Better luck next time – oh, I see you had lots

I read Angels & Demons. I bought this on the recommendation of someone working in a bookstore 5 years ago. They said it was better than The DaVinci Code. When I started it the first time I had to put it down because of some flaws in the details, not the writing itself but the content. They aren’t big things, they aren’t things most people would know about or even care about, but they put me off the character and the author. Before the movie came out, my wife bought me The DaVinci Code as a diversion because boy did I need one. She also knows that I like to read the book before I see the movie. I read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dan Brown may not be remembered as a writer of great literature, so what, he can sure plot a thriller. And I like the main character. Well, I want his job, anyway.

Now that the movie of Angels & Demons is out, I needed to read the book. So I took my disbelief, suspended it, wrapped it in bubble wrap, sealed it with duct tape and locked it in a back room. It didn’t matter; it got loose and I could feel it reading over my shoulder. But once I got past my personal problems with the book I had fun. I don’t think it’s as tightly plotted as The DaVinci Code, but it is an earlier book. Assuming that I’m remembering the book and not the movie, The DaVinci Code had a more fully realized conflict and leaner plot – which is not to say that there weren’t some things that could have been edited. Though the more I think about, I think I am comparing the movie to this book.

I expect the movie version of this one to have the requisite changes to get the story on film but it should translate well. Go ahead and read Angels & Demons. My complaints are nitpicking in a very real sense.

Overall, easy to dance to with a good beat.