'Angels & Demons' was a hell of a good book

"Angels & Demons" was so good and such a page turner that I just couldn't put it down.

I don't usually read books that are 569 pages thick in a matter of a week, but I managed to complete this one. Knowing that this COVID-19 and "Stay at home. Flatten the curve!" was going to go on for a while, I thought I'd take a shot at the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown.

There's a movie series!

I first watched the 2011 film "Inferno" that's based on the fourth book starring the one and only Tom Hanks playing as Robert Langdon. There's actually three movies based on the Robert Langdon series: "The Da Vinci Code" (2006), "Angels & Demons" (2009), and "Inferno" (2016). It's important to note that although "Angels & Demons" is the first book, a film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code" (book two) was released in theaters prior to the release of the "Angels & Demons" movie. There's also a T.V show coming out based on "The Lost Symbol" (book three), according to IMDb. 

What's the book about?

Readers are first introduced to Robert Langdon in book one, "Angels & Demons." He is a Harvard professor and symbologist who is contacted by CERN, a Swiss research facility, after one of their scientists are brutally murdered and branded with the Illuminati symbol in the chest. This murder leads Langdon and Vittoria Vetra, the murdered scientist's daughter, to warn the Vatican that the Illuminati has a plot against them and it's only a matter of time until the worst.

Fast paced
                      thriller

The great thing about this book is that when readers finish a chapter, they'll keep wanting to read more because each chapter ends with a bang.

Every few chapters came new predictions. It's one of those books when you're like "He's the bad guy. He's got to be," and your thoughts about what's to happen next are pretty reasonable. You think you have the whole story figured out, yet in the end...it turns out you're wrong. That's how you know you've read a good book.

 It's a twisted ending. It really is. Brown succeeded at writing an unpredictable conclusion without throwing in random elements.

Science and religion

What the book seems to be concerned about is the relationship between science and religion. The question is, "Can they co-exist?" or perhaps one should say, "In what ways do they co-exist or intertwine?"

Light and Dark

It was interesting how there's a thread of dark and light in it's concrete form and abstract form. This book makes a point that people tend to turn to religion to find light in the darkest of times. However, the antagonist brings the idea of "horror and hope" to the extreme, to the point where it is unacceptable.

This is a fiction thriller, so I am not sure how much of it is based on fact, but the artists, scientists (such as Galileo), and places mentioned do exist.

Beware, there is definitely a bit of gore! However, it's not so gory to the point where I would label it's genre as horror.

It's called "Angels & Demons" for a reason. 

Brown succeeded at constructing the characters and their stories. One way he shaped them is by describing how each of them battles with their own demons.

For example, Vittoria and her father were so close and their love for science was undeniable. He adopted Vittoria and based on how he is described, he was the best father anyone can ask for. He can be thought of as an angel that was sent to her. It is after her father dies when she battles her demons. Vittoria craves revenge on those responsible for his death.

Langdon is such a likable character. If he can be summed up in three words, it would be smart, odd, and brave.

I've only completed the first book in the series so far and I definitely look forward to reading "The Da Vinci Code" next!