It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist, and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible. Angels & Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (but more accessible).

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

Harry Potter for grown ups.

If you're looking for a book that will let you escape the doldrums of daily life for awhile then read this. Angels and Demons is a fantastic piece of fiction with very short chapters attractive to both busy people and those with short attention spans. The action is nonstop, the background is well researched (twisted, albeit, to fit the plot), the writing is punchy, the characters have appeal, and the work has education value.

In short, this book is a lot of fun. I read a considerable amount of theology and I would offer that Brown's speculation on the subject matter is interesting. Theology is generally seen as dry and archaic, and Brown breathes life into it for the average person to consider reading more. Even those critics which have valid objections do nothing but attempt to capitalize on his success.

Check your brain and escape to the Vatican to solve an archaic puzzle.

A Gimmick

I'm finding it hard to realize what the hullabaloo is all about; I mean there's nothing enthralling here at all. But, we're introduced to Dan's clichéd structure as always:
The arcane subject matter, the single protagonist with an 'erudite' appeal, the sexually driven assassin, and the damsel in distress-yes, the quintessential ingredients of a typical B-Movie. Yet I can understand why this book has many 'devoted' fans; I mainly assume it to be the MTV fueled minds of youth-the ostensibly intricate book appropriate for the puerile generation, who can then boast about it with friends as if it was some sequel to 'Gravity's Rainbow' (Thomas Pynchon). Yeah, I maybe no better but I can make out good books from bad books and this is so hollow and clichéd. Dan Brown will be an author I will overlook for many years to come, unless he comes up with something philosophically digestible in future, which is highly unlikely as the puerile generation is exponentially burgeoning.

Routine thriller

As I got around fifty pages into Angels and Demons, I was reminded of something that occurred to me when I read The Da Vinci Code (its sequel) a couple years ago: Dan Brown is not really a great writer. That he is generally successful has more to do with the fact that he presents interesting ideas in a competent but unspectacular manner. With The Da Vinci Code, the ideas alone were enough to merit a four star rating, but here the concepts are weaker and the novel is only of three star quality as a result.

The book introduces Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor who is an expert in religious symbols. He is flown to the Swiss scientific facility CERN to provide information on a symbol branded into a murder victim. This symbol leads Langdon to believe the Illuminati, a secret anti-Catholic organization is back in existence after a century. Soon it becomes obvious that the murderer has stolen a chunk of antimatter and hidden it somewhere in Vatican City. When the antimatter canister loses power (at exactly midnight), it will come in contact with normal matter and explode with the power of a small nuclear device.

Langdon is paired with the murder victim's daughter. (Could she be a love interest? Considering the fact that she is essentially the only female in this story and her physical attributes are repeatedly described, this is a no-brainer.) The two go to the Vatican, where there is also a papal election going on. To find the antimatter requires the deciphering of a number of ancient riddles that date back to Galileo. Fortunately, Langdon has the expertise to put them on the right track.

As with its sequel, the suspense fiction aspects of this story are utterly routine, and any veteran reader of this genre may be unimpressed with this novel. We have the love interest, the sadistic perfect killer and the convoluted conspiracy that are all common to these books. The characters, in particular Langdon are almost cookie cutter figures with no real depth. On the other hand, while there is little new here, Brown is able to follow the formula well enough and offer enough interesting ideas to keep the book of at least average quality. If you are interested in this book only as a diverting thriller, you may be better looking elsewhere like Robert Ludlum, Jon Land or Ken Follett...while Brown isn't bad, there are a lot better writers out there.