Angels & Demons is a thriller novel written by Dan Brown, which serves as the first book in the Robert Langdon series, preceding The Da Vinci Code that would later catapult him to worldwide fame. The novel was first published in 2000, and it follows the story of Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology at Harvard University, who is called upon to investigate a mysterious event involving the Illuminati, a secret organization with ties to the Church.
The story begins with a murder connected to antimatter, which could potentially be used as a weapon to destroy the Vatican during a papal conclave. Langdon teams up with Vittoria Vetra, a scientist, to investigate and stop the sinister plan.
This novel blends religious mysteries, politics, and science in an exciting way and was adapted into a film in 2009, starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon.