Kudos To Dan Brown For His Venture Into The World Of Angels And Demons Within The Catholic Church

In Angels and Demons, Dan Brown takes on a host of surreal themes from secret societies that plot against the Vatican to particles of antimatter that can blow buildings apart and jets that can travel at speeds of up to 15,000 miles an hour. Add to these subplots of mad scientists, a romance between the two protagonists and a novel crammed with Vatican intrigue and high-tech drama and it is amazing that Brown accomplished the unbelievable with such aplomb.

The central theme, however, revolves around the supposed conflict between science and religion, with science being all about reason and religious faith being all about superstition. I appreciated that Brown made a point of attempting to show how science actually proved that there was a God, reinforcing religion rather than slandering it.

The story, itself, is driven by the revival of a shadowy group called the Illuminati whose goal is retribution for the holy wars of the medieval church in which scientists were persecuted and martyred as heretics. The truth that the Illuminati actually existed in those times and maybe still exists in some corners of our society today added to the sense of believability that Brown was after.

Angels and Demons begins when Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is called in by a CERN, a Swiss research lab, to investigate the murder of Dr. Vetra, a former priest who is found murdered with the cryptic word “Illuminati” branded on his chest. The perfect symmetry of the brand bears proof of the ancient society’s current existence but no one knows what their objective is until a vial of anti-matter is discovered to be missing. This legendary secret society has supposedly dedicated itself, since the time of Galileo, to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism.

Upon finding Dr. Vetra’s body the Lab’s founder calls Dr. Vetra’s adopted daughter, Vittoria, who reveals a secret project whose existence she believed only her father and she were privy to. However, what she didn’t know was that her father had revealed their secret discovery of antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, to one person that he believed he could trust. That person, however, was betrayed and Dr. Vetra’s discovery stolen, only to be hidden and set to explode, somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope.

With the danger of Vatican City exploding, Langdon and Vittoria are forced to embark on a frantic search that takes them through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, as they attempt to follow clues that will bring them to the ancient meeting place of the Illuminati.

While some readers might wish for a little less philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, they should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a the story. For me, I was intrigued to learn more about the Pope, and the process that the church goes through to select a new leader. A also enjoyed the experience of traveling through Rome’s catacombs and the Vatican’s air-tight library where the churches most valuable archives are kept. As far as getting upset over the question of Brown’s attacking the Catholic Church, the reader must take into account that this is a work of fiction not an expose on the Church and react accordingly.

Overall the underlying moral of this book is not that you cannot trust the church but rather when looking for an enemy or answer, look within ones own walls because often the person least expected is key to solving the mystery.

Angels and Demons is a fast paced, well written, page turning mystery that will capture the reader from the first page and needless to say I loved the book especially its unexpected culprit and ending. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or just loves good mysteries as you won’t be disappointed. or just wants a good book.

[tags]Dan Brown, Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, book review, fiction, Catholic Church, Illuminati, anti-matter, science, Rome, catacombs, Vatican City, Pope, science, religion[/tags]