Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons: Revisited

On reading my earlier post on Dan Brown's Angels and Demons(A&D) and Da Vinci Code(DVC), it looks like I didn't quite get all my related thoughts out... I must've sort of held myself back a bit.

But then, if I don't throw in my 2 cents here, where else am i going to throw it?

So here it comes...

• Illuminati vs. Priory of Sion? Hands down Illuminati for me. Priory of Sion appeared weak and impotent (and I am not quoting Sir Teabing here) in the storyline. Possibly because Illuminati seemed on the Offensive while Priory on the Defensive. Also, possibly because, in my mind, Illuminati (and Masons) are more plausible, convincing, tangible and threatening than the Priory of Sion.
  
• Having studied particle physics in graduate school, A&D's antimatter bomb was not scary enough for me as it seemed rather remote and highly unlikely. Without much ado, allow me point you here for further reading
  
• On the other hand, the Holy Grail, story of Jesus' life, and Leonardo Da Vinci's works have always been quite intriguing and fascinating for me, so, I was almost convincing myself to look for answers in DVC for all my unanswered (and possibly unanswerable?) questions on these subjects.
• A&D felt like the first draft of DVC - like, Dan Brown got A&D published and said to himself, 'Oh, I should have weaved in the Holy Grail and Leonardo Da Vinci... I better go back and edit it' and sat down and edited A&D to produce DVC: pretty much similar plot, similar symbolism, similar leading lady (strong, bereaved); while A&D felt tighter than DVC for the most part, essentially they were the same book to me
• A&D could be quite a successful Hollywood movie. I can almost picture Harrison Ford or Pierce Brosnan in tweeds as Professor Langdon. (My vote is for Pierce, any day!) Somehow I am still not able to accept Tom Hanks as Prof. L
• I freely admit A&D and DVC are both excellent books of that genre: masterfully written, with nice little bits and pieces strewn about throughout the book as the plot develops, and somehow they are strung together convincingly and they tie up into a beautiful knot in the end.
  
• I also admit that I am sort of gullible when it comes to Symbolisms, so, I loved all such references in the two books, and am looking forward to more
  

Let me close for now by stating that I am awaiting The Solomon Key, purported last book in this trilogy, with a sense of cautious optimism.