Upcoming: “Inferno” by Dan Brown (Transworld & Doubleday)

So. The Da Vinci Code. A lot of people read that book. An awful lot of vocal people despised it. The Vatican said it was blasphemy (thereby guaranteeing excellent sales worldwide).* Lots more people complained about it, and also its prequel, Angels & Demons, and follow-up, The Lost Symbol, saying it was terrible or poorly written, and any number of criticisms. They’re not high-literature, nor are they the best historical-crypto-thrillers out there. They are quick and engaging reads. And, as always, any book that sells a bajillion copies (probably the real number) is good for the publishing industry as a whole. Be it Brown’s novels, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight or E.L. James’s 50 Shades of Grey (all sneered at by people from all walks of life, most by those who haven’t read them), they all go some way to supporting other novels that will appeal more to CR readers and general SFF fans who don’t, to their detriment, read CR…

I will probably read Inferno. There’s something comfortable and reassuring about a novel that you know will give you exactly what you’re expecting. Suspend your disbelief and pathological need for realism, and I’m sure this will be a fun read. Regardless of what you may think of the author, Transworld have commissioned a pretty nice cover (above, right). The American cover, from Doubleday, isn’t too bad (left) either, but is basically a good example of the sub-genre’s standard style.

Here is the (US) synopsis:

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces... Dante’s Inferno.

Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust... before the world is irrevocably altered.

Inferno will be published in both the UK (Transworld) and the US (Doubleday) in May 2013.

* When I write my novel, and if anyone is kind enough to publish it, I will do everything I can to get the Vatican to publicly black-list it. I can’t think of a better publicity strategy…

Gav Thorpe Beats Dan Brown!

Ok, this isn’t to say Gav Thorpe has been in a fight with mega-selling author Dan Brown. Rather, Thorpe’s audiobook, Raven’s Flight has outsold the audiobook of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. This is quite a feat for both the author and also a great coup for publisher Black Library.

Along with the Horus Heresy series making frequent appearances on the New York Times Bestseller list, this success a great development for the publisher.

Here’s an image of the sales tables:

So, Raven’s Flight sold 4,173 units, where The Lost Symbol sold 3,562. Not bad!

Congratulations to both Gav Thorpe and Black Library.

eBook Milestone Reached

On May 6th, Sony announced that its US-based eBooks Store had surpassed the 10-million-mark for downloads. This is a pretty impressive feat (I know I’ve helped out with plenty of purchases…).

They also released the top ten sellers for their store, which are as follows:

1. Dan Brown, “The Lost Symbol”

2. James Patterson, “I, Alex Cross”

3. Stephanie Meyer, “Breaking Dawn”

4. Stephanie Meyer, “Eclipse”

5. Kathryn Stockett, “The Help”

6. Stephanie Meyer, “Twilight”

7. Stephanie Meyer, “New Moon”

8. Alice Sebold, “The Lovely Bones”

9. Stieg Larsson, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”

10. Nicholas Sparks, “The Last Song”

Not the broadest selection (Stephanie Meyer’s done very well indeed…). I suppose it’s both predictable and yet also surprising: given the preponderance of “romantic” fiction that seemed to be the quickest genre to embrace the eBook format, it’s not represented at all. That Meyer’s Twilight series dominates… I wonder if it was boosted by sales to people who didn’t want to be seen with the actual books…? It’s always a possibility.

I have no idea how many eBooks Amazon has sold for its Kindle machine, but it would be interesting to see a comparison (of sales and all-time top ten bestsellers).

“The Lost Symbol”, by Dan Brown (Random House)

Mr. Langdon goes to Washington

Much has been made of this novel’s release in the press, so allow me just a quick run-down of what this novel is actually about (which is usually forgotten amid all the hype):

Robert Langdon has been called to Washington, D.C., through a ruse put into place by our antagonist, “Mal’akh”. Mal’akh, the overly-tattooed evil mastermind of the piece, has recently managed to become inducted into the highest ranks of the Freemasons, as part of his quest to uncover a hidden mystery and the legendary power that comes with solving it. This secret is protected by the Masons, which explains his obsession with Peter Solomon – one of Langdon’s best friends and mentor. As Mal’akh manipulates Langdon through a series of twisted and convoluted clues throughout Washington D.C., his attention is also drawn to Katherine Solomon’s work in neotics. Eventually, Langdon and Katherine are thrown together to solve the puzzle, and hopefully prevent Mal’akh from achieving his goal. All the while, other factions vie for control of the secret, and Langdon finds himself, once again, put in situations no mild-mannered professor would ever actively seek out…

So, that’s the plot, but is The Lost Symbol any good? Brown has a tendency to polarise the reading public – be it through his questionable use of science and mythology (which, actually, isn’t much different to many other authors, but the Vatican took exception to Brown’s work), or his less-than-stellar gift for prose.

The Da Vinci Code was a fair book, with some good ideas let down by his rather sophomoric writing style (I couldn’t get into Angels & Demons, more due to my mood at the time than any failing on Brown’s behalf). What surprised me the most when it came to reading The Lost Symbol is that it’s both a good book and much better written. The author has managed to speed up his prose, improve the dialogue (there weren’t anywhere near as many clangers this time around), and write another interesting and engaging plot. In fact, this book did exactly what a novel in this genre should do – it manipulated mythology and science, mashing them together to make something new and interesting, it was populated by interesting characters that weren’t totally one-dimensional, and it held my attention.

There is, however, one considerable failing here. Brown seems to have a need to explain everything. Nothing can be left to the readers’ imaginations. Some might say this is because Brown had a particular vision that he wanted to re-create in our minds, which is all well and good when describing something Langdon has to study in order to solve a mystery or puzzle (which Brown does). But, for example, when Mal’akh is just striding through his home, and we’re told he’s walking through a corridor filled with expensive Italian art, why does Brown need to then list a number of obscure pieces of art that (chances are very high) most of his readers won’t know? It feels like showing off, somehow. And consistently referring to a character by his entire title is just annoying (“CIA field agent…” every time!). I can’t believe Brown was paid by the word, but reading this you could easily be forgiven for thinking that. A book that is meant to span only a few hours shouldn’t ever feel drawn-out.

Anyway, those are small niggles, that reduced the impact of the novel by making it far longer than it needed to be. By streamlining the content, pruning back the exposition, The Lost Symbol could well have been nearly perfect – and I wouldn’t have frequently thought “get on with it!” while reading.

Many people will roll their eyes at the prospect of anyone enjoying this novel. Many will outright refuse to even contemplate reading it. Some might read it, enjoy it, but not admit it to their friends and peers. These people are all missing out. Brown’s novels do exactly what they are supposed to do: entertain. The overdone and exaggerated reactions to Da Vinci Code are addressed in passing at the start of Lost Symbol, as Langdon comments on his surprise at the ferocious response to his work: “Scandal wasn’t my intention”, he tells a fan.

I enjoyed this novel, and if you have even a passing interest in novels that delve into science and mysticism, then The Lost Symbol will likely be right up your street.

Recommended.

Also try: Matthew Reilly, James Twining, James Rollins, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Tom Grace