Angels & Demons

Review: Angels & Demons

If you are one of the majority of readers, as i am, you have certainly read Angels & Demons after you explored the wonders of The Da Vinci Code. If you are reading this review i wouldin't be supprised if you asked yourself the question "How does The Da Vinci Code compare to Angels & Demons?" And the short answer would be that they are very simular. If you like exciting thriller novels, particular novels like The Da Vinci Code, you should with anticipation long to read Angels & Demons.

Earlie in the novel Angels & Demons you will be introduced to the main character Robert Langdon, professor of religious iconology and art history at Harvard University. Langdon is awakend in the middle of the night by a distressed phone call from Maxmilian Kohler, the director of CERN, the world's largest scientific research facility in Geneva, Switzerland. Kohler explains the situation, one of CERN's top physicists has been murdered and they need Langdon's help with the mysterious word "Illuminati" that have been branded into the physicists's chest. Langdon who is an expert in acient society's is immediately transported with a high tech X-33 airplane from the safty in Massachusetts to the adventures in Switzerland.

When Robert gets to Switzerland he founds out that the murdered victim, Leonardo Vetra, isin't only one of the world's leading physicists, but also a Catholic priest with a adopted daughter, Vittoria. Vittoria Vetra is Roberts second half, his correspondence if prefered, and the second main character.Vittoria is beautiful, tough, intelligent, and determined to avenge her father's murder and keep the canister from exploding. The two of them are constantly one step behind the Illuminati. She is, as her father, a scientist at CERN and will help Langdon trough out the story to solve her fathers murder. But the murder is not the biggest problem, somone stole the antimatter that Vittoria and her father had created and with only the backup batteries, the antimatter will interact with matter and cause instantaneous explosion of unprecedented power within 24 hours.

Not long after the canister with the antimatter had been stolen it was refound on a security camera in Vatican City, with it's LED counting down the time until the batteries run out. Even though the guards know that the camera has to be within the walls of the Vatican city, it is nowhere to be found leaving the canister's whereabouts a mystery aswell. When the news of the camera image reached CERN they where quick to send of Vittoria and Langdon to Rome and the Vatican City to find the missing antimatter to prevent it from exploding at midnight.

The canister is threaten to destroy the Vatican, but with the recent death of the Pope, Catholic priests and cardinals are all within the city for the conclave, to choose a new Pope. Unfortune for the unknowing Catholic belivers they are, according to church law, be locked insidethe Sixtine Chapel and remain there until they have agreed who the new leader of the Catholic church. But before the preferiti, four cardinals who are the preferred candidates for the Pope, can get to the Sixtine chapel the captain of the Swiss Guard recive a disturbing call. There is a man that claims to be from the Illuminati and he is holding the preferiti as hostage and is threaten to kill them one by one until the bomb explodes and destryos the Vatican City, witch houses not only the church hierarchy but also invaluable posseses and wealth. The man from Illuminati has no demands but one; he wishes the armageddon of the Catholic society.

Robert and Vittorian is constantly racing against the time witch make the novel very exciting and intersting. They dig trough acient mysteries and old archives to solve the riddle of where the bomb is located, witch also turns out to be very educating for the reader. This makes Robert Langdon the perfect rollfigure with they way he guides the reader trough through all this arcane knowledge with his congenial and scholarly fashion, doing his best to educate without seeming superior with his own intelligence. Much like The Da Vinci Code Langdon understand enough to find the missing pieces necessary to solve the puzzle, but the pieces are not easily found and it leads Langdon and Vittoria trough churches forgotten passages, fountains, secret passages, crypts and catacombs. Death stalks them at every turn, in one form or another.

Angels & Demons is highly enjoyable to read and a extraordinary novel, ...