Terror in the Vatican

Essay by clee90Middle School, 6th gradeA+, May 2005

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Dan Brown's Angels & Demons is a jaw- dropping thriller that involves science, art, and murder.

Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon is the protagonist who finds himself at CERN, a Swiss nuclear research lab. It seems a scientist, who created explosive antimatter (the opposite of matter), has been murdered and the historically famous "satanic" cult, the Illuminati, is involved. The antimatter has been taken, and Langdon joins the scientist's daughter Vittoria Vetra. Langdon and Vittoria embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the headquarters of the Illuminati, in an effort to find the antimatter before the Vatican is leveled, literally.

Illuminati was a brotherhood formed by Galileo for promoting science, but it seems that they murdered the Italian physicist, Leonardo Vetra and stole his discovery, antimatter. As Langdon and Vittoria discover, the Illuminati have turned the antimatter into a bomb, and hid it under the Vatican City.

The pressure builds as Langdon and Vittoria try to stop the bomb from being activated.

Angels & Demons is filled with twists and many details. This book has a little bit of everything from wild assassins to kidnapped Cardinals, one of which may be the next Pope. Part science fiction, part mystery, Angels & Demons is very hard to put down. Brown keeps you guessing through the tale. Angels & Demons is an entertaining story that is perfect for a lazy afternoon.

If you read The Da Vinci Code, this plot will be very familiar to you: Robert receives another call in the middle of the night, he is taken to see another dead man killed by a secret anti-Catholic society, and helps the victim's lovely daughter/granddaughter unravel a series of clues to solve the crime at an incredible speed!

I liked the plot of Angels and Demons and found the middle of the book exciting, as Robert and Vittoria break ancient clues and race from place to place-in Rome, chasing a murderer hired by the Illuminati. The beginning of the book, which discusses antimatter, was a little bit complicated for me to under stand and the ending is past the thought of being real. The timeline was a little farfetched also; traveling across Rome in minutes (even seconds) was a little hard to believe.

Even though there are many weaknesses the story of Angels and Demons is very exciting and, at times, even spine tingling. If you have been to Rome (not that I have), you should enjoy visiting the places mentioned in this book. You'll also learn about the inside of the Vatican, how a new Pope is voted, and about the Illuminati, which was very interesting.