Angels & Demons [マスマーケット]

科学力を駆使するテロリストとバチカン市国の枢機卿が対決するという、入念に練られたプロットに手に汗握るスリラー。そして、バチカンを巡る陰謀にハイテク劇。反物質を発見した科学者のベトラ博士が、他殺体となって発見された。その胸には、「イルミナティ（光明会）」というなぞめいた言葉の焼き印が。そこで、ハーバード大学で宗教的象徴を専門とするロバート・ラングドンは、スイスの捜査研究所から調査を依頼される。イルミナティとは、ルネサンス期の科学者のグループで、ガリレオもその一員だった。ガリレオはローマ教皇の迫害を避けて、新しい考えをローマで秘密裏に討論していた。すでに過去のものとなった会と、ベトラ博士の死には、いったいどんな関係があるのだろうか。ベトラ博士の娘ビットーリアは、恐ろしい事態に気づいた。ものすごい破壊力を秘めた反物質を密閉した真空のフラスコの所在が不明で、バッテリーを充電しなければ、6時間以内に爆発してしまうのだ。

その直後、ローマ教皇庁護衛隊のスイス護衛兵が、反物質がバチカン市国に隠されているという事実を発見する。そこでは新しい教皇を選出する選挙会が始まっていた。ビットーリアとラングドンは反物質を取り戻そうと奔走する。有力な教皇候補4名が行方不明という事態が発覚して、ようやくふたりはバチカンへ入ることを許された。枢機卿を誘拐したテロリストは電話で、遠い昔のイルミナティに関係する手掛かりとひきかえに、殺人の猶予をほのめかした。一方、救世主を狂信的に信奉する邪悪なバチカンの一部が、テロリストと結託している事実が明らかになる。枢機卿を救いだし、反物質を爆破させずに取り戻そうと奮闘するラングドンとビットーリア。その追跡劇を、『Digital Fortress』の著者ダン・ブラウンは、メディチ家を思わせる名士を邪悪な人物に仕立て、ミシュランの観光ガイドそのもののローマの街を舞台に、めまぐるしくスピード感あふれる筆致で描いている。設定にやや無理が感じられるが、一筋縄でいかないストーリー展開に衝撃の数々を織りまぜて、最後に明かされる驚きの真実まで一気に読者を引き込む作品である。
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc

When a scientist is found brutally murdered, Harvard professor Robert Langdon is asked to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. Realising it must be the work of the Illuminati - an ancient secret brotherhood sworn against Catholicism - the race is on to prevent a tragedy. --このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

全米300万人を不眠にさせた、怒涛の徹夜本が、ついに日本上陸！

図像学者ラングドンの元に世界最大の科学研究所セルンの所長から紋章についての問い合わせが入る。それは男の全裸死体に押された焼印で、すでに消滅した、ガリレオが創設したという伝説の秘密結社の紋章だった……

ハ-ヴァ-ド大の図像学者ラングドンはスイスの科学研究所長から電話を受け、ある紋章についての説明を求められる。紋章は秘密結社＜イルミナティ＞一七世紀にガリレオが創設した科学者たちの結社のもので、この世にはもう存在しないはずの伝説の紋章だった。それが男の全裸死体の胸に焼印として押されていたのだという。殺された男は、最近極秘のうちに世界初の大量反物質の生成に成功した科学者。反物質は核の数十倍のエネルギ-を持つが、既に殺人者に盗まれ、密かにヴァチカンに持ち込まれたという。スピ-ド感あふれ、ひねりと衝撃が連続の、タイムリミット・サスペンス！

--このテキストは、 単行本 版に関連付けられています。

新ローマ教皇選挙会の当日、次期教皇候補4人が揃って失踪した。その鍵が17世紀に書かれた詩に隠されていることに気付いたラングドンは、知力と体力の限りを尽くして、姿なき敵が仕掛けた殺人ゲームに挑む…。 --このテキストは、 単行本 版に関連付けられています。

It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Europen pour la Recherche Nuclaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist, and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible. Angels & Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (but more accessible).

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty. --Kelly Flynn

It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Europen pour la Recherche Nuclaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist, and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous. Kudos to Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) for achieving the nearly impossible. Angels & Demons is a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller--think Katherine Neville's The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (but more accessible).

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty. --Kelly Flynn

Pitting scientific terrorists against the cardinals of Vatican City, this well-plotted if over-the-top thriller is crammed with Vatican intrigue and high-tech drama. Robert Langdon, a Harvard specialist on religious symbolism, is called in by a Swiss research lab when Dr. Vetra, the scientist who discovered antimatter, is found murdered with the cryptic word "Illuminati" branded on his chest. These Iluminati were a group of Renaissance scientists, including Galileo, who met secretly in Rome to discuss new ideas in safety from papal threat; what the long-defunct association has to do with Dr. Vetra's death is far from clear. Vetra's daughter, Vittoria, makes a frightening discovery: a lethal amount of antimatter, sealed in a vacuum flask that will explode in six hours unless its batteries are recharged, is missing. Almost immediately, the Swiss Guard discover that the flask is hidden beneath Vatican City, where the conclave to elect a new pope has just begun. Vittoria and Langdon rush to recover the canister, but they aren't allowed into the Vatican until it is discovered that the four principal papal candidates are missing. The terrorists who are holding the cardinals call in regarding their pending murders, offering clues tied to ancient Illuminati meeting sites and runes. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that a sinister Vatican entity with messianic delusions is in league with the terrorists. Packing the novel with sinister figures worthy of a Medici, Brown (Digital Fortress) sets an explosive pace as Langdon and Vittoria race through a Michelin-perfect Rome to try to save the cardinals and find the antimatter before it explodes. Though its premises strain credulity, Brown's tale is laced with twists and shocks that keep the reader wired right up to the last revelation. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An ancient secret brotherhood.
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
An unthinkable target.

ANGELS & DEMONS

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth...the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.

When a world renowned scientist is found brutally murdered, a Harvard professor, Robert Langdon, is summoned to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. His conclusion: it is the work of the Illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years - now reborn to continue their bitter vendetta against their sworn enemy, the Catholic church.

In Rome, the college of cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. Yet somewhere within the walls of the Vatican, an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion. While the minutes tick away, Langdon joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to decipher the labyrinthine trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome to the long-forgotten Illuminati lair - a secret refuge wherein lies the only hope for the Vatican.

But, with each revelation comes another twist, another turn in the plot, which leaves Langdon and Vetra reeling and at the mercy of a seemingly invincible enemy. --このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

Dan Brown is the bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, Deception Point, and The Da Vinci Code. He lives in New England with his wife.