"Angels & Demons" Review

For those readers who dove right into "The Da Vinci Code" without checking out the first Dan Brown novel, "Angels & Demons", may I say that you missed the boat. I had the opportunity to take in both books, in proper order, and I am glad I was introduced to Robert Langdon in his glory. Granted, his thoughtful approach to puzzle solving is revealed in The Da Vinci Code, and his humor and wit is still intact, but you get to peer deeper into his mind with Angels & Demons. You get to understand WHY he rocks the Mickey Mouse watch, HOW heroic he can be in deadly situations, plus you get a picture of how well of a symbiologist he is.

Just like Da Vinci Code, this book is based on real secret societies and knowledge, namely The Illuminati. I had a fair knowledge of what they were all about, from music and slim internet searches in my days, but you pretty much get a better sense of how interconnected with society they are. The gist of the story is as follows: Robert Langdon, being awoken from sleep, is given some very brutal information in regards to a very progressive, very secretive, very dead physicist. He is whisked away to Switzerland, where he uncovers a plot that elegantly coldcocks you: I say that because, you are given a few pieces of the puzzle but you sit wondering "WTF am I reading?"; Dan Brown then, suddenly, drops the floor from you, and the entire scope of what you had just read for about 50 or so pages comes into the light at once. With this information, Robert, along with the physicist's daughter Vittoria, are on their way to Rome to try and stop the destruction that is set to occur that day, the eve of the "holy conclave", which is when they elect a new pope. Using his skills in symbology, Robert takes his motley crew (and hangers on) through a mad dash throughout Vatican City, discovering the secrets that are so boldly left in front of your eyes, but also so discreet that the unseeing eye cannot pick them up, all the while trying to beat the clock and save the City, and his own life, all the while trying to figure out who orchestrated this fiasco.