Angels and Demons is the second book of Dan Brown I have read after the Da Vinci Code. To be fair I do not hesitate to say that this book is clearly several notches below the Da Vinci Code.
The story in brief is that a cistern containing anti matter is lying somewhere in the Vatican City.Anti Matter is a substance similar to matter but totally opposite in quality.If anti matter and matter come in contact, there would be a tremendous explosion like a nuclear explosion and the entire Vatican City with all its magnificent structures an artifacts would be wiped out.The anti matter is suspended in the cistern by means of a magnetic field which could last for 24 hours without re-charging.
Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of Symbology and Vittoria Vetra , a CERN scientist who co invented the anti - matter with her father Leonardo Vetra are given the job of retrieving the anti matter cistern.The theft of antimatter is blamed on the ILLUMINATI who are a secret brotherhood of scholars who were persecuted by the Church. Will Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra be able to retrieve the anti-matter cistern in time ? Why has ILLUMINATI re surfaced after such a long time ? Is there an ILLUMINATI member in the holy Vatican City ? All these questions are answered by the novel.
As for the merits of this novel, Dan Brown’s narration skills are superb.He gradually unfolds the entire picture before the readers.Brown is a master of suspense and the readers can always expect surprises as the story unfolds.His description of the monuments of Rome and Vatican City bring the monuments before the eyes of the readers. Erudition is Brown’s forte.He packs knowledge in this book which inspires awe.The book affords an inside view into the Vatican City archieves and the papal area which is usually out of bounds for the common man.
A particularly well crafted sequence in the book is of Raffael’s tomb.The concept of sub atomic religion is interesting for those who can understand it.Brown has made use of the ages old conflict of science and religion to show the importance of both and to show that both can be reconciled.Camerlengo Ventresca’s speech on importance of religion in the age of science is well written.
Now for criticism.Brown has been unable to keep the balance in the story as he had been able to do in Da Vinci Code.There are exaggerations in the climax like people jumping off from helicopters and the like.Climax is unnecessarily prolonged and looks like Brown wanted to give the novel an action film ending.What the writer achieves in the first three quarters of the book , he is unable to maintain it in the last quarter.Dan Brown falters towards the end and seems to have run out of imagination.
There is also a sequence of Robert Langdon getting trapped in Vatican Archieves library.That part could have been done away with.
However, despite its shortcomings the book is a sheer delight to read.The story telling mechanism and the suspense at the end are the highlights of this book.Of course the book is not short on knowledge.
A very good read.Go for it.