The title of Dan Brown’s new book has been revealed after a ‘puzzle’ was completed by fans just hours after being posted to social media. Brown’s code-solving historical investigator Robert Langdon will return in the new novel, Inferno, set to be released on May 14.
The title – Inferno – was revealed soon after the announcement by readers, who had been invited to use social media posts to help expose a digital mosaic. By posting on Facebook, or tweeting using the hashtag #DanBrownToday, readers’ profile images were added as tiles in a web graphic, with the title – alluding to Dante’s 14th-century poem – becoming clear as more images were added.
“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.
“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.”
“Dan Brown’s enthusiasm for puzzles, codes and symbols is a passion shared by his readers,” said Suzanne Herz at Brown’s US publisher Doubleday, saying that the marketing stunt was intended “to harness that passion and use it as a catalyst to reveal the new title.”