Angels & Demons: Special Illustrated Collector's Edition

Very nice book

Talk about plot twists in Dan Brown books. They will leave you bewildered. The books are filled with so much information, not ordinary but those that will force you to google them and read articles about them. And I literally did that. Angels and demons was the second book I read of Dan Brown though it's the first in the Robert Langdon series. It's about the centuries old rift going on between God and Science. And this book opens with a murder of a Renowned Physicist, Leonardo Vetra, who is brutally killed & branded with a perfect ambigram of a centuries old secret society named " Illuminati" & Robert langdon being a religious symbologists is called to verify it's authencity as it's believed that the group no more exists since centuries but as of now they have resurfaced, Langdon find himself already too deep in the matter to turn back, his adventures begin along with Vetra's daughter Vittoria. Astonishing discoveries are made, people are murdered and secrets are spilled. This book was a definite page turner for me. Full with facts,history and of course Langdon leading the path there is never a dull moment. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Angels and demons is the first books that I picked written by Dan Brown after a friend's recommendation and it was so exhilarating that I was captivated from the beginning till the end. I was on the edge by the plot and couldn't put it down till I finished it. I love how the story had science and religion as the base and the whole book revolved around it. The characterization, the plot, the narration was very good and I can say that I have never read a book like this before. Yeah the book was lengthy but I didn't get bored by it, in fact, I was hooked till the end. After finishing it I heard that the other books in the series are far better than this! Now I am very much excited to read the other books in the Robert Langdon series 'cause I really loved this one. So this is the first book in the Robert Langdon series. The story starts with the murder of a renowned scientist who also believed in God and was trying to prove his existence with the help of science. An ancient society presumed extinct which goes by the name of Illuminati takes responsibility for his murder and is all set to finally takedown religion after centuries of war between science and religion. Kohler, the director of CERN asks Robert Langdon a specialist in symbology to solve the murder of his scientist. Camerlengo, a priest in The Vatican realizes that the church is in danger along with many Cardinals and people present inside it and he is all set to save everyone even at the cost of his own life. How are all these things related to each other and how did Illuminati manage to survive for so long and infiltrate the church? Will Robert Langdon be able to solve the puzzle and save the day? What is the devastating new weapon which is threatening to eliminate the religion? Who will win this race against time? This was an amazing thriller book that kept me intrigued until the end. I would suggest this book to every thriller book lover.

The first book of this great series. Full of suspense, thriller and mystery. The vatican is on fire!

And I am left STUNNED. Incredibly, this one is the one to top when it comes to adventure and history and pace and ingenuity. I've recently noticed how much history is revered (rightfully) by the modern authors. This is a different type of historical immersion. This is about bringing it to the forefront... something in the past is incredibly relevant, vital, to the present. Everyone but me had read this, & after Da Vinci Code--that bitch of an overrated heathen--I thought Brown was a phony (in company of Nicholas Sparks, among others). Not so. This is a MASTERPIECE, indeed. I read this in like two sittings. All 710 pages of oversized print. I was soooo hooked I recalled many other lesser books that have riveted me. This one is so incredibly put together, it is no wonder Brown has been heralded by the general readership, ingrained in the zeitgeist. The awesomeness of this work lies in the battle between science and religion, perhaps one of the most seminal works about that topic. It explores this duality literally, symbolically... every which way. That they are married, both science and religion, is the thesis. Brown proves this with the precision of a skilled scientist. And with the heart of a devout... historian.

It's a prelude to establish Robert Langdon and the famous "God vs Science" war. One of the best books by DB.

Overall, the quality is pretty good, and it even came with a bookmark, although it was a bit damaged on one of the edges.

I dont know how he does it but he has done yet another time with perfection. After reading the da vinci i picked this one...and this turned to be a great read...plot leading to the ultimate showdown will make you awestruck..his writing the way he sprinkled the hints throughout the story and you will see the whole context only when he wants you to see it

This history provides a travel through the ancient times and quite a non-stop action. I really liked the development of the Camerlengo's role during the novel.

The copy I received was damaged and there were water stains on the cover. Slightly disappointed with the copy I received.

Perfetto

I had been very impressed by DIGITAL FORTESS, Dan Brown's first novel, and found his treatment of a complex subject matter both knowledgeable and compelling. I had then missed the publication of ANGELS AND DEMONS, but felt that he had overplayed his hand in his third novel DECEPTION POINT, which started with an interesting premise but wandered into unnecessary complexity and violence and ultimately complete implausibilty. With the publication of THE DA VINCI CODE, upon learning that Robert Langdon is the central character in both DA VINCI and ANGELS, I decided to first read ANGELS in order to keep the stories in sequence. This is a mesmerizing page turner as long as you accept the author's central technological premises concerning scientific achievements in the near future. Robert Langdon, a professor of iconography and religious symbology at Harvard, is awakened by a telephone call from Maximilian Kohler, head of a prestigious European scientific institute. One of Kohler's fellow scientists has been murdered and an ancient symbol burned into his chest. Langdon feels compelled to investigate, and soon finds himself in the midst of a plot involving not only the death of Leonardo Vetra, a priest who is the world's leading antimatter researcher, but of the revival of a centuries old vendetta by a secret society, The Illuminati, against the Catholic Church. Langdon is forced by circumstances and the nature of the threat to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, Leonardo's adopted daughter, in an attempt to uncover the Illumunati's secret and halt not only several additional murders which have been threatened but the destruction of The Vatican itself. Incredibly, the entire story takes place within a time span of just over twelve hours, which adds to the compelling nature of the action. The book is typical Dan Brown, meticulously researched (despite the complaints of a few reviewers about some details), with lots of interesting information about a variety of subjects related to religion, the Vatican, art, science and morality. It is a well constructed story, with several plot twists and enough misdirection to make it extremely difficult to anticipate the conclusion. (I doubt that the outcome was as expected by those critical reviewers who didn't finish the book after identifying their choice for the "obvious villian". I also did not feel that the story was at all anti- Catholic, in fact the author met with the Pope and was helped by the Vatican during his research efforts.) While there are several gruesome scenes, they are integral to the context of the story and the violence is usually minimized and only briefly described. The real bonus of reading this story is the wonderfully well articulated discussion of the tension between science and religious faith, which forms the heart of the story. The last section of the book has a particularly insightful monologue in this regard, but the subject infuses the whole discussion woven into the plot concerning the historical conflict between the Illuminati and the Church. For instance, early in the book Vittoria challenges Langdon's evasion concerning his apparent lack of a belief in God with the observation "I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believed in God. There is a difference." In addition, the book is almost worth reading just for the ambigrams (words or phrases which read the same right side up or upside down) which Dan Brown had created. These are truly works of art and their design is incredibly clever and beautiful. Finally, if you are familiar with Philips Exeter Academy, the author's alma mater, you will also have the fun of recognizing the source of the names of several of the characters referenced in the book.

I absolutely love Dan Brown so I can never leave a bad review. Best books ever and this one is, of course, fantastic. Highly recommended.