New Dan Brown Book Inferno Handed Hot Summer Release

Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno - the hotly anticipated next chapter in the world of Robert Langdon - will be published in the U.S. and Canada on May 14 by Doubleday Publishing.

The novel is "set in Italy and centers on one of history's most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces, Dante's Inferno," according to the Doubleday statement. "In Inferno...[we follow] Robert Langdon back to the heart of Europe, where he becomes entwined in a mystery that has global ramifications...tied to the ominous and truly mesmerizing details of Dante's masterful work," Jason Kaufman, Executive Editor with Doubleday said. "Although I studied Dante's Inferno as a student, it wasn't until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante's work on the modern world," Brown said in the statement.

Brown should be considered a monolithic presence in the literary world. "The Da Vinci Code" spent 144 weeks at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list, has been translated into 51 languages and has sold 81 million copies worldwide. While some authors and keen-readers alike show disdain for his writing, preferring classic works, his pedigree is hard to dispute. "With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm ... a landscape of codes, symbols, and more than a few secret passageways," continued Brown.