Book Review: "Angels and Demons" - Dan Brown

The other day, I guess it was 3 weeks ago on Halloween, I was hanging out at my friend Jen's, and the subject got to the book "The DaVinci Code", which was one of the "hardest to put down" books I've ever got my fingers on. I think the movie (which sucked in comparison) was on as we flipped through the channels. Jen mentioned to me that there was a prequel of sorts, another historical fiction story that was kind of focused on the history of organized religion. I was intrigued, and she let me borrow it.

So a few weeks ago, I cracked open "Angels and Demons".

The story is set in the Vatican City, the world's smallest country, and the heart of the Catholic Church. The Pope has just died of a stroke. The historic Catholic rite of conclave had begun, in which the world's top cardinals lock themselves in a room to determine the new pope.

Meanwhile, a legendary (and sometimes disputed) Satanist cult called the Illuminati had infiltrated, slowly over the past 400 years, the entire Catholic Church, and the death of the Pope was their chance to prove that science, and not religious belief, is what made the world go around. They stole the very thing that a scientist named Vetra had made his life work, the link between creation and evolution. Anti-matter. Basically, he figured out how to create matter, and also anti-matter, which became the world's most deadly weapon. They then murdered Vetra brutally, branding him with the ambigram symbol of the Illuminati. The secretive cult that had operated behind the scenes now wanted to surface and publicly destroy the church.

The Illuminati stole the largest quantity they had created, a single droplet, which packed enough punch to level the entire city. Meanwhile, they had kidnapped four cardinals and planned to execute one per hour, concluding with blowing up the city at midnight. Enter Robert Langdon, Harvard religious historian, played by Tom Hanks in the movie. He's the only common character between the two books, but he (along with Vetra's beautiful daughter Vittoria, who helped Vetra with his work) helps the authorities figure out when and where the next killings would take place, only to arrive slightly too late to save each cardinal.

Once the book got rolling, it was the definition of a page turner. Each short chapter led to the next, and I spent several multiple-hour sessions blasting through it. The incredible thing, beyond all the action, is the factual historical information wrapped into the story. You get a behind-the-scenes look at the Vatican, the history of the Catholic Church, and the astounding architecture and art that is throughout Rome.

I'm a huge fan of this type of book. I love history, but somehow, a fictional book set in a factually correct historical setting teaches me far more than reading any textbook. If you're looking for a true action book, you won't be disappointed with this one. The twists and turns in the plot at the end are completely unexpected, and add a new depth to the book. It's one of those books you want to read a 2nd time, knowing what you now know. I probably won't do that, but it's recommended for sure.