SQPN: Secrets of Angels and Demons

Fr. Roderick did a great job on this sound-hearing tour of some of the most beauty and historically important locations in both the Vatican and Rome.

The best way I can sum this whole series up is it is a very informative, interesting, and enjoyable walk through Rome with Fr. Roderick as he gives you his interpretation of the book and film "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. Production wise, Fr. Roderick attempts to put the listener into the film with excellent sound bytes, and tasteful choice in musical score. He then complements this with excellent narration about several key locations in Rome mentioned in the book ranging from St. Peters square and basilica, to the Pantheon and several churches, even to various plazas. Whether or not the accuracy of his work is in question is not for me to judge, as he attempts to dissemnate the numerous historical and structural errors that Dan Brown made while writing his book. I found Roderick to be well researched, giving the listener many fine details about Vatican and Italian art, as well as symbolic representations of Rome and some of its rich families that most tourists, including myself, would have disregarded. I enjoyed this series for what it was: Father Rodericks interpretation of "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. I enjoyed listening to it and let the audio recordings remind me of things I love: Rome, good mysteries and a decent book study. The only thing Fr. Roderick could have done better is have tried to videotape the whole series and put it on his website...or do pictures even do the audio justice. It helped me to have the St. Peters Basilica interactive map open on the web or similar sites that are easily found online where I could do side by side research for visual aids.

I really enjoy Fr Roderick's other podcasts so I was really excited when I saw one that visits the locations of the Angels and Demons movie. Unfortunately, the host has never read the book and as such makes so many errors about the content of the book and movie it makes the podcast unbearable. In the first two podcasts he complains at length about perceived insults to the Catholic church as well as factual errors that he thinks the movie made. The errors are neither in the book nor the movie! This could have been a really interesting podcast if he had bothered to research the material at all, but as it is it's very poor. If you're looking for a good podcast that explains the history behind the book and movie look elsewhere. If you hate Dan Brown and want to hear someone complain about incorrect interpretations of this book listen on.