Angels & Demons

• Read: 1 Jan 2026 - 18 Jan 2026

• Author: Dan Brown

• Year: 2000

• Pages: 624

• Remarks: Robert Langdon Series Book 1

• Synopsis:

  • Harvard Symbologist Prof Langdon was urgently enlisted to investigate a gruesome murder at a Swiss research facility, involving a symbol that pointed to the resurgence of a long-dormant secret society. He soon found himself racing against time through the Vatican and Rome to prevent the annihilation of the Catholic Church.

[18 Jan 2026] ‘Angels & Demons’ (2000), by Dan Brown.

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Reading Background:

• First book read in 2026! Set a goal to read with discipline and journal about the books I’ve read, and proud to have completed the first one within 3 weeks! (Used to read only a handful of books a year.)

• It was ironic picking ‘Angels & Demons’, a book that some would perceive as anti-Christian, to read on 1 Jan 2026, because just the night before I was at St Andrew’s Cathedral for the NYE service with my family lol.

• But it was really picked at random. Wanted to read a mystery thriller book, but also wanted to start a new series afresh.

• Read this book before in 2016, but didn’t complete it and couldn’t remember much of it, so it was almost like a new book for me.

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The mystery and thrill. The former made me want to read till the end to find out who the perpetrator was, and the latter made me flip through the pages at pace.

• The very satisfying ending. I could guess who the “villain” was but was surprised by how he was not truly evil but was merely misguided, thinking he was doing the right thing.

• The bite-sized chapters. They allowed me to read with momentum throughout, and provided convenient junctures to pause my reading.

• The science vs religion theme. It was actually quite deep (is science alone really humanity’s answer, is religion obsolete?), useful for GP arguments lol, and ever more pertinent in AI-filled 2025.

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• Lengthy descriptions of places. Especially when the plot was thrilling, those descriptors hindered the pace, and I mostly skipped past them.

• No caveats on science fiction. Almost came away with inaccurate scientific knowledge had I not clarified with Gemini.

• Unrealistic and overly dramatic scenes. But then again, who really knows how things would unfold if something like that were to happen?

My overall thoughts:

• I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed the book quite a lot, despite not being confident about it initially due to mixed reviews online. I had thought the mystery revelation would be lame, but it turned out to be unexpectedly satisfying indeed. Overall, this was a good book for me that I would recommend!

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• Langdon was called to CERN by Director Kohler to investigate the murder of a physicist who had an Illuminati symbol seared onto him, and his antimatter canister stolen.

• The antimatter was later reported to be in Vatican City, which was in the midst of a papal conclave. Langdon travelled there with the deceased physicist’s daughter Vetra to find the antimatter.

• The four preferiti (top candidates for pope) were kidnapped. It was informed that they would be murdered at locations significant to the Illuminati.

• Langdon and Vetra managed to solve the locations, but were unsuccessful in preventing the preferitis’ murders by an assassin (who killed Vetra’s father too). Vetra was latter kidnapped but saved by Langdon, and they killed the assassin together.

• Kohler arrived in Vatican and met with Camerlengo Ventresca privately. He appeared to harm Ventresca, and was shot dead by guards who rushed in.

• Ventresca seemingly received God’s word revealing where the antimatter was hidden. He found and detonated it safely, and was hailed by the people as a saviour and hero.

• Later, it was revealed that the Illuminati’s return was a ruse by Ventresca. He murdered the former Pope (his biological father), ordered the assassin to murder Vetra’s father, seize the antimatter, and murder the four preferitis. He then staged the terrorist threat to cast himself as God-chosen to unite the world in faith against the perceived evils of science. After his plot was exposed, he commits self-immolation, and the Vatican covers up the scandal by claiming he died from injuries.