Scott Klarr Jr
Book Review: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Angels and Demons, written by Dan Brown, is a novel based heavily around the different philosophical viewpoints and intent between science and religion. The storyline itself is entertaining and easy to follow, but its something much deeper that made me like this book. Most Christian writers will show a very evident bias in their fictional writings like C.S. Lewis. Despite the criticism by his fellow believers, Dan Brown, who is a Christian in real life, does not hold back when it comes to writing objectively about religion within his novels.
One reoccurring theme in the story is the illusion of miracles. Several circumstances are described that lead surrounding characters and even sometimes the reader into believing they were witnessing the work of divine intervention. In their scope of knowledge at that particular point in time, the situations seemed unexplainable and thus were looked upon as miraculous. Brown goes one step further than most Christian authors dare where he destroys the illusions of divine. As the story progresses and more twists are revealed, Brown brings new facts into light for the reader that makes clear what actually happened to subsequently cause these apparent mysterious events. The conspiracy theorist's view that Illuminati are still active; The Camerlengo's personal miracle when "god" sent the preacher to his hospital bedside to take him in; The Camerlengo's pseudo prophecy from god in front of the watching world. These examples, along with a few others, portray a real problem in the human psyche: That is, people's willingness to reach out and grasp illogical and far-fetched explanations before looking deeper for the facts - which of course is what religion thrives on, not only in this story, but also in our world.
I have read a few bad reviews for this book and they all seem to be coming from a presumption that this book is non-fiction. They point out geographical errors and even criticize the incredible mach-15 plane. Come on, this is a fictional novel people! I can only imagine the distress they must have been in whilst watching the matrix! I don't mind geographic and even historic inaccuracies in the story because after all, it is just a story. However there is one problem that I found inexcusable and that's the mistranslation of languages. On several occasions, Brown misinterprets many foreign words to help his story. A great example is when the character says that novus ordo seclorum translates to "New secular order" whereas it actually means "New order of the ages."
Despite the fallacies in the book, there are some good factual bits of information that most people would probably otherwise never know. From the CERN's involvement with the creation of the internet to the fact that Georges Lemaitre, a catholic, was the first person to purpose the big bang theory.
From a literary stand point, there is nothing to make this book stand out as exceptional; in fact, Brown's writing is rather basic. However, in addition to being a very light-read and easy entertainment, it does contain deeper themes that have the potential to stir up debate regarding religion and science in readers who otherwise never thought of the issue.
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Jasmine Apr 21, 2009
This is a fantastic story.It kept me in suspense the entire time I was reading this novel! I recommend to all. Great review too, and good work on pointing out the mistranslations, I didn't even notice...!
Geenie Chastem Dec 17, 2009
Angels and Demons is a phenomenal novel that will capture all audiences. This suspenseful piece of literature is an easy yet sophisticated read. The novel is about a Harvard professor named Robert Langdon who helps save the Vatican City from being annihilated by a scientific substance called antimatter. The antimatter is a ticking time bomb that was placed under the Vatican church by an old brotherhood of scientists called the illuminati who are seeking revenge. Robert is accompanied by the creator of the substance, Vittoria, as they race to defeat the illuminati and save the Vatican. The two companions also work side by side with the camerlengo to search not only for the antimatter but also for a specific trail leading to the illuminati lair. At each marker on the trail a cardinal was murdered by an assassin hired by the brotherhood. There is a twist at the end of the novel that is completely unexpected and makes one question the qualifications of good and evil. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense or to anyone who can read at all, it’s that good.
Tanya Stamford Jan 12, 2010
Once again, I have enjoyed a novel by Dan Brown. Once again, I felt that the book could have been shortened... entirely too long and obvious by the third "branding" that it was simply reading yet another gruesome death. I find the conclusion very anti-climatical, and very disheartened the camerlengo was "touched" by his own belief system instead of just wanting revenge for some diobolical reason other than a Pope breaking his trust. Don't get me wrong, I love the book and really enjoy trying to figure out what is fictional and what is fact. Where else would I get information about the Big Bang theory!! Anyway, if you have a day I suggest reading this straight through.
Aditya Sood Jun 25, 2010
Excellent novel by Dan Brown , a must for all Da Vinci fans!!!!