Book Review - Angel and Demons

Angel and Demons is a fast-pace thriller written by reknown author Dan Brown.

The story starts off in CERN, a nuclear research facility, where a well-respected scientist, Leonardo Vetra, is murdered. His chest was branded with an ambigram of the word “Illuminati”. A symbol. CERN director Maximilian being the first to find out about it, searched on the internet and called Harvard Symbologists to solve the mystery.

Langdon was shocked by how authentic the ambigram was. The Illuminati was a legendary, ancient secret society that existed a long time ago. Kohler calls Vetra’s adopted daughter Vittoria to the scene, where she finds out that one of the canisters containing anti-matter has been stolen. Anti-matter is highly unstable and very dangerous. When in the wrong hands, it can become a bomb which was what happened in that story.

Langdon and Vittoria flew to Vatican City. The recent Pope had died and the papal conclave has convened to elect the new pontiff. Cardinal Mortati, the eldest cardinal and host of the election, found out that four Preferiti, the preferred choice, were missing. Langdon and Vittoria begin searching for the Preferiti, hoping that they will find the anti-matter at the same time. Along the way, Carmerlango Carlo Ventresca (the late pope’s closest aide) and Commander Olivetti, Captain Rocher, Lieutenant Chartrand and the rest of the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. Langdon tries to follow the “Path of Illumination”, a confusing and elaborate process whereby one has look for clues at various landmarks and find out the meeting place of the Illuminati.

Langdon finds the four Preferiti murdered in a fashion, place and order related to the elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Cardinal Ebner is suffocated putting dirt and soil into his mouth. He is buried in Santa Maria del Popolo. In the St. Peter’s Square, Cardinal Lamassé is killed by punctures to his lungs causing him to be unable to breath. In the church Santa Maria della Vittoria, Cardinal Guidera is burned alive. Finally, Cardinal Baggia, the favourite to succeed as the new pope, was drowned to death in the Fountain of Four Rivers near the church St Agnes in Agony. In church Santa Maria della Vittoria, Vittoria was captured by the assassin.

Nevertheless, Langdon manages to find out the Path of Illumination and rescues Vittoria, at the same time killing the assassin. The two hurried back to St. Peter Basilica, where they realised that Maximilian Kohler has gone to meet the Camerlengo privately. Afraid that Kohler is “Janus” the mastermind behind all these, and upon hearing the scream of the Camerlengo, the Swiss Guards and they burst into the room. Amongst the confusion, they opened fire and killed Kohler and Captain Rocher. The Camerlengo had been branded with the “Illuminati Diamond”.

With the time in the canister running out, the Swiss Guard evacuates the Basilica. The Camerlengo says that he had received a vision from God of where the canister is. He rushes to the tomb of St. Peter and find it right there. Then, he goes up on a helicopter with Robert Langdon with the anti-matter. He does something that shocks Langdon. Jumping out of the helicopter, the Camerlengo abandons Langdon on the helicopter together with the anti-matter. The Camerlengo survives and becomes a hero. Fortunately, Langdon survives when he jumps out of the helicopter and miraculously survives.

Langdon, Vittoria and the College of Cardinals view Kohler’s tape. They confronted the Camerlengo and the truth is finally revealed. The Camerlengo was the mastermind who wanted to unite Christians and give them faith. As for the election, two popes were selected: Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca and Cardinal Mortati. Unfortunately, Ventresca suicides by lighting himself on fire.

The book closes when Langdon and Vittoria retire to Hotel Bernini, where Langdon is loaned indefinitely the “Illuminati Diamond” brand.

Dan Brown’s Writing Style:

Dan Brown writes his stories by mixing fact and fiction into one exciting story. His novels follow a one-day time frame. Dan Brown starts the story quickly by having the main character in the story receive a call or message telling him/her to go somewhere as there is an emergency. His stories often lead the main character to many places, creating a fast-pace plot. Dan Brown keeps our suspense by keeping the villain anonymous. Often, the true identity of the villain can be quite surprising.