Grant Newman- Angels & Demons

Grant Newman
Angels & Demons
Dan Brown
Historical Fiction
Just Right
P. 449

1. Right now, Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra are inside the Church of Illumination, Castle Sant' Angelo. He has just fought the Hassassin, the man behind the mathematical killing of the four "preferiti" or preferred cardinals to become the pope. The Hassassin killed each of the cardinals at 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00, branded them with one of the four ambigramatical elements of the Illuminati, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The four churches where the cardinals were killed were on the "path of illumination", a path that leads to the Church of Illumination, or the head of the Illuminati. They were following this path to try to rescue the Cardinals, but also to find the anti-matter before it completely destroys the Vatican and Rome. The Hassassin was burned with a torch by Vittoria when trying to throw Robert off the side of the castle, and thus he fell off, killing himself. But, Vittoria and Langdon aren't done yet, they have received a tip from the Hassassin that the Illuminati leader himself is coming to brand the Camerlengo, a high up official in the vatican who worked for the Pope. He realizes that the last brand from the Hassassin's box has not been used yet, and he thinks that it's missing, and with the Illuminati leader. They must now go through the "passetto" or the passage from the castle which leads into the Vatican, and try to rescue the Camerlengo, and the anti-matter before it blows up the Vatican.

2. I like the book a lot. It's really fast paced, and the action is very good. It's also a book that requires you to think, but I like that about Angels & Demons. It's a really good book, and the characters are really interesting. They work together very well, and the plot has many twists and turns. It leaves thoughts in the back of your head about whether they're going to succeed or not. It's certain death, or complete success for them, and it always leaves that in your head. You keep thinking about how they're going to accomplish it. It's a very suspenseful novel, and especially once they get to Rome and are on the path of Illumination, it's really fast paced, and keeps you wanting to read more and more. The vocabulary is good and the references to actual works are very interesting.

3. A theme I see a lot in Angels & Demons is trust. The characters have to trust each other greatly and the information they're giving each other. Robert and Vittoria especially, the "experts" who were brought in to solve this problem, must rely on each other and that their information is accurate. They trust each other, and so far it has worked out very well. The camerlengo, an official in the Vatican who used to work for the pope, has trouble with people trusting him. He tries to get the cardinals who are holding conclave in the Sistine Chapel to get out before the antimatter explodes, but they are obstinant and resisting in leaving because of their traditions. They're having trouble trusting his information and how this would help them. People need to place their trust in others, and some characters in the book are very good with that, (Robert and Vittoria) and others are not. This is very prevalent throughout the novel, but especially in these interactions.

4. My favorite character is Robert Langdon. His unique personality combining many different elements is very interesting. He's intelligent, modern, and easy to work with. He accepts other people's information easily, and lends his own knowledge to solve problems well. This, combined with being easy to work with, is easy to read about, and like. He is a professor at Harvard University, so he must be very knowledgeable about his job, but he isn't unwilling to take advice from others, like some people. His personality is easy to like, and his compatibility with others is very nice for a person like him. His personality, ability to think clearly in pressure situations (pretty much the entire book), and the way he deals with other people are nice, and the reasons why he's my favorite character in Angels & Demons.

5. My least favorite character is/was the Hassassin. He has no premise for doing the awful things that he's done throughout the novel, and he only takes directions from his leader, and doesn't think them through. He really doesn't have any morals or ethics. Why would you do such a thing if you did? I don't understand why he's doing this. He's very mean, and he does cruel things for no reason. Luckily, Robert and Vittoria "eliminated" him when he fell off the top of the castle and was killed. However, he's given some clues about where the cardinals and the final activities will be held, so he was useful.

6. I predict that Robert and Vittoria will go back to the Vatican and try to rescue the Camerlengo from being branded, and try to turn off the anti matter before it explodes and destroys most, if not all of Rome. It would be a weird ending to a book if it ended with the Catholic church being entirely blown up.