Rating: *****
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Thrillers, Suspense fiction, Secret societies, Crimes against, Election, Vendetta, Illuminati, Physicists - Crimes against, Popes, Anti-Catholicism, Physicists, Vatican City, Religious educators, Popes - Election, Signs and symbols, Lang:en
Summary
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. Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and
lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to
hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of
disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more
sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic
philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and
science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling
annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them
and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain
candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty.
--Kelly Flynn
Look Inside the Motion Picture
Angels & Demons (Sony Pictures, 2009)
Ewan MacGregor as Carlo Ventresca with College of
Cardinals Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria
Vetra Armin Mueller-Stahl as Straus and Ewan MacGregor as Carlo
Ventresca Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria
Vetra, and Ewan MacGregor as Carlo Ventresca Ewan MacGregor as Carlo Ventresca Pitting scientific terrorists against the cardinals of
Vatican City, this well-plotted if over-the-top thriller is
crammed with Vatican intrigue and high-tech drama. Robert
Langdon, a Harvard specialist on religious symbolism, is
called in by a Swiss research lab when Dr. Vetra, the
scientist who discovered antimatter, is found murdered with
the cryptic word "Illuminati" branded on his chest. These
Iluminati were a group of Renaissance scientists, including
Galileo, who met secretly in Rome to discuss new ideas in
safety from papal threat; what the long-defunct association
has to do with Dr. Vetra's death is far from clear. Vetra's
daughter, Vittoria, makes a frightening discovery: a lethal
amount of antimatter, sealed in a vacuum flask that will
explode in six hours unless its batteries are recharged, is
missing. Almost immediately, the Swiss Guard discover that
the flask is hidden beneath Vatican City, where the conclave
to elect a new pope has just begun. Vittoria and Langdon rush
to recover the canister, but they aren't allowed into the
Vatican until it is discovered that the four principal papal
candidates are missing. The terrorists who are holding the
cardinals call in regarding their pending murders, offering
clues tied to ancient Illuminati meeting sites and runes.
Meanwhile, it becomes clear that a sinister Vatican entity
with messianic delusions is in league with the terrorists.
Packing the novel with sinister figures worthy of a Medici,
Brown (Digital Fortress) sets an explosive pace as Langdon
and Vittoria race through a Michelin-perfect Rome to try to
save the cardinals and find the antimatter before it
explodes. Though its premises strain credulity, Brown's tale
is laced with twists and shocks that keep the reader wired
right up to the last revelation. (May)
Amazon.com Review
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From Publishers Weekly
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