Dan dan DAAAAAAAHHHHH!

Angels And Demons

By Dan Brown

Angels and Demons is about Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbology, who gets contacted by a major scientific research organization, after one of their top scientists is brutally murdered, and his revolutionary invention – literally a ticking time bomb – is stolen. Teamed up with Vittoria Vetra, a young physicist, Robert is sent on a wild chase across Rome and the Vatican City, along the Path of Illumination, to try and stop a plot to blow up the Vatican. And he has five hours to do it.

Sounds awesome, right?  While Angels and Demons isn’t a deep-and-meaningful-makes-you-think-about-the-meaning-of-life kind of book, it’s an excellent thriller (cue song). It’s written so that the chapters alternate points of view, and it makes you so mad at Dan Brown; you know you’re being manipulated, but you just have to read ONE MORE CHAPTER.

Also, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so exhaustively researched. Every sculpture, painting and church – and there are a lot – is described in meticulous detail. So meticulous that it makes you desperately want to go to Rome.

Langdon and Vittoria are a lot more interesting in the book than the movie. Now I’m not going to go on about how they look all wrong in the movie, but they’re just more interesting in the book. Vittoria is a much stronger and feistier character, and is ultimately the one who beats the villain, whereas in the movie she’s just there to provide the scientific background. She’s a much cooler heroine too. Langdon is also way more interesting in the book, and you actually care about him as a character.

One other thing: ambigrams.   Sure, they have the same ones in the movie, but man is it awesome to be able look at them on the page. I admit I may have spent hours, just turning the page around, and around, and around, and around…

So if you’re a fan of mysteries, science and art, then this is the book for you!

Feisty chick-o-meter: 8/10
Age Rating: 15+
Rating: 9/10
Stand alone or series: Series... ish
Book or audiobook: Book
Last word: You