Review: Angels and Demons (Robert Langdon #1)

Author: Dan Brown

Started reading: April 26th 2021

Finished the book: May 28th 2021

Pages: 620

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Published: May 2000

Source: Received as a gift

Goodreads score: 3.91

My score:

Synopsis

When a world renowned scientist is found brutally murdered in a Swiss research facility, a Harvard professor, Robert Langdon, is summoned to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. His baffling conclusion: it is the work of the Illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years - reborn to continue their bitter vendetta against their sworn enemy, the Catholic church.

In Rome, the college of cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. Yet somewhere within the walls of the Vatican, an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion. While the minutes tick away, Langdon joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to decipher the labyrinthine trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome to the long-forgotten Illuminati lair - a secret refuge wherein lies the only hope for the Vatican.

But with each revelation comes another twist, another turn in the plot, which leaves Langdon and Vetra reeling and at the mercy of a seemingly invisible enemy...

My thoughts

Thanks to Arjen for doing this buddyread with me, and for starting this new series together! We both liked this book a lot, and I noticed that we went through pretty fast. I liked that this book was educational and that the setting was at real places around Geneva, Rome and Vatican City.

Pros

• Educational: This book is so educational! I'm learning so, so much. About science and history and art. I've studied Art History for one year while I was in High School and I've always kept that passion, so this book totally fit that interest for me. While reading this book, I kept looking up locations and churches and the places in Rome and Vatican City where the story took place. It really added something to see the buildings that were in the book for my self.
• Tension: Ooh yes! This book really builds tension. I kept racing through and had no trouble getting back in the story. The trouble was more to STOP reading and put the book away, lol. The pacing in this story is really nice as well. A lot is happening!
• Puzzles: I'm a real puzzle girl. I love puzzle games, I love puzzle books, it's just something I really enjoy. I felt like I was solving this huge puzzle together with the main characters. Unraveling a new clue or a new fact was so much fun every time.

Cons

• Too good: The book will not get 5 stars from me, because some things were just too coincidental for it all to work out. It was just too easy and too good for it all to be true and that took away a bit of the realness in this book, for me.

Overall

If you love mystery, beautiful churches, loads of puzzles and a bit of Art History, this is a book for you! A lot is happening, the pacing is great and you will not have a dull moment, ever! I definitely recommend reading this book. 

Other opinions on this book

"A breathless, real-time adventure. Exciting, fast-paced, with an unusually high IQ."

- San Francisco Chronicle

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