By Rishi A. K.
Tying science fiction, historical references, and religion into a thriller, writer Dan Brown creates a invigorating and page turning novel. Browns novel, Angels and Demons, is no best seller by mistake. Protagonist Robert Langdon, a Professor of Religious Iconology at Harvard University, is something of a problem-solving marvel.
Langdon is summoned to Switzerland by Maximilian Kohler, the director of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), after a prominent physicist is killed and the word Illuminati is branded on his chest. Langdon's wits and problem solving prowess is displayed to get to the bottom of what happened. Langdon accompanied with scientist Vittoria Vetra quest to the Vatican to unlock the mystery.
This novel's exiting pace and action makes it an incredibly fun read, but under some scrutiny much of the story line seems to fall apart. Many of the science in this novel is not what most would consider good science fiction, but just false facts that a high school physics student could disprove. Additionally many of the historical facts have been disproved completely, but if you aren't a historian I doubt that you will realize. With a little research this novel could have been perfect, it would balance fiction at a realistic level. Browns writing overall was graceful, and much of the time his descriptions of characters and places were well developed. The overall development of the plot was strong. You truly grow close to the characters by the end of this novel.
This is the first Novel of Browns that I have read, and I truly enjoyed it despite its factual shortcomings. I will also be reading The Da Vinci Code, the sequel to Angels and Demons. If you do not mind overlooking the factual shortcoming you should check out Browns writings, too.
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