Angels & Demons

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This article is about the novel Angels & Demons. For the film, see Angels & Demons (film). For other
uses, see Angels & Demons (disambiguation).

Angels & Demons

First edition cover

Author

Dan Brown

Country

United States
United Kingdom

Language

English

Series

Robert Langdon #1

Media type

Print (hardback & paperback)

Pages

616

ISBN

0-671-02735-2 (US) / 9780552160896 (UK)

OCLC

52990309

Dewey Decimal

813/.54 21

LC Class

PS3552.R685434 A82 2000

Followed by

The Da Vinci Code

Angels & Demons is a 2000 bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by American author Dan
Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the
character Robert Langdon, who is also the protagonist of Brown's subsequent 2003 novel, The Da
Vinci Code; his 2009 novel, The Lost Symbol; and the 2013 novel Inferno. Angels & Demons shares
many stylistic literary elements with its sequel, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day
time frame, and the Catholic Church. Ancient history, architecture, and symbolism are also heavily
referenced throughout the book. A film adaptation was released on May 15, 2009. The Da Vinci
Code film had been released in 2006.
Contents
[hide]

1Background

2Plot

3Characters

4Inaccuracies

5See also

6Notes

7References

8External links

Background[edit]
The book contains several ambigrams created by real-life typographer John Langdon.[1] Besides the
"Angels & Demons" and "Illuminati" designs, the title of the book is also presented as an ambigram
on the hardcover book jacket (see illustration at right on this page), and on the inside cover of the
paperback versions. The book also contains ambigrams of the words Earth, Air, Fire, andWater,
which has served to bring the art of ambigrams to public attention by virtue of the popularity of the

book.[2] The "Illuminati Diamond" mentioned in the book is an ambigram of the four elements
arranged in the shape of a diamond.[1]

Plot[edit]
CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility's physicists, Leonardo Vetra murdered,
his chest branded with an ambigram of the word "Illuminati." Kohler contacts Robert Langdon, an
expert on the Illuminati, who determines that the ambigram is authentic. Kohler calls Vetra's adopted
daughter Vittoria home and it is ascertained that the Illuminati have stolen a canister
containing antimattera substance with destructive potential comparable to a nuclear weapon.
When at CERN, the canister is stored in a unique electrical charger which ensures the antimatter's
stability but when removed its back-up battery provides power for 24 hours after which the antimatter
will self-destruct. The canister is located somewhere in Vatican City, with a security camera in front
of it, as its digital clock counts down to the explosion due to occur at midnight.
Langdon and Vittoria make their way to Vatican City, where the Pope has recently died. They are told
that the four Preferiti, the cardinals who are most likely to be elected pope are missing. Langdon and
Vittoria search for the preferiti in hopes that they will also find the antimatter canister. Their search is
assisted by Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (the late pope's closest aide) and the Vatican's Swiss
Guard.
Langdon tells Vittoria how the Illuminati created a citywide map known as the Path of Illumination, a
trail once used by the Illuminati as a means of inducting new members; aspirants who wanted to join
the Illuminati were required to follow a series of subtle clues left in various churches in and around
Rome. The clues indicate the secret meeting place of the Illuminati. Langdon is granted access to
the Vatican Archives where he believes a document containing the clues to the Path of Illumination is
located. The Illuminati markers are placed inside Galileo's famous book called 'Diagramma.'
Langdon then sets off on the Path of Illumination in hopes of saving the preferiti and recovering the
antimatter canister.

Bernini's Habbakuk and the Angel, andAgostino Chigi's pyramidal wall tomb.

The Path leads Langdon and Vittoria to four churches in Rome, each one representing works of art
by Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini which are associated with one of the primordial elements:
'Earth,' 'Air,' 'Fire' and 'Water.' Langdon realizes the four preferiti will be murdered in a way
thematically related to each location's related element. The first cardinal is branded with an
Earth ambigram and has soil forced down his throat, suffocating him; the second is branded with
an Air ambigram and has his lungs punctured; the third is branded with a Fire ambigram and is
burned alive; and the fourth is branded with a Water ambigram and is wrapped in chains and left to
drown at the bottom of a fountain.
During their search for the Illuminati lair, Langdon and Vittoria are seen getting closer.

West Ponente at Saint Peter's Square.

After finding the bodies of the first two preferiti, Langdon hurries to the Santa Maria della
Vittoria Basilica and finds the preferiti's abductor in the act of setting the third cardinal on fire. The
kidnapper is an unnamed assassin who is working under the orders of the Illuminati master "Janus,"
whose true identity is unknown. Commander Olivetti is killed and the assassin kidnaps Vittoria.
Langdon escapes and accosts the assassin at the final element's marker (Water) but he is unable to
save the cardinal.

Ecstasy of St Teresa.

Langdon must complete the Path of Illumination in order to find the assassin and rescue Vittoria. His
search leads him to Castel Sant'Angelo which he realizes is the Illuminati lair, under which a tunnel
leads directly into the pope's chambers in the Vatican. Langdon frees Vittoria and together they send
the assassin falling several hundred feet to his death. The two hurry back to St. Peter's Basilica
where they find that Kohler has arrived to confront the camerlengo in private. Langdon and Vittoria
fear that Kohler is Janus and that he has come to murder the camerlengo. Hearing the camerlengo
scream in agony from being branded with the Illuminati Diamond, the Swiss Guards burst into the
room and open fire on Kohler. Just before he dies, Kohler gives Langdon a mini video camera
containing a video Kohler made while confronting the camerlengo and tells him to give it to the
media.

The Fountain of Four Rivers.

With time running out, the Swiss Guard evacuates the Basilica. The camerlengo rushes back in,
claiming that he has received a vision from God who has revealed the location of the antimatter
canister to him. With Langdon in pursuit, the camerlengo ventures into the catacombs and finds the
canister sitting atop the tomb of Saint Peter. Langdon and the camerlengo retrieve the antimatter
and get in a helicopter with only minutes to spare. The camerlengo manages to parachute safely
onto the roof of St. Peter's just as the canister explodes harmlessly in the sky. The crowd in St.
Peter's Square look in awe as the camerlengo stands triumphantly before them. Because of this
"miracle," the cardinals debate whether to elect the camerlengo as the new Pope. Langdon
manages to survive the explosion by using a window cover from the helicopter as a parachute, a
trick he learned while touring CERN with Maximillian Kohler and lands in the Tiber River.
As Langdon regains consciousness, he finds himself in a hospital located on an island. He is given
the video camera which he placed in the pocket of his tweed jacket. He is shocked when he hears
the footage and becomes desperate to head back to the Vatican. The video shows the camerlengo
branding himself with the Illuminati diamond and confessing that he himself is Janus, and who sets
in motion the night's chain of events in order to sabotage the Vatican. He also confesses that he
killed the Pope with an overdose of Heparin, a powerful anticoagulant because the Pope revealed he
had fathered a child.
After viewing Kohler's tape, Langdon, Vittoria and the cardinals confront the camerlengo. Shortly
before the novel begins, the Pope met with Leonardo Vetra who believed that antimatter was
capable of establishing a link between science and God. Vetra's beliefs caused great discomfort to
the camerlengo. While discussing Vetra, the pope reveals that his support is due to science having
given him a son. Without waiting to hear the explanation (that the child was the result of artificial
insemination) and horrified that the Pope appeared to have broken his vow of chastity, the
camerlengo plots to rectify the situation. He poisoned the pope and, under the guise of an Illuminati
master (Janus), he recruited the assassin to kill Vetra, steal the antimatter and kidnap and murder
the preferiti. The camerlengo planted the antimatter in St. Peter's basilica, feigned his last minute
vision from God and retrieved the canister just in time to save the Vatican from the ensuing
explosion. This was in hope to unite the struggling Catholic Church. The Illuminati involvement was
merely a plot engineered by the camerlengo to cover his own involvement. Upon the discovery and
the camerlengo's attempts to justify his murder of the Pope, Cardinal Saverio Mortati, Dean of
the College of Cardinals, reveals that the camerlengo is in fact the late pope's biological son,
conceived with a nun through artificial insemination. Overcome with guilt, Ventresca soaks himself in
oil and sets himself on fire before a crowd of onlookers in St. Peter's Square. His ashes are
recovered by Mortati, who places them in an urn which is placed inside his father's sarcophagus. It is

revealed that the cardinals' endorsing of him would have made him Pope by acclamation. Mortati is
unanimously elected pope by the cardinals and Langdon and Vittoria reunite at Hotel Bernini where
they share an extensive meal before making love. The last brand, the Illuminati Diamond, is given to
Langdon on indefinite loan, provided he return it to the Vatican in his will.

Characters[edit]
See also: List of Angels & Demons characters

Robert Langdon: A professor of symbology at Harvard University and the protagonist of the
novel. He is flown to CERN to help investigate the murder of Leonardo Vetra. He is described as
wearing a Harris Tweed jacket, a turtleneck sweater, and a pair of chino pants. His name is a
tribute to John Langdon.

Leonardo Vetra: A scientist working at CERN and a priest. He is researching

on antimatter when he is murdered by the Hassassin. He is also the adoptive father of Vittoria.

Vittoria Vetra: The adopted daughter of Vetra. She, like her father, works with CERN. She is
a strict vegetarian. Her research focuses on biology and physics. The reader learns early in the
novel that Vittoria worked with her father in their research of antimatter.

Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: The Camerlengo (papal chamberlain) during the conclave.
He murdered the pope, who is later revealed to have been his biological father. His code name
for dealing with the assassin, "Janus," was taken from the two-faced Roman god of beginnings
and ends.

Cardinal Saverio Mortati: The most senior cardinal in the conclave, and the current Dean of
the College of Cardinals. He was the Devil's Advocate for the late pope.

Commander Olivetti: The commandant of the Swiss Guard. He is initially skeptical on the
claims of Langdon and Vittoria until he talks with the Hassassin. He, along with other Swiss
Guards, search desperately for the missing antimatter hidden somewhere in the Vatican. He is
killed by the Hassassin at the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria.

Captain Rocher: The second in command after Commander Olivetti. He is contacte by Max
Kohler telling his knowledge on the real cause of the events. He is killed by Lt. Chartrand, who
was under the impression that Rocher was anIlluminatus.

Hassassin: The killer hired by Janus to fulfill his plans. He is of Middle Eastern origin and
displays his sadistic lust for women throughout the novel. He murders Leonardo Vetra,
the Preferiti, and Commander Olivetti. He dies after being pushed from a balcony by Langdon
at Castel Sant'Angelo and breaking his back on a pile of cannonballs below.

Maximilian Kohler: The director of CERN. He is feared at CERN despite his paralysis. His
wheelchair contains electronic gadgets such as a computer, telephone, pager, video camera,
and a gun. He contacts Langdon to help him find the killer of his friend, Leonardo Vetra. He
blames the Church for his disability, due to his highly religious parents denying him medical care
as a child and becomes a scientist as a way to rebel.

Gunther Glick and Chinita Macri: A reporter and his photojournalist for the BBC. They are
contacted by the Hassassin regarding the events happening in the Vatican. Glick has a notorious
reputation as a sensationalist and conspiracy theorist journalist. Macri, meanwhile, is a veteran
camerawoman and a foil to Glick. They have the first hand account on the events in the novel,
from the beginning of the conclave to the election of Mortati as pope.

Lieutenant Chartrand: A young Swiss Guard. He, together with Commander Olivetti and
Capt. Rocher, search desperately for the antimatter hidden somewhere in the Vatican. He shoots
and kills Captain Rocher after he is mistaken as an Illuminatus. Near the end of the novel, he is
sent by the new pope to give the Illuminati Diamond to Langdon on indefinite loan.

Cardinal Ebner: One of the four preferiti from Frankfurt, Germany. He is killed by putting dirt
and soil into his mouth.

Cardinal Lamass: One of the four preferiti from Paris, France. He is killed by punctures to
his lungs from which he bled to death.

Cardinal Guidera: One of the four preferiti from Barcelona, Spain. He is burned alive.

Cardinal Baggia: One of the four preferiti from Milan, Italy; the favorite to succeed as the
new pope. He was drowned by the assassin.

Inaccuracies[edit]
The book's first edition contained numerous inaccuracies of location of places in Rome, as well as
incorrect uses of Italian language. Some of the language issues were corrected in the following
editions.[3]
Aside from the explicit introduction, the book depicts various fictional experts explaining matters in
science, technology, and history in which critics have pointed out inaccuracies. An example of this is
the antimatter discussions, wherein the book suggests that antimatter can be produced in useful and
practical quantities and will be a limitless source of power. CERN published a FAQ page
about Angels & Demons on their website stating that antimatter cannot be used as an energy source
because creating it takes more energy than it produces.[4]
Angels & Demons Decoded, a documentary on the American cable television network, The History
Channel, premiered on May 10, 2009, shortly before the release of the novel's film adaptation. The
documentary explores the various bases of the novel's story, as well as its inaccuracies. A CERN
official, for example, points out that over the last 20 years, approximately 10 billionths of a gram of
antimatter has been produced at the facility, whose explosive yield is equivalent to that of
afirecracker, far less than is needed for it to be the threat depicted in the novel.[5]
According to The Boston Globe language columnist Ben Zimmer, the Devil's Advocate, which is
indicated in the novel to have a role in the selection of the pope, has nothing to do with the papal
conclave, and was instead employed to present arguments against the proposed canonization of a
person as a saint. Zimmer adds that the Devil's Advocate was abolished by Pope John Paul II in
1983, 17 years before the novel was published. [6]
Throughout the narrative, the front runners in the election of the new pope are referred to as
Preferiti, i.e. those who are preferred. In actual fact, they are known as Papabile, literally "popable"