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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
May 2000, 480 pages
Paperback:
Jun 2001, 480 pages
An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target...
An ancient secret brotherhood.
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
An unthinkable target...
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati... the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has surfaced from the shadows to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy... the Catholic Church.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces he has hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair... a secret location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.
PROLOGUE
Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own. He stared up in terror at the dark figure looming over him. "What do you want!"
"La chiave," the raspy voice replied. "The password."
"But…I don't... "
The intruder pressed down again, grinding the white hot object deeper into Vetra's chest. There was the hiss of broiling flesh.
Vetra cried out in agony. "There is no password!" He felt himself drifting toward unconsciousness.
The figure glared. "Ne avevo paura. I was afraid of that."
Vetra fought to keep his senses, but the darkness was closing in. His only solace was in knowing his attacker would never obtain what he had come for. A moment later, however, the figure produced a blade and brought it to Vetra's face. The blade hovered. Carefully. Surgically.
"For the love of God!" Vetra screamed. But it was too late.
CHAPTER 1
High atop the steps of the Pyramid of Giza a ...
Angels & Demons is part techno thriller, part mystery and all action. Dan Brown deftly combines a fast moving, intriguing and well-researched plot that weaves together the secret nuclear research facilities of CERN and the ancient and modern secrets of the Vatican.
Dale Brown - 12 time New York Times bestselling author
Angels & Demons is one hell of a book - I had a hard time putting it down and I didn't get any work done until I finished it. Congratulations to Dan Brown for crafting an intriguing, imaginative and very suspenseful read. Joe Mauceri, syndicated book reviewer
Angels & Demons is as good as it gets. A pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thriller.... as compelling as Umberto Eco... as engaging as Tom Clancy... as fast-paced as Michael Crichton... and rivals the best Thomas Harris thriller. Angels & DemonS earns Dan Brown a place among these literary peers.
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