Dan Brown Books: Davinci Code Vs Angels & Demons

The novel Davinci Code written by Dan Brown has numerous similarities to his other popular novel Angels & Demons. While the two novels are very similar they also share a number of differences. Both novels follow the adventures of Robert Langdon a professor of religious iconology and symbology at Harvard University. The novels unfold into a murder mystery after Robert Langdon is called to investigate strange symbols at a murder scene. Both are fast-paced, filled with fascinating information into the history of art, explanations of pagan religious practices and insights into secret societies. The novels also portray similar messages and question the origins of religion itself while attacking the Catholic Church and Christianity in general.

Robert Langdon is the main character in both novels and varies little. He suffers from claustrophobia and he faces his fear several times in both novels. Robert Langdon possesses a photographic memory and phenomenal problem-solving skills, 'puzzles and codes, I imagine they lay down to you like lovers.' In both novels Robert Langdon goes through very similar experiences, he is called to help investigate a murder scene when unknown and mysterious symbols appear on and around the bodies. Soon after investigating the crime scene he is teamed up with a female companion and goes about solving the mystery behind the murder, while uncovering a deeper, more sinister plot.

While both novels follow a similar storyline, they are based several years apart and are standalone novels. Sophie Neveu is Robert's female companion in the Davinci Code while in Angels & Demons, Robert's companion is Vittoria Vetra. Both of his female companions are related to the murder victim in some way and throughout the novels he forms a bond with both women, similar to that of James Bond films.

Both novels by Dan Brown are written in the current time, their locations however are different, the Davinci Code starts and ends at the Louvre in Paris and also includes London. Angels & Demons however is based solely around Rome in particular Vatican City. The novels both focus on secret societies and their impact on the Catholic Church. Each setting is introduced with a description of its historical aspects either by Robert Langdon or another character describing it, this is used to help the reader get a sense of how all the settings are entwined together, as well as how they fit into the bigger picture.

The main theme that connects both novels is mystery and adventure. Both novels are centered on solving a series of clues and solving a murder which then leads to a more extensive plot. Both books combine science versus religion, The Davinci Code tackles Jesus' divinity and bloodline, while Angels & Demons wrestles with technology and the big bang. These themes are of high interest in today's society, we are always searching for the truth of our origins and questioning religion as well as science. 'Science is the new god%u2026 It shatters God's world into smaller and smaller pieces in quest of meaning and all it finds is more questions.' What makes the Davinci Code and Angels & Demons so hard to put down is the questions it poses and forces us to think about our own beliefs.

Dan Brown makes the real world seem mysterious and invokes the adventurous side in the reader. Angels & Demons discusses how society is leaning towards science over religion but it is costing our humanity, 'Science is the new God... God has become obsolete. Science has won the battle. We concede. But science's victory has cost every one of us. And it has cost us deeply... Science proclaims that Planet Earth and its inhabitants are a meaningless speck in the grand scheme. A cosmic accident. Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone.' This message of how science has destroyed humanity is of high relevance in today's society, even with all our technology, we have wars, hunger and evils in our world. We are meant to be advancing by the way of science but all it's done is turn us against each other and make more questions then answers.

Dan Brown has written both the Davinci Code and Angels & Demons using similar techniques. Dan Brown uses very descriptive language and gives clear definitions of each character as he or she is introduced into the story. All the characters in the novels are related or have an entwined past experience and these are used for the basis of the storyline. For example in the last few chapters of each book relationships between characters are revealed which helps the reader piece together reasons behind each characters actions.

Dan Brown also uses a lot of Robert Langdon's thoughts as well as other character's thoughts and often writes what a person is thinking more then what they are saying, this helps the read build up a personality and past of each character '[thinking] He had once explained divine communication to her in scientific terms, and he had made her believe. She still remembered the day she had seen him praying and asked him, Father, why do you bother to pray? God cannot answer you.' Dan Brown's novels build up suspense throughout the story and then release it all in the last few chapters, with a few twists thrown in.

The novels Davinci Code and Angels & Demons raise a lot of sensitive issues to do with religion as well as society and has been criticised for this by the media and the Church. The novels make the reader question their beliefs and ask them to open their eyes to religion, 'Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some us go to Mecca, some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves.' The novels attack the Catholic Church they also attack Jesus in particular his bloodline and divinity. Dan Brown comes across as a very intelligent person and I believe he is purposely controversial, what better way to sell his books then free publicity, everybody loves a conspiracy.

The novels share a number of strong similarities, this is due to being written by the same author. Dan Browns novels are very popular, he uses real historical events, places and societies and creates a mysterious plot around these events, giving the impression to the reader that the novels are real. This is a common misconception and the novel's storylines are entirely false, it has also been proven that several key dates and information have been altered by Dan Brown to help fit his storyline.

The character of Robert Langdon does not change over the two novels and experiences similar problems in both of his adventures. While the settings vary, the settings all have very large historical backgrounds and contain important religious history and culture. The technique of using thought over dialogue is used extensively by Dan Brown in his novels and helps to create a sense of each characters personality and their motives behind their actions without having to use dialogue. The theme of mystery and adventure is also consistent throughout both novels. While both novels attack the Catholic Church, the messages of the novels is that religion in the end is what you believe and have faith in, 'what really matters is what you believe, we are what we protect, what we stand up for.'