Angels & Demons: A Novel by Dan Brown

From the Publisher (Atria Books - A Division of Simon & Schuster) :

An ancient secret brotherhood.

A devastating new weapon of destruction.

An unthinkable target.

When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.

I bought this book quite a while ago but only just got around to reading it. Had I known the book would be this much of a pleasure to read, I would have dived right into it.

This is a great book with wonderfully written characters who, by the end of the book, I was greatly attached to. There were so many twists and turns, so many puzzles along the way and more than enough moments that were surprising, especially the ending which literally had my jaw on the floor. The plot is quite possibly one of the best I have ever read and I can't wait to dive into the Da Vinci Code and see if that one is as good.

Author's Website: http://www.danbrown.com/