The Illuminati-vs-the Vatican. Religion battles science. Creationism meets Big Bang theory.
An adventurous Murder/Mystery/Thriller
Delightfully filled with artful descriptions of the Vatican/Rome/Italy.
"Man's morality is not advancing as fast as man's science"

One of CERN's top physicists has been murdered. His chest was branded with an ambigram of the word "Illuminati." This is the name and symbol of a supposedly extinct ancient anti-religious organization. Professor Robert Langdon, an expert on symbology and religious history, is brought in to help with the investigation. And when they realize that a canister of antimatter has been stolen from the physicist’s lab, the race is on. Professor Robert Langdon has 24 hours to find the truth and the canister. Because the canister will explode after the battery runs out.

Meanwhile, the college of cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. And all roads of Langdon’s investigation lead to Rome.


It’s an interesting science Vs religion theme that lurks beneath the surface of this treasure hunt thriller. And I appreciate the characters of Vittoria Vetra and her father who try to bridge the gap between the two, as they firmly believe that the two are not mutually exclusive.


Thanks to my friend Rosh for recommending me to read this book. I already watched and liked the Tom Hanks movie. But I have to agree with her by saying the original book does it just a little bit better. Mostly because it’s a bit more detailed. It’s a fun fast-paced thriller with some interesting science and history anecdotes woven into the plot. It’s sometimes a bit too over the top but, it does make for a very entertaining treasure hunt for the ages.

We have a term called ‘paisa vasool’ in Hindi. It means ‘worth the money’ and is generally used in reference to films. A mainstream Bollywood film is termed paisa vasool and is commercially successful only when it constitutes the following factors:

1)tA hero who can do anything and everything under the sun. He can achieve impossible feats and always survives bizarre accidents.

2)tA heroine comes across as smart independent women in beginning but turns into a cardboard cutout by the end. Just another pretty face, another damsel in distress.

3)tA plot which is always over the top. Includes dramatic twists, graphic deaths, a little romance thrown here and there, and a demented villain. In the end the hero saves the day and then shares some steamy/mushy moments with the heroine.

Halfway through Angels and Demons, I realized that except for the trademark bollywood songs, this book shared every other characteristic of a typical masala film. Logic and reason have only cameo roles, all the characters are one dimensional, there are unexpected twists and turns all along, the prose can be described as pedestrian at best, but somehow you feel compelled to finish the book. To be honest though, my compulsion arose more from the fact that I had bought the book (damn these book sales) than from anything the novel had to offer. That Dan Brown got half of the facts wrong does not please me either. Still, I would give this page turner 2.5 stars, because at the end of the day it was “paisa vasool” and entertaining.

5 stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm pretty sure the first time I read this book, I didn't read the entire thing. It's an odd thought, because now, I would absolutely never DNF this, but I guess that just speaks to how tastes change over the years.

As of today, Angels and Demons is easily one of my favorite books. The constant action and simplistic writing style blend together perfectly into a fascinating story of non-stop questions and clues.

The characters felt real, and I connected with many of them, whether that be through their personality, their work, or some other trait. The story was written in such a way that I never wanted to stop reading. (I think I read it faster than I've read a book in a long time.)

The writing style is straightforward. Extra fluff is never used to add to the word count. One of my greatest bookish pet peeves is when fifty words are used where ten would do the job. But there is literally none of that here. Only the necessities.

Every word is necessary, and every POV utilized is important. The story is told from multiple characters' perspectives, but it doesn't feel like an overload. The reader is not all-knowing until the very end, but rather, throughout the story, we get a look into the minds and actions of more than one pertinent, essential character. And each of these people are woven together at the conclusion of the story in a way that I can only describe as this: brilliant.

For fans of thrillers and generally exciting stories with complex solutions, this is absolutely the book for you. Dan Brown lives entirely up to the hype surrounding his name, and that is no small feat.

Now onto The Da Vinci Code...

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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 is talking about, and that way you can have a better idea of what it really looks like. Added bonus too, you can have a laugh over how Brown had to forced it into his world to make the plot somewhat cohesive.
Look, if you want to write fiction, do so but please own up to it being fiction! Trying to pass off the Ecstasy of St. Theresa as being so pornographic in nature that the Vatican had it exiled to a small church, is, well, wrong as wrong as gets.
Brown throws out a number of stunningly stupid statements, like asserting that since Christianity is syncretic, God-eating (the Holy Communion) was taken from the Aztecs. How, Brown never explains, since the practice was established by Christ himself during the Last Supper around 33 A.D. and the Aztecs didn't show up until 1248 A.D. I figure Brown left it open so he could write some sort of time travel book, involving a long lost secret that the Aztecs built their pyramids as sort of a dry run, traveled back in time and were actually behind the pyramids in Egypt. And, of course, were the sect that created the Christ-myth due to a poorly thought out plot.

Thanks to the internet, you too can have fun poking holes in the book. See, for example, CERN's site on the book. And if that doesn't do it for you, here's a good site looking into all the errors.

A sample from the last site:

"While walking around the CERN campus, Langdon notices a marble column incorrectly labeled Ionic. Langdon points the mistake out to Kohler: "That column isn't Ionic. Ionic columns are uniform in width. That one's tapered. It's a Doric -- the Greek counterpart." (26) The problem is that Ionic columns are themselves Greek. The three orders of classical columns, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, are all Greek in origin, so it's impossible for the Doric order to the be the Greek counterpart of the Ionic. It's also much easier to distinguish the Doric from the Ionic based on their capitals; Doric columns have plain capitals, while Ionic columns are topped by volutes or scrolls."

That irked me when I read that passage, because not only is a poor joke, it doesn't make sense!

Let's ignore the bad, the erroneous, and the ugly, and you have decent little thriller zipping around Rome looking at art. Of course, it has to zip along, slow down long enough to think about it, and a host of questions start to swarm up. Like how Langdon has a whole theory on who the bad guy is and how Langdon was involved in these rather preposterous circumstances. Of course, the premise is wrong, so that that whole house of cards fall down. Not bad in of itself, but then Brown doesn't ever provide any reason Langdon was involved after that.

Of course, you aren't supposed to notice while reading it, and preferably not afterwards, either. Doing so reveals how badly Brown writes. He can't provide a single decent reason why his hero is there, aside from a vague "Because" and a shrug.

I'm envious of Brown, he can't write well, has plot holes big enough to drive the Popemobile through, bad research and "facts" that aren't, and yet still is entertaining, popular and, most galling perhaps, published.
Caveat lector.

I remember the first time I watched "The Da Vinci Code" and how much it scared me. I seriously hated it but after 2006 things changed for me. What I found interesting before changed. I become kind of obsessed with cults, religions, believes, signs and many other things. So I watched the movie on TV and I loved it, and now I'm a fan and can't wait for the other movies to come.



I bought "Angels and Demons" and I'm moving quickly in it. The information are interesting but not all are correct regarding Islam. But it's fiction so I'm eating it up. But I find that I don't like Robert Langdon in the book, I prefer Tom Hanks portrayal in the movies, and I liked the changes made in the movies. I prefer the thriller without the romance, and I prefer them without mentioning us or linking us to Illuminati and I like the changes made to the other characters and events.



I read this book about several times because I keep researching the terms, locations, and everything I don't know, that sometimes I lose touch with the actual story. I really HATE how much the author keep insulting and demeaning Arabs, Arabic language and Muslims, but I think the author is anti religion in general now. He seems to despise Christianity and thinks Islam is Inferior. The main character is supposed to be a scholar but the information about us is wrong most of the time even the way Arabic is described and written is rubbish.



What's so interesting to me right now, is the science mentioned in the book, it's what interested me most. I'm enchanted by the jet that took an hour from USA to Switzerland, I'm intrigued by the center in Switzerland, it made me wish that I was into science, or that I was a scientist... I love the idea of that place, I'm currently following them on Twitter. CERN is the one that invented the internet we are all obsessed with, the idea that they think it's not their "best" work makes me so curious about what else they invent and do. I would like to read a book about their work and what they are working on.



I think Vittoria Vetra's father was such an amazing guy. Also, is there a full list of the books in the Vatican library? It seems they are wasting away in there.



The differences between the movie and book are varied, many things in the book is omitted from the movie like the Shia assassin, he called Hassassin (Order of Assassins), and he made him speak Arabic when in fact he must be Persian and they were against Muslims (read your history). Mr. Kohler was also a character in the book that didn't make it to the screen, his story is sad, he was raised by religious parents who didn't give him medicine as a child so he became crippled. He hates religion and values science, and is the head boss of CERN. The camerlengo didn't say my favorite line in the movie but Vittoria did in the book (do you believe in God? I did not ask you if you believe what man says about God. I asked you if you believe in God. There is a difference.) Vittoria wasn't in CERN when the murder of her father happened, that was also changed. They made her just another co-worker who was working on this antimatter project (no Big Bang Theory was mentioned in the movie) she was in shorts all through the book, while Robert was in a bloodied wet cardigan, no one gave him a change of clothes (which I'm glad they changed in the movie, he changed in the end from clothes from the hospital), the church and the residence were very harsh in the book but not in the movie. The four guys who were kidnapped all died, there are reporters as secondary characters in the book as well. The camerlengo's was raised by the pope he poisoned who took him in as an orphan to a religious mother who insisted that her boy was a messenger of God. He also was in the army was a pilot and he was good at skydiving (it was all planned). In the book Robert is so into himself, not in the book. The saddest part that Vittoria's father was was also a priest wasn't in the movie. He is my favorite. And Robert keeps saying "Godspeed" what does it mean? Oh and Robert was with the camerlengo on the helicopter and antimatter. I don't know if anyone who can jump from a chopper into a running river and survive... that was a James Bond moment. Of course, the ending is different, Robert didn't score Vittoria.



One last thing, as much as I love libraries I would never want to visit the Vatican library because of the oxygen thing... omg! What are they thinking? Reprint people, don't kill yourselves.



Do you remember Emma Watson's speech? In page 580 the camerlengo says: "If not me, then who? If not now, then when?"
I'm speechless.



"Galileo was an Illuminatus. And he was also a devout Catholic. He tried to soften the church's position on science by proclaiming that science did not undermine the existence of God, but rather reinforced it. He wrote once that when he looked through his telescope at the spinning plants, he could hear God's voice in the music of the spheres. He held that science and religion were not enemies, but rather allies - two different languages telling the same story, a story of symmetry and balance, heaven and hell, night and day, hot and cold, God and satan. Both science and religion rejoiced in God's symmetry, the endless contest of light and dark."

When I read this, my eyes filled with tears, because this is Islam. Every human knows God.

n  n    Reviewn  n
4+ out of 5 stars to Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, the first book in his "Robert Langdon" thriller series. When I saw the movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code, I was hooked and immediately bought the book so I could read it first. When I got home, I realized it was not the first in the series...



I refused to read it... and then I went to the store and got the first one, Angels & Demons, so I could read them in order. And while it's not really necessary, I always follow the order (unless I have an ARC with a due date on a newer book and no time to get to the whole series). So I started Angels & Demons, and I was was simply blown away.



Not everyone loves Dan Brown, and people aren't always kind, but man... I LOVE HIS BOOKS! And I'm not afraid to say it... so if you don't like them... don't be hating on this review because I will



On a more serious note, the climax with each of the murders, the deep connections to so many Catholic rituals and ceremonies, the brilliance of the chase... it just left me unable to stop reading it. It's exactly the kind of book I like to read:

1. Has some connection to me -- I'm Catholic and knew most of the stuff they were talking about

2. I love reading about murder -- since I won't do it in real life, I have to get my thrills somehow

3. Secrets are the best thing in the world -- I have so many about others, but I never let anyone have one about me

4. Classic battle of good versus evil -- This is my life. Should I be good or bad today? Ugh... Sophie's catch #22...

5. It's non-stop thought-provoking messages and themes -- How much control and time do we really have right now?

Oh, that's the spot baby!

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And with that said... if you want a real review with details about the story, go find someone else's! Today was all about just being excited to think about the book again. Now that said, I thought Da Vinci Code was a slight bit better, hence the 4 here.

Ciao! I've got some branding to do...



n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

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رواية جميلة، زاخرة بالألغاز والأحداث المشوقة وبالمعلومات الدينية والعلمية.
الصراع القائم بين الكنيسة الكاثوليكية والعلم والعلماء والفلاسفة.
الآلة الإعلامية وقوتها في نشر الفوضى، وتدليس الأمور بطريقة بارعة بحيث يستطيع شخص أو عدة أشخاص توجيه الرأي العام نحو الفوضى والتضليل، وإيهام المشاهدين أنهم يرون الحقيقة مباشرةً على الهواء.


اقتباسات
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“إن العلم والدين ليسا في نزاعٍ أو خصام مع بعضهما البعض، ولكن كلّ ما في الأمر هو أنّ العلم لا يزال حديثًا جدًا لكي يفهم."

“ما الضرورة إلى تغيير العالم، إن لم يكن العالم بأسره شاهدًا على ذلك؟”.

“ربّي، امنحني القوّة لأقبل تلك الأمور التي لا يمكنني تغيرها”. ـ القديس فرنسيس.

“الإرهاب لديه هدف فريد من نوعه. أتعلمون ما هو؟”.

“الهدف من الإرهاب هو إيقاع الرعب والهول في النفوس. ليس الإرهاب تعبيرًا عن الغضب، إنما هو كناية عن سلاح سياسي. ازيحوا الستار عن الواجهة الكاذبة والزائفة التي تختبئ وراءها الحكومات زاعمة أنها معصومة عن الخطأ، وأن نجاحها مؤكد وسوف ترون كيف أنكم سوف تزعزعون بالتالي إيمان شعوبها بها“.

“وسائل الإعلام هي اليد اليمنى للفوضى”.

“عندما يكون الشخص معروفًا باسمه الأول فقط، يكون ذلك بمثابة رمزً لوضع الشخص الشرعي ومنزلته الرفيعة في المجتمع”.

“جميعنا يستفيد من حسّ الاتصال بالألوهية... حتى ولو كان ذلك مجرّد وهمٍ أو خيال”.

“يمكن للعلم أن يشفي، كما ويمكنه أيضًا أن يقتل. هذا كله وقف على روح الشخص الذي يستخدم العلم. فالروح هي التي تهمنّي”.

“من شأن الأوضاع الحرجة والصعبة أن توحّد ما بين شخصين أو شعبين لم تتمكن قطّ العقود من الجمع في ما بينهما”.

“العدو المحرَج والمحشور في الزاوية هو في الواقع من ألدّ الأعداء وأخطرهم”.

“هناك في الواقع خيوط خفية من التواصل، ولكن هل هذه الخيوط موجودة بين الله والإنسان أيضًا؟”.

“الإنسان لا يستخدم إجمالًا سوى نسبة مئوية ضئيلة جدًا من قدراته الذهنية. ولكنك إن وضعته في حالات مشحونة بالعواطف الزاخرة والجيّاشة ـ كصدمة جسدية ما، أو حالة من الفرح، أو الخوف المفرط، أو أيضًا حالة من التعمق العميق - فقد تستفحل فجأةً نيوتروناته وتصبح شديدة الاتّقاد، وقد ينشأ بالتالي عن ذلك صفاء ذهني كبير”.

“إن الوحي الإلهي يعني أحيانًا وبكل بساطة أن نضبط أذهاننا على نحوٍ يخوّلنا سماع ما تعرفه قلوبنا”.

“كان بوذا قد قال ذات مرّة: إن كلاً منّا إله، وكلاً منا يعرف كل شيء، ولكننا بحاجة فقط إلى أن نفتّح أذهاننا لكي نتمكن بالتالي من الاستماع إلى حِكمنا الخاصة”.

“أنا لا أشكّك بقوّة الله! لكن الله هو من مدّنا بالعقل والمنطق!”.

“ما هي الخطيئة العظمى؟ أن نقتل عدوّنا؟ أو أن نظلّ وبكل بساطة واقفين نتفرّج على حبّنا الحقيقي وهو يختنق؟”.

دان براون.

بالاخره تموم شد!
نمیدونم از اونجایی که راز داوینچی رو خیلی وقت پیش خوندم ولی اونو بیشتر دوست داشتم. این هیجانش یکم اولاش بود با آخراش وسطاش یکم آهسته‌تر و طولانی‌تر بنظرم اومد….
به هر حال اکشن دوست.
همشم رابرت لنگدان رو تام هنکس تصور میکردم:>
تعقیب و گریز داوینچی بیشتر هیجان داشت بنظرم… به هر حال.

بدأت الرواية وأنا متحمس لقرائتها لما سمعته عنها وعن دان براون عمومًا.. لكني لم أجد هنا الكاتب العبقري الذي تحدثوا عنه، وإن كانت هذه الرواية هي أفضل ما كتب على حسب رأى الكثيرين، فهو إذاً لا يتعدى مرتبة الجيد، في نظري، وأرى أن السبب الأول في شهرة دان براون الكبيرة؛ هي الضجة الكبيرة التي أحدثها بتصادمه مع الكنيسة، لا أكثر.

الرواية بدأت بداية جيدة، ثم بدأت تأخذ مسارًا فزيائيًا مملا، وبدأت تدخل في أمور تاريخية وكنسية، ثم عادت إلى طابع الجريمة التي بدأت به الرواية، في رحلة يكتنفها الملل والملل والملل
إسهاب في الوصف بطريقة مملة إلى حد التطرق إلى مواضيع أخرى، فكانت تُخلّ بقوام السرد. وإقحام الكثير والكثير من المعلومات في الرواية بصورة مملة، فالرواية غايتها الأولى المتعة وليست المعلومات، وهو هنا ضحى بالأولى على حساب الثانية.. لا بأس أن تضيف معلومات لكن بشرط ألا تخرج عن مسار الرواية الأصلي.
كما أني لا أحب المدرسة التي تهتم بالحوار أكثر من السرد؛ وتقطع السرد بجمل حوارية؛ فترى أن الجمل الحوارية كثيرة، فتشعر بأنك تقرأ سيناريو لا رواية.

ولو أن الفيلم مختلف عن الرواية وبدلَّ وحذف الكثير من احداثها وشخصياتها، إلا أنه أفضل منها بكثير.

بالتأكيد سأعود للقراءة لدان براون قريبًا، فكاتب بهذه الشهرة، ليست هذه الرواية - بالطبع - هي أفضل ما كتب.

Una gran intriga de principio a fin. El autor mezcla magistralmente el misterio y el suspenso con sus sólidos conocimientos de simbología religiosa, en una seguidilla de acontecimientos que quitan la respiración. Muy recomendable.

n  4 Stars!n

So the moral of the story is n  be a good listenern!

n  “But who is more ignorant? The man who cannot define lightning, or the man who does not respect its awesome power?”n

Dan Brown did a brilliant job of creating an incredible story and building it up till 500ish pages and then in next two pages he completely destroyed it!
I loved the about three-fourth of the book but the ending did not appease me. But still I think it's worth reading at least once. The one thing that amazed me the most was that how one person can write from two utterly opposite point of views, Science and Religion. You had to take a second or two to stare at the page and appreciate the witty dialogues.

Overall, I think I liked the book.
I don't know if I'll ever reread the book again but there are some pages that I'd surely like to revisit.

n  “Science can heal, or science can kill. It depends on the soul of the man using the science.”n