Before hitting the bestseller jackpot with Robert Langdon in THE DAVINCI CODE, Dan Brown wrote ANGELS & DEMONS. It's a similar mixture of mixing a philosophical attack on Catholic Church dogma with an exciting plot full of murder, mysterious puzzles and exciting chases.

Not many thriller authors would attempt to blend the philosophical implications of the latest physics research, a historical anti-Church organization which many conspiracies still believe controls the world, and the art and architecture of The Vatican City -- all to make a quite serious point about the nature of reality and the inner truth behind both science and religion.

It's understandable why the Church did not allow the movie version to be shot inside the Vatican, but I believe Langdon's aim is directed at Church bureaucrats who have closed minds.

Like THE DAVINCI CODE, ANGELS & DEMONS begins with an bizarre murder in an extremely unlikely place. Although Robert Langdon is the technical hero of both books, it's the remarkable men who are murdered at the beginning of both books who really set up and control the action.

Professor Vetra is the world's most accomplished particle physicists. Deep inside CERN -- The European Organization for Nuclear Research (English) or Organisation européenne pour la Recherche nucléaire (French) in Switzerland, he should have been safe. Instead he's found dead, branded with the symbol of an organization believed defunct for many years -- The Illuminati.

What's worse, the intruder made off with a sizable chunk of Professor Vetra's latest accomplishment, the isolation of anti-matter. When anti-matter touches matter, both are transformed into energy. In short, it could be used to make a new kind of bomb.

The trail leads to the Vatican where all 165 cardinals of the world are gathered for The Holy Conclave to elect the next pope.

Meanwhile, we're lead to believe, the Illuminati have hired a Muslim Hassassin. (Centuries ago the Hassassin were killers for hire -- sort of a Middle Eastern version of ninjas, but kept high on hashish. Like the Illuminati, this organization is a historical fact but has not been existence for many years.)

Robert Langdon and the professor's daughter Vittoria follow a trail of clues through Vatican City to find the stolen anti-matter before it's used to kill the cardinals.

In the end, they help save the Catholic Church from its most fanatic supporter. Plus, the author uses a senior cardinal as the voice of reason to explain to the book's villain how he owes his very life to the science he hates.

All this is told in a prose style that's functional and fast-moving. Dan Brown will never win any fine-writing awards. This book is carried by its thriller plot and dense, factual detail.

I was let down by the revelation at the end. It all made sense, but lacked the historical sweep and breadth evoked throughout the book. I know that's vague, but to be more specific would be to give away the ending.

Let's just say that the book's red herring was a lot more interesting than its real villain.

Read it for its appeal for religious tolerance or its plot or to learn about The Vatican City's famous art and architecture.