Angels & Demons by Dan Brown Series: Robert Langdon #1
Published by Simon & Schuster, Atria Books on July 1, 2003
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 592
Narrator: Richard Poe
Length: 18 hours and 28 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code comes the explosive thriller that started it all.
An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to his first assignment to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
Critics have praised the exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit found in Brown's remarkable thrillers featuring Robert Langdon. An explosive international suspense, Angels & Demons marks this hero's first adventure as it careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.
Review
Let’s talk about the book that made art history sexy and convinced everyone they needed a tweed jacket with elbow patches.
Before The Da Vinci Code made him a household name, Dan Brown introduced us to Robert Langdon in Angels & Demons. Picture this: a Harvard professor who knows way too much about symbols gets dragged into a centuries-old beef between science and the Catholic Church. Why? Because someone murdered a physicist at CERN and branded him with an ancient Illuminati symbol. You know, typical Tuesday stuff.
Teaming up with the victim’s daughter (who happens to be both brilliant and beautiful, because of course), Langdon tears through Rome like a caffeinated tour guide on a mission. There’s a canister of antimatter threatening to turn Vatican City into a crater, a papal election in crisis, and ancient clues hidden in some of the world’s most famous artwork. It’s like National Treasure meets The Name of the Rose, with a dash of particle physics thrown in for good measure.
Brown’s got this knack for making you feel smart while reading what’s essentially a Hollywood blockbuster in book form. He’ll teach you about Bernini sculptures and matter-antimatter annihilation between chase scenes. Sure, historians might quibble with some details, and yes, every chapter ends with a cliffhanger so obvious you can set your watch by it. But here’s the thing: it works.
The science-versus-religion debate at the heart of the story still hits home today, even if it’s about as subtle as a Dan Brown chapter ending. Langdon himself is basically Indiana Jones with a Ph.D. instead of a whip, and while the plot requires Olympic-level suspension of disbelief, you’ll be too busy racing through the pages to care.
Is it high literature? Nope. Will it change your life? Probably not. But will it keep you up past your bedtime, furiously Googling Italian churches and thinking maybe you should’ve paid more attention in art history class? Absolutely.
4/5 stars – Would recommend to anyone who likes their thrillers with a side of art history and doesn’t mind the occasional eye-roll-worthy plot twist. Just don’t use it as your only source for a Vatican City tour guide.
