Life > October 12, 2006

By Alisha Talbot

Staff writer

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was an instant bestseller among critics, fans, and fellow bestselling authors. However, in spite of the controversy that surrounded the novel, it skyrocketed to No. 1 on the New York Times’ bestseller list and its worldwide success led to the creation of a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. Dan Brown has become known for weaving fact and fiction together to craft brilliant bestsellers. Despite the success of The Da Vinci Code, its prequel, Angels & Demons, is arguably the better of the two.

Angels & Demons is the first novel in which Brown’s famous, fictitious character Robert Langdon comes to life. Before the novel begins, Brown gives the reader remarkable, yet frightening information about antimatter, which is the most powerful energy source in the world. Although it has the ability to help stop the world’s problems of pollution and radiation, it contains as much energy as a 20-Kiloton nuclear bomb and ignites when it comes in contact with anything, including air.

The novel is a nonstop thrill ride from the first to last page. The division between religion and science is fiercely depicted through both factual and fictitious events. The revelations that occur throughout the novel keep the reader hanging on until the explosive end. Angels & Demons has all the great qualities that a thriller novel should have: murder, romance and an ancient rivalry between science and religion. This rivalry creates the premise for the novel.

An ancient brotherhood, the Illuminati, resurfaced after several centuries to seek revenge upon the Catholic Church. After a physicist, priest Leonardo Vetra is found murdered in a Swiss Research Facility, Robert Langdon is called from Harvard to interpret the symbol branded on Leonardo Vetra’s body. Langdon reads the symbol and recognizes it as a mark of the Illuminati Brotherhood. To make it worse, the antimatter Vetra had created was stolen by his murderer and is now in dangerous hands. Langdon and Vetra’s daughter embark on a dangerous and exciting adventure to stop the Illuminati from using their newly acquired weapon of antimatter against the Vatican. 

The adventure keeps the reader turning the pages long after they should call it a night. However, it is the facts of the novel that really captivate the reader. All the places named in the novel, such as the tombs, tunnels and buildings are real places in Rome. To make it even more thrilling, the threatening secret brotherhood of the Illuminati is also real.

Angels & Demons is fast paced and gives no time for the reader to slow down and breathe. There is no doubt that if busy students are looking for a great read, this is it! If you loved The Da Vinci Code, you will love Angels & Demons. If you still cannot get enough adventure after reading these two novels, Dan Brown’s third installment, Digital Fortress, is filled with just as much mystery and intrigue.