BOOKS: "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown

[OriginalJS]

Dan Brown wrote “Angels and Demons” before he wrote “The Da Vinci Code.” It is more poorly written than the DaVinci Code and is even more implausible (if that’s possible for some of you to believe.) I don’t think it is anti-catholic. I think he just uses the Church as a foil for his wild meanderings.

I may be off base, but I just can’t get excited about either of these books. They remind me of one of those comic histories of the world, or of the United States. They are entertaining but nobody would take them seriously, anymore than you would take a Saturday Night Live skit with an actor playing a high government official seriously.

I feel like some very serious and well-meaning people are overreacting. When I was growing up in the 50s, our parents were concerned that we were all going to be led permanently astray by offensive comic books (younger people, don’t laugh!). There were parental committees formed and organizations pulled together to stamp out offensive comic books! I used to look forward to going to a certain barber shop because he had every offensive comic book he could find - they brought in customers.

To my mind, Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code are in about the same league as those old comic books. Although, Brown’s books may not be quite as well written.

 

[Nickkname]

Angels & Demons is a book by Dan Brown, the man who wrote the Da Vinci Code (the name makes no sense to me either, so it’s a perfect metaphor for the nonscence of the so-called “code”). If you thought that DVC was bad, well…wait until you get a load of A&D. And I’m sure you will, because it’s suppose to hit theatres this year.

Basically, just like DVC, A&E is a mystery novel, and since this is Dan Brown we’re talking about, expect a lot of inaccuracy. I’d also expect a lot of false advertisement for the movie, just as was done for the DVC movie. And remember, I’m telling you all this waaaay in advance (the movie’s not suppose to come out until December), so you plenty of time to prepare for the movie.

The plot of A&E goes like this (from Wikipeda): “…A classic race against time to find a hidden canister of antimatter (a highly explosive substance) and hunt down a serial killer in Rome. As its backdrop, the book debates the question about which is to be trusted - science or religion. It purports to show how the Vatican works as the plot to blow it up is uncovered during the conclave, revealing hidden secrets and mysteries as the story unfolds.”

Now, like I said, you should expect inaccuracies - because there are a lot. Citing Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_%26_Demons ):

The book’s first edition contained notably numerous errors 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. [1] Angels and Demons caused some irritation due to the author’s device of publishing a claim of the factual content of the book, backed up by acknowledgments of thanks to bodies such as CERN and references on the author’s web site apparently confirming these statements. Although implausible plot devices are a common feature of adventure stories, the concern lies in how much detail the author was seeking to suggest was true, and, more importantly, how the more naive reader might be misled. For example, the existence of the Illuminati is not disputed as historical fact, but the plot of the book suggests that many famous figures throughout history were part of it, some of whom predate the organization.

Aside from the explicit introduction, the style of the book is that various fictional experts will expound on factual issues. This literary device suggests to the reader that what is being told is intended to be factual. An example of the confusion here are the anti-matter discussions, where the book suggests that anti-matter can be produced in useful and practical quantities and will be a limitless source of power - CERN themselves refute this and note on their web site FAQ: “I was hoping antimatter would be the future answer to our energy needs… No, the true answer is that it will never happen simply because of the entropy problem… It is not a matter of ‘more research’ or ‘more advanced technology’ to find ways around these limitations.” Antimatter requires a great deal more energy to create than can be extracted from it.

There are several errors in the procedures of the Catholic Church. For instance, the Camerlengo, the Papal Chamberlain is in reality a Cardinal and not a priest. Also the book suggests that the Papal Conclave is overseen by a Cardinal called the Great Elector, however, in reality the process is managed by the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

One egregious historical error is that of the Assassin remembering how the Crusaders had destroyed the “Temples” of the “gods” of his people. In reality, the Assassins came from a Muslim background, and therefore had no gods, but only one God, Allah, who is not worshipped in Temples, but in Mosques, which are not temples but prayer-houses.

Dan Brown has since been acknowledged as a poor researcher of history in a court case relating to The Da Vinci Code. In a telling comment on Vatican procedure, which is of disputed accuracy, he claims “Occasionally, research is simply a matter of finding the proper printed resource.”[1] and explains he used a single book as his source.

In one scene, the pilot of the special plane tells Langdon that at 60,000 ft altitude he is 30% lighter (presumably in level flight, where it is not true) and this caused him to have “altitude sickness”, whereas the term usually refers to problems due to low pressure at altitude.

 

[PhilVaz]

As I understand, the film is in production, but it won’t be out until May 2009. Also I have the audiobook, there aren’t long stretches of anti-Catholic dialogue as in Da Vinci Code, there are just side-swipes at the Church, and they try to blow up the Vatican at the end or something. I didn’t finish. In this story, the “Illuminati” replace the “Priory of Sion”, and the “Church hates science” theme replaces “the Church subjugates women” theme. Otherwise, same book, chase through a few cities, the Vatican is “hiding” something, etc.

Create your own Dan Brown novel Here

Phil P

 

[Catholic90]

I read this book at the urging of my son. Of course it is fiction, but it sure was entertaining! I read it last summer while sitting in the sun on my deck - light reading!

 

[tee_eff_em]

I just came to say: [post=2501575]<ahem>[/post]

tee