Angels & Demons
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 recurs as the protagonist of Brown’s subsequent novels. Angels & Demons shares many stylistic literary elements with its sequels, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Catholic Church. Ancient history, architecture, and symbology are also heavily referenced throughout the book. A film adaptation was released on May 15, 2009.
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, and Water, 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 that are arranged in the shape of a diamond.[1]
CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility’s top physicists, Leonardo Vetra, murdered, his chest branded with an ambigram of the word “Illuminati.” Kohler contacts Robert Langdon, an expert on symbology, who determines that the ambigram is authentic. Kohler calls Vetra’s adopted daughter Vittoria home and it is ascertained that the Illuminati, an ancient anti-religious organization thought extinct, have stolen a canister containing antimatter, a 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 backup battery provides power for 24 hours, after which the antimatter would fall out of suspension and, on coming into contact with the physical matter of the container, explode. The canister is located somewhere in Vatican City, with a security camera in front of it, as its digital clock counts down to an explosion due to occur at midnight, which will wipe out the Vatican.
Langdon is initially convinced that the Illuminati cannot be responsible for two reasons: 1) the Illuminati went extinct centuries ago, and their remnants were absorbed into the Freemasons and 2) the Illuminati, as men of scientific truth, would never sanction the murder of a fellow scientist. Kohler explains that Vetra might be an exception, as he was also an ordained Catholic priest.
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), the Vatican’s Swiss Guard and Commander Olivetti.
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’s theory is that the Path was marked by sculptures created by a mysterious Illuminati artist: an Illuminati member placed as a mole within the Vatican itself. Langdon is granted access to the Vatican Archives by the camerlengo, where he believes a document containing the clues to the Path of Illumination is located. The clues to 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.
