Angels & Demons

A Novel

By: Dan Brown

Narrated by: Richard Poe

The explosive Robert Langdon thriller from Dan Brown, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno, and The Secret of Secrets.

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.©2003 Dan Brown; (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Inc. All Rights Reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Great Pace, Less Filling

I downloaded this right after enjoying the DaVinci Code because I liked that one so much. The problem with this story is that it is basically the same story as the DaVinci Code in Rome instead of Paris. I did find the story more interesting and extremely suspenseful, only to be let down by a ridiculous ending. After dwelling on this, I found that it was the same formula, Langdon goes to Europe, finds there is a great problem. His knowledge of history leads him from one statue to the next, looking for clues to solve ancient riddles to stop a series of crimes, figures them out and then gets the girl. Hmmm. I would write the exact same synopsis of the DaVinci Code. Don't get me wrong, I would've given this five stars if he changed just two things from the hokey ending....listen, enjoy the suspense, and then laugh at the ridiculous ending (OK, the scene just before the ending!). By the way, this reader is much better than the DaVinci Code, but he swallows (drinking water?) just a couple times too many!

A bit disappointing -

This book was a ride but it had the feeling of a morbid rollercoaster ride that lasted way too long. . .

Angels and Demons

One of the best stories I've ever read.

Entertaining and yet a bit off.

I liked it a lot. It's well performed and entertaining. I read it because it is a vague prequel to the DaVinci Code. In that book these events are referred to as though they were interesting and obscure, in this book though, they are larger than life and HUGE.
Mr Brown occaisionally just lapses into the most Tawdry lines and yet they all work. The last line in this book absolutely floored me for it's endearing absurdity. You gotta love a book with THAT as its last line. Worth a listen.

OK, but not as good as Da Vinci Code

This book was a fun read. However, I found it rather repetitive of the Da Vinci Code in plot, premises, etc.