel (Habakkuk and the Angel)

2. The marble elliptical block at the base of the monolith in St. Peter’s Square. (West Ponente)

3. The Ecstasy of St. Teresa at church of Santa Maria Della Vittoria.

4. Fiumi Fountain - The Fountain of the Four Rivers

Finally.

- Castel Sant’ Angelo — Castle of the Angel.

Amazing book, some of the plot twists are a bit OTT, but overall a gripping book with a engaging storyline.

This is the first book I have read of Dan Browns and I have to admit I found it entertaining.

The late Cardinal Hume wrote that science is not the enemy of the church. Wonder if DB knew this, because that is the book's plot.

It never ceases to amaze me how ubiquitous university lecturers such as Indiana Jones and Robert Langdon get into these fixes and come out squeakily unscathed at the other end.

On the negative side, it is far too long. 200 dry pages of physics before we get into the story for real. The idea of a scantily clad damselle physicist running around the Vatican made me cringe a bit. She must have been freezing in all those underground passages. And he did drag out the adventures of the Camarlengo, who was a wonderful character and who at one point moved me to sobs - the writing was so beautful. 100 pages before the end, I thought the book was finished, but no, he dragged it out a bit further.

In all fairness, Mr Brown does his research thoroughly, but then he changes it to suit himself. This of course necessitates endless debate and TV documentaries pointing out the true stories after the controversy Mr B. has created.

However, it is a good book and I am told the movie is brilliant - better than DVC.

At least in has convinced me that I must visit Rome some day. It will do wonders for tourism.

What an incredible book, ron Howard did a equally good job of making the film. If I had any criticism of this book it would be this" I found in places it was a little long winded" still I enjoyed the read.

I found this book over-long and exceptionally far fetched. The background history of the Illuminati and the church, and papal procedures are interesting but the plot verges on the ridiculous. I enjoyed the first half but eventually couldn’t wait to finish it.

This history provides a travel through the ancient times and quite a non-stop action. I really liked the development of the Camerlengo's role during the novel.

The copy I received was damaged and there were water stains on the cover. Slightly disappointed with the copy I received.

Perfetto

I had been very impressed by DIGITAL FORTESS, Dan Brown's first novel, and found his treatment of a complex subject matter both knowledgeable and compelling. I had then missed the publication of ANGELS AND DEMONS, but felt that he had overplayed his hand in his third novel DECEPTION POINT, which started with an interesting premise but wandered into unnecessary complexity and violence and ultimately complete implausibilty. With the publication of THE DA VINCI CODE, upon learning that Robert Langdon is the central character in both DA VINCI and ANGELS, I decided to first read ANGELS in order to keep the stories in sequence. This is a mesmerizing page turner as long as you accept the author's central technological premises concerning scientific achievements in the near future.

Robert Langdon, a professor of iconography and religious symbology at Harvard, is awakened by a telephone call from Maximilian Kohler, head of a prestigious European scientific institute. One of Kohler's fellow scientists has been murdered and an ancient symbol burned into his chest. Langdon feels compelled to investigate, and soon finds himself in the midst of a plot involving not only the death of Leonardo Vetra, a priest who is the world's leading antimatter researcher, but of the revival of a centuries old vendetta by a secret society, The Illuminati, against the Catholic Church. Langdon is forced by circumstances and the nature of the threat to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, Leonardo's adopted daughter, in an attempt to uncover the Illumunati's secret and halt not only several additional murders which have been threatened but the destruction of The Vatican itself.

Incredibly, the entire story takes place within a time span of just over twelve hours, which adds to the compelling nature of the action. The book is typical Dan Brown, meticulously researched (despite the complaints of a few reviewers about some details), with lots of interesting information about a variety of subjects related to religion, the Vatican, art, science and morality. It is a well constructed story, with several plot twists and enough misdirection to make it extremely difficult to anticipate the conclusion. (I doubt that the outcome was as expected by those critical reviewers who didn't finish the book after identifying their choice for the "obvious villian". I also did not feel that the story was at all anti- Catholic, in fact the author met with the Pope and was helped by the Vatican during his research efforts.) While there are several gruesome scenes, they are integral to the context of the story and the violence is usually minimized and only briefly described.

The real bonus of reading this story is the wonderfully well articulated discussion of the tension between science and religious faith, which forms the heart of the story. The last section of the book has a particularly insightful monologue in this regard, but the subject infuses the whole discussion woven into the plot concerning the historical conflict between the Illuminati and the Church. For instance, early in the book Vittoria challenges Langdon's evasion concerning his apparent lack of a belief in God with the observation "I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believed in God. There is a difference."

In addition, the book is almost worth reading just for the ambigrams (words or phrases which read the same right side up or upside down) which Dan Brown had created. These are truly works of art and their design is incredibly clever and beautiful. Finally, if you are familiar with Philips Exeter Academy, the author's alma mater, you will also have the fun of recognizing the source of the names of several of the characters referenced in the book.

Very nice book