Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)

by Dan Brown

book data

107,328 ratings, 3.68 average rating, 9,175 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		26%
4		32%
3		25%
2		10%
1		4%

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published

March 28th 2006 (first published 2000) by Pocket

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 736 pages

characters

Robert Langdon, Vittoria Vetra

setting

Italy

isbn

1416524797 (isbn13: 9781416524793)

description

It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave...more

[close] 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

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10/22/07

Russell rated it:

Read in May, 2007

This was Brown's book before the infamous "The Da Vinci Code." In many ways, this book was like a rough draft for "The Da Vinci Code", same character Langdon, same other characters, same basic start, same concepts, same bad research passed off as fact, same trick of having nearly every chapter end in cliffhanger, the same in so many ways.
Sadly, I think he did a better job the first time around.

I recommend you have a computer handy so you look up what Brown ...more

Like this review? yes (24 people liked it)

8 comments

08/14/07

Brian rated it:

Read in August, 2004

recommends it for: no one

I read this after the drivel that is called "Da Vinci Code." I decided to give the author another chance, and take on something that maybe wasn't so formulaic.

No dice. I am convinced that Dan Brown does absolutely no research into the subjects he writes about. Or if he does, he decides it is not "titilating enough for him" so he makes it up. I mean why even include actual real things in his books if he chooses to ignore any facts about them. Opus Dei? I doubt he ...more

Like this review? yes (16 people liked it)

7 comments

02/19/08

Mike Philbin rated it:

Angels and Demons is one of the most insidiously-constructed page turners I’ve ever read and unlike other such efforts (Richard Laymon’s IN THE DARK) I actually raced to the end of it rather than throwing the thing half-finished against the wardrobe in rage. Think of Hercules Poirrot. Think of Inspector Morse. Think of Agatha Christie. Once you strip all the character and soul from these genre writers you have Dan Brown. They all have in common the one writer trick, etirwer (the backwards re...more Angels and Demons is one of the most insidiously-constructed page turners I’ve ever read and unlike other such efforts (Richard Laymon’s IN THE DARK) I actually raced to the end of it rather than throwing the thing half-finished against the wardrobe in rage. Think of Hercules Poirrot. Think of Inspector Morse. Think of Agatha Christie. Once you strip all the character and soul from these genre writers you have Dan Brown. They all have in common the one writer trick, etirwer (the backwards rewrite). I don’t mean check a book for spelling and grammar. I mean write a basic plot line. Then go back. Adding in detail that will drive the narrative relentlessly towards what you sketched. Stuffing the book with glimpses of false trails and dead ends to keep the reader in the dark, so to speak. Confounding the reader in a way that will make him feel insignificant and meaningless.

This, for me, is the worst of all genre writing tricks.

Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon in his tweed and nuclear physicist Vittaria Vetra in her Lara Croft gear go in search of the thieves who killed Vittaria’s dad and stole the anti-matter from CERN and find themselves in what appears to be a travelogue of the more obscure bits of Vatican City. It reads just like that, a Treasure Hunt type of book. The reader is dragged along with teasing glimpses of THE TRUTH behind the religion and the war with science that has waged through the ages. But it could have all taken place in a virtual world like the internet or a library with mischievous librarians swapping cards around so old ladies can no longer find their Mills and Boons.

Any good book should involve, include, confront or enrage the reader – this book cored out the reader’s personality so that by the end you didn’t care if there were 30 more pages yet to go as the final threads of the convoluted narrative finally unravelled.

This book (maybe all Dan Brown books) should come with a mental health warning: At no point in the reading of this book was the reader in danger of thinking.

An ultimately vacuous exercise in Franchise Management D.B. even sneaked in an early reference to the following Professor Langdon mystery The DaVinci Code. Enough already!(less)

Like this review? yes (14 people liked it)

3 comments

08/01/07

Christine rated it:

bookshelves: mystery

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: anyone

If you liked The DaVinci Code, then you will LOVE Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Robert Langdon's character, professor of iconology at Harvard University, is introduced in this novel (like in the DaVinci Code). In the middle of the night he is contacted by the director of the world's largest scientific research facility in Geneva, Switzerland. Of course details are not discussed over the phone and he is told that he will be flown out on a private jet to Switzerland within the hour. Once he i...more

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07/03/08

Wendi rated it:

(review of isbn 0743486226)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2008

So I honestly want to give the book three stars. What I enjoy about Brown is how he can write almost 600 pages of a book and I get almost to the end and realize that it has taken place all in the space of one day. As a writer, I would love to be able to do that. The weaving of religious and scientific themes into an adventure set in European locales is also right up my alley.

What I don't like... and why I am forced to drop down to two stars (just a few examples):

That sa...more So I honestly want to give the book three stars. What I enjoy about Brown is how he can write almost 600 pages of a book and I get almost to the end and realize that it has taken place all in the space of one day. As a writer, I would love to be able to do that. The weaving of religious and scientific themes into an adventure set in European locales is also right up my alley.

What I don't like... and why I am forced to drop down to two stars (just a few examples):

That same time stretching often results in a parceling of time that is terribly irritating - most of the book actually isn't just in less than one day but in about four to five hours. Unfortunately, in one part of the book, given twenty minutes, the protagonists can, say, drink tea and eat scones, talk at length about their theories about what's happening, run from one location to another, save someone, and research an important historical fact. But during another twenty minutes, they don't seem to have enough time to, say, run the length of a block and enter a building. It must be difficult as an author to keep track of this sort of incongruity but this is Brown's special trick and it's irritating that he can't follow his own rules. It needs to be either one way or the other but not both.

Every few chapters, he seems to feel the need to reintroduce his main protagonist by first and last name, "Robert Langdon stood in front of the church..."; like we haven't met this character yet for every single paragraph for the last 126 chapters (and no, I'm not exaggerating on the numbers of chapters).

This really, really frustrating thing where the protagonist, Langdon, is this brainy professor that can supposedly figure out these relatively obscure, secret messages hidden by other brainy men hundreds of years ago in order to save the world... and yet he can't figure out the REALLY obvious things right in front of his face. I was listening to this on audiobook and I SWEAR, I kept expecting a three year old child to pipe up from somewhere in the back of the crowd, saying, "Oh, come one, mister! You can't see that? Seriously? Aren't you supposed to be the hero? Even I can see that!!

And, finally, lines like, "The silence that followed might as well have been thunder." Um, what... honestly, what? Is this Brown's version of "A thunderous silence followed..."?

It's really rather frustrating because I honestly think that in many ways Brown is rather talented; in some of his plotting, the details, the ideas he pulls together. I just wish that in other ways - the writing, some characterization, he could catch up with his other abilities.

After reading The Da Vinci Code, I was going to read both this and Digital Fortress but I do believe I will stop here... wishing I could tip it over to the three stars.(less)

Like this review? yes (9 people liked it)

4 comments

11/29/07

Megan rated it:

I enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" as a trashy good time, but then read this one and just couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Not only was it silly and formulaic, it made the silly formula underlying "The Da Vinci Code" all too clear. Really? Another middle-aged yet strangely attractive/brilliant male protagonist -- oh wait, the same one from the other book? Another grisly murder of an old dude kicking things off? Another hot foreign chick, related to the dead dude, helping solve the m...more

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06/23/07

Rachael rated it:

Read in May, 2006

recommends it for: Someone stuck on a desert island who has no other option

In the first, I don't know, 30 pages or so a character is "overwhelmed" by the smell of frozen urine. Frozen things don't smell, let alone overwhelmingly. Shortly thereafter an expert in religion (or whatever he is, I've tried to block it out) is shocked to see a study containing both scientific and religious items. I should have put the book down then, but then I would have missed unbelievable characters, hackneyed descriptions and spitting in the face of the laws of physics and ph...more

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03/30/08

Danielle rated it:

(review of isbn 0671027360)

Read in July, 2005

recommends it for: those who love a mystery

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown was one of the best page-turners I have ever read. From the very beginning I couldn’t put it down. I did not know where Dan Brown would take the story next. Following the main character Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist on his first great adventure was breathtaking. I wanted to learn more, to know the secrets of the Illuminati and the only way to do it was to let the story naturally unfold as I read. I can usually guess what is going to happen in thrillers, b...more

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03/30/09

JP rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This Dan Brown thriller kept my attention from the very first chapter. I read Brown's Code and thoroughly enjoyed. After enjoying TDC and seeing the movie trailer for Angels and Demons, I decided to read the book while on my honeymoon - 710 pages in five and a half days. Throughout the read, I often wondered when the story would become dull - and it simply never did. Chapter after chapter, Dan's style of writing (intelligent, visual, and well-researched) kept the pages turning. The intriguing co...more

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03/24/09

Lucian rated it:

(review of isbn 0552150738)

Read in March, 2009

Perhaps it's the low oxygen on plane rides that makes pulp-fiction writers like Dan Brown so palatable. As the energy to wrestle with genuine literature seeps away from you, sitting as you are in the upright, locked position, novelists like Dan Brown gladly and humbly supply the want of reading material that requires little more effort than page turning.
But Dan Brown is different. Dan Brown's writing is so spectacularly bad, that in his hands the pulp novel rises to a grandiose pinnacle of...more Perhaps it's the low oxygen on plane rides that makes pulp-fiction writers like Dan Brown so palatable. As the energy to wrestle with genuine literature seeps away from you, sitting as you are in the upright, locked position, novelists like Dan Brown gladly and humbly supply the want of reading material that requires little more effort than page turning.
But Dan Brown is different. Dan Brown's writing is so spectacularly bad, that in his hands the pulp novel rises to a grandiose pinnacle of oblivious self-parody. Reading Angels and Demons is like watching a train crash occur before your eyes: it is tragic and yet irresistibly magnificent.
In terms of style, Brown is utterly lacking in taste and discretion. The novel abounds in unnecessary detail. What do we gain, for instance, by learning that Langdon, our hero, wears a Harris tweed jacket, and why are we reminded of this meaningless fact some half a dozen times? Do we need to know that the Vatican Guard drives unmarked Alpha Romeo 155 T-Sparks? While the spoken dialogue is at worst merely bland and trite, the internal world of Brown's characters is singularly cliched and banal. Descriptions of thoughts and feelings are among the worst in the novel. For instance, the following passage is in my humble opinion the most memorable line of the novel:
"The eerie phone conversation had left him feeling turgid . . . distended somehow. Not himself."
Feeling turgid? And for sheer bad taste, we have the following specimen, which concludes one of the later chapters:
"As he flushed, an unexpected realization hit him. This is the Pope’s toilet, he thought. I just took a leak in the Pope’s toilet. He had to chuckle. The Holy Throne."
Brilliant, no? The first, turgid example also illustrates a favorite technique that Brown uses to heighten the drama of any descriptive passage: the double-stop (don't be thrown off by the use of a pause). The paragraph immediately after it continues, taking this favorite device of Brown's to its illogical extreme:
"The Illuminati, like a serpent from the forgotten depths of history, had risen and wrapped themselves around an ancient foe. No demands. No negotiation. Just retribution. Demonically simple. Squeezing. A revenge 400 years in the making. It seemed that after centuries of persecution, science had bitten back."
I call this the movie-preview style: a staccato series of incomplete sentences that create a mood without the inconveniences of content and grammar. Simple. Effective. (As Brown would put it.) The example above is admittedly rather elaborate for Brown: generally, movie-preview passages take the form of a sentence followed by two dramatic fragments. Alternatively, these fragments often appear as emphatic one-line paragraphs, which litter the novel.
The plot is, of course, ridiculous and generally as obvious as it is contorted, yet Brown does offer genuine surprises. While several trivial details mentioned early in the novel naturally just so happen to become crucial later (e.g., those who wonder why we are told that the female lead, Vittoria, is a yoga master will no doubt perceive its necessity as a plot device long before Brown uses it), the real revelations are, to Brown's credit, foreshadowed much more delicately, if at all. That of course makes such twists no less absurd, but the generous reader will play along.
It is hard, in summary, to do justice to the plot of Angels and Demons. Perhaps a metaphor will do: if the Indiana Jones and James Bond franchises could have a child -- perhaps even a mildly retarded child -- that child would be Angels and Demons. If you consider yourself a sophisticated reader, don't be put off by the single star that I am awarding it: it is a terrible book but a fun read, for all the wrong reasons.(less)

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08/31/07

nicole rated it:

Read in July, 2006

recommends it for: everybody

it is a real page turner and beautifully written.
kudos to dan brown!!

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

01/26/09

Jennifer rated it:

bookshelves: mystery

I actually prefered Angels and Demons over The DaVinci Code.

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

13 comments

03/31/09

Susan rated it:

bookshelves: thrillers

Read in May, 2009

As soon as I finished Angels & Demons, I started feeling guilty--and a bit two-faced. You see, I've been telling anyone who would listen (my poor husband, mainly), about Dan Brown's atrocious writing style. Nearly every page was riddled with exaggerated descriptions, cartoon-like characterizations, implausibilities (even for a thriller), and just plain clumsiness.

I will admit to turning those pages pretty rapidly--maybe a hundred a day near the end. After all, I had to find out ...more As soon as I finished Angels & Demons, I started feeling guilty--and a bit two-faced. You see, I've been telling anyone who would listen (my poor husband, mainly), about Dan Brown's atrocious writing style. Nearly every page was riddled with exaggerated descriptions, cartoon-like characterizations, implausibilities (even for a thriller), and just plain clumsiness.

I will admit to turning those pages pretty rapidly--maybe a hundred a day near the end. After all, I had to find out if Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and CERN physicist Vittoria Vetra would find the stolen antimatter hidden deep within the Vatican walls by the defunct-but-seemingly-resurrected religion-hating, science-loving, Freemason-infiltrating Illuminati cult. Was I going to let Mr. Brown's frequent references to his characters "looking" mad, angry, confused, impressed, stupified, insulted, etc. keep me from learning more about an organization to which George H.W. Bush, Galileo, and Cecil Rhodes were supposedly linked? Not on your life. And this does much to explain why Mr. Brown has earned so much money from his novels that he can afford to bail out a hapless financial institution or two. He can tell a story.

Angels & Demons is stitched together with just enough historical and scientific facts to get me to buy its shaky premise and continue reading. (Of course, maybe--probably--I'm just gullible). I am not a theologian, a physicist, an art historian, nor a Harvard "symbologist"--but I kinda like learning about that stuff without having to do any heavy lifting and crack open a Bible or a physics book. Mr. Brown's strange brew of all these disciplines, plus his masterful juggling of characters, plot threads, and time constraints managed to pique my interest. I had to know if Langdon's extensive knowledge of Italian baroque sculpture would save the day.

A & D is a good summer beach read (though it's a rainy Chicago spring). It will redeem itself if I follow through on my vow to become reacquainted with Galileo's travails and to learn more about Bernini, antimatter, and the Freemasons--all through the magic of Wikipedia.

(less)

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

4 comments

01/14/09

Christine rated it:

Read in January, 2008

If you enjoy suspense and mystery novels like myself, Angels and Demons is a great novel. Dan Brown combines religion and science to create a rather controversial read. The story starts out by introducing us to Robert Langdon by awakening him with a phone call. Maximillian Kohler summons him to the science base, CERN, for his expertise of symbolism following the murder of their top researcher. He was branded with the mark of the Illuminati, an anti-religious cult that was believed to have died ...more If you enjoy suspense and mystery novels like myself, Angels and Demons is a great novel. Dan Brown combines religion and science to create a rather controversial read. The story starts out by introducing us to Robert Langdon by awakening him with a phone call. Maximillian Kohler summons him to the science base, CERN, for his expertise of symbolism following the murder of their top researcher. He was branded with the mark of the Illuminati, an anti-religious cult that was believed to have died out years ago. So why kill a man of science? His research had proved the existence of God’s force, in creating dark matter. His murderer gruesomely accessed his work and stole away to Vatican City. Soon after a terrorist threat was made, with no demands, and four of the preferiti were kidnapped. The preferiti were the preferred elects for the pope election. Meanwhile, the chamberlain has to take care of the election and make orders to find the dark matter. Robert is also kept very busy attempting to decipher the ancient Illuminati clues to locate the four preferiti, who are under the threat of murder. With the help of the murdered scientists daughter, Vittoria Vetra, they race across Rome to arrive a few seconds late. The first of the preferiti was suffocated with dirt and branded with the ambigram of earth on his chest. At this point it’s impossible to put the book down. Brown’s use of mystery and riddles keeps you on the edge of your seat as you struggle along with Langdon to solve the puzzles. Personally, my favorite part is at the very end when the conflict of the dark matter is resolved, but the question of who is responsible for everything is still in question. Robert ends up jumping out of a helicopter to save his life, and that’s how he solves the final problem. The most unsuspected person turns out to be the bad guy and the return of the Illuminati was used as a scare tactic. Because Vittoria and Robert were dependent on each other for that 24-hour action packed day, they began to feel attached to one another. At the very end they spend a romantic night together in celebration of saving Vatican City. Unless you are sensitive about religious views, this book is a fun read and will make your brain work! Don’t expect to do anything else while your reading this book, since you simply can’t picture wanting to do anything else other than solve the mystery.(less)

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12/18/07

Jeana Warren rated it:

Read in June, 2006

recommends it for: those who enjoyed da vinci code

A quote from the book: "Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and...provided an array of gagetry for our convenience...but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies... Even the technology that unites us, divides us. We are electronically connected to the globe and yet we feel utterly alone. Skepticism has become a virtue. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than at any point in human h...more

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05/14/07

Claire rated it:

Read in July, 2004

recommends it for: Anyone looking for hilariously serious fluff.

Granted, my family owns this both in print and as an audio book- so I can't deny the entertainment I gather from this sad excuse for a detective novel on a regular basis- but I still refuse to call it a good book in any respectable sense of the word.

Not unlike The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons is made up of archetypal characters thrown into unfathomably implausible situations in which facts tend to be sort of twisted or thrown aside for the sake of a good, pulpy read. Sure, our ...more

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04/24/07

Rosey rated it:

(review of isbn 0671027360)

Read in October, 2005

Religion always was, is, has been, and always will be a very sensitive subject for me. However this book was a "battle" of religion and science. The storyline was engaging. I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow, but as the book progressed, the pace really picked up to a point I pruned myself out in the bathtub finishing it. There was a page I found to be very thought-provoking.

"Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which...more

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08/23/08

James rated it:

What a piece of crap. Some of the worst writing I have ever encountered. Fortunately, most people can't form a sentence of their own these days and that renders pap like this a commercial viability. Which is great because we all get to share in Dan Brown's genius. I'd give it 0 stars if I could. I am offended by how bad this book is. But I have to admit, actually, that I did not finish it. I threw it across the room in disgust. So, maybe, just maybe, it gets really good after the steamin...more

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03/25/09

Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0743275063)

Read in March, 2009

On a quest to save the Vatican in around 24 hours, Robert Langdon, a Harvard Professor, and Vittoria, a physicist, unlock clues to gain ground on the cunning plan of the Illuminati.
My conflicts with this book are simple. The implausible was constantly coming to pass during multiple moments of the main plot. A certain weapon was left behind during a pivital scene. The elements of earth, air, fire, and water were not part of Vittoria's common knowledge. The specialties of the main c...more

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06/09/09

Miriam rated it:

Read in June, 2009

I picked up this book because I wanted some mindless action with a fast-moving plot. This book was exactly the opposite: political, too much dialogue, and slow moving. At first the politics of the book intrigued me because Brown attempts to take on the clash between science and religion, however he seems to be completely ignorant about science and religion in the very ways that feed the clash between them.
For example, he talks about cutting edge scientists studying the big bang. (Cutti...more

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"“You are confused because the Bible describes God as an omnipotent and benevolent deity…Omnipotent-benevolent simply means that God is all-powerful and well-meaning.” “I understand the concept. It’s just…there seems to be a contradiction.” “Yes. The contradiction is pain. Man’s starvation, war, sickness…” “Exactly!” Chartrand knew the camerlengo would understand. “Terrible things happen in this world. Human tragedy seems like proof that God could not possibly be both all-powerful and well-meaning. If He loves us and has the power to change our situation, He would prevent our pain, wouldn’t He?” The Camerlengo frowned. “Would He?” Chartrand felt uneasy. Had he overstepped his bounds? Was this one of those religious questions you just didn’t ask? “Well…if God loves us, and He can protect us, He would have to. It seems He is either omnipotent and uncaring, or benevolent and powerless to help.” “Do you have children, Lieutenant?” Chartrand flushed. “No, signore.” “Imagine you had an eight-year-old son…would you love him?” “Of course.” “Would you let him skateboard?” Chartrand did a double take. The camerlengo always seemed oddly “in touch” for a clergyman. “Yeah, I guess,” Chartrand said. “Sure, I’d let him skateboard, but I’d tell him to be careful.” “So as this child’s father, you would give him some basic, good advice and then let him go off and make his own mistakes?” “I wouldn’t run behind him and mollycoddle him if that’s what you mean.” “But what if he fell and skinned his knee?” “He would learn to be more careful.” The camerlengo smiled. “So although you have the power to interfere and prevent your child’s pain, you would choose to show your love by letting him learn his own lessons?” “Of course. Pain is part of growing up. It’s how we learn.” The camerlengo nodded. “Exactly.'" More quotes...