This is the start of a series of entries about books I’ve recently read. I hope to add links to these books to the right and also a section detailing what I am currently reading (at least one person I know was intersted in that tidbit of info).

I picked up “Angels & Demons” because it was recommended to me by Heidi when I started talking about wanting to read “The Da Vinci Code” since it’s been talked about a bunch the past couple of years. Heidi told me that the author’s first book was much better, so I began reading “Angels & Demons”.

If you don’t like spoilers, I suggest you come back later and read the remainder of the article after you’ve read the book. As for my opinion, I would highly suggest reading this book.

This book is very fast paced and has a lot of science and religion and mystery all rolled into one. It’s like reading a Michael Crichton book, but if he did a religious story. 🙂

The story itself is well written and the plot is very tight. The main character, Robert Langdon, wakes up to a phone call with someone who wants him to fly to Geneva to see him. Langdon hangs up telling the guy he’s not interested. With that, Langdon’s fax machine goes off and he receives a disturbing image of a human chest branded with the word “Illuminati”.

This gets Langdon very interested because he’s studied ancient groups and in particular has a great deal of knowledge of what the world knows about the Illuminati. He’s rushed to Geneva and meets with the man on the phone, the Director of CERN. CERN is an international research facility in Switzerland and is known for the invention of such things as the World Wide Web.

It’s at this point the mystery starts, as we learn that the man with his chest branded in the fax is a CERN scientist who has happened to create anti-matter. Anti-matter is a very volitale substance that destroys any matter it comes in contact with. The scientist’s daughter, Vittoria, is brought in since she worked with him and designed the canister that can hold the anti-matter.

Soon thereafter we learn that one of the largest canisters is missing and has been found at the Vatican. This starts a whirwind trip to the Vaitcan for Langdon and Vittoria.

We the reader are presented with a great deal of information regarding the Vatican and the Illuminati and various historical figures. I wouldn’t take a lot of these seriously without doing more research. I know there’s a book that’s supposed to debunk some of the data, but since it comes from a source I consider bias, I plan on doing my own research to see how much was true and how much was bunk.

I won’t give up what happens from here, but let’s just say Robert Brown keeps you guessing. If you figure out how it will end before it actually does, I commend you.

Heidi, who worked at CERN for a while, did tell me that there are no dorms on campus, that cell phones work in the particle accelerator tunnel, and that there is no free fall shaft. Oh well.

Still, a very good book. I couldn’t put it down. Oh, one last thing…on the page with the title very stylized, turn the book upside down for an interesting surprise. (Also, if you can find the original cover with the title stylized, you can get the same neat effect)