Book Review: Angels and Demons

So the movie came out the other day. Then I remembered- wait, I've read that book. I should probably do something about that.

THE BASICS: Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and symbologist, is called to investigate a mysterious murder in which the victim was branded with a strange symbol. The symbol, he discovers, is that of an ancient, thought to be extinct group called the "Illuminati" who's greatest opposition was the Catholic church. With the help of Vittoria Vetra, a biology and physics major, and the daughter of the victim, he unravels a conspiracy that threatens the entire future of the Catholicism.

THE CHARACTERS: Robert Langdon is very intelligent, but not obnoxiously so, and, despite his somewhat humorous quirks, or perhaps because of them, he is actually really likable. As much as I liked Vittoria, she didn't feel necessary to the plot. *Spoilers* Her kidnapping later on added some drama sure, but was it completely necessary? *End Spoiler* However, if I were the author, I suppose I would have kept her in too. Like I said, I really did like her.

TECHNICAL STUFF: This is actually a rather easy read. That isn't a condemning factor however. There's some complex stuff packed in here, and it's nice that I don't have to be a Harvard graduate to figure it all out.

However, it's fatal flaw is the same flaw that many in the mystery genre posses- it's too predictable. I knew who the bad guy was. It wasn't obvious, but that's the point. It's never the obvious one. Once you figure out the guy who is least likely to have done it, you've found your villain.

THE THEME: Things are never the way they appear. (I suppose this is a rather cliched moral to a mystery story, but it really is a prevalent factor in this story.)

OVERALL: I liked this book quite a bit. Is it biased in some of it's beliefs? Perhaps. This holds true to all the Dan Brown books I've read. But it held the same opinion as I did. So I didn't especially care.

GRADE: B