Dan Brown's Lost Symbol set for record launch
A total of 6.5m copies of latest thriller by Da Vinci Code author go on sale on Tuesday
Maev Kennedy writing n the guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 September 2009
A total of 6.5m copies of latest thriller by Da Vinci Code author go on sale on Tuesday
Maev Kennedy writing n the guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 September 2009
There's really no mystery about Dan Brown's new book – or "one of the most anticipated publishing events of all time", as online bookseller Amazon, which claims to be keeping its stockpile of copies "under 24-hour guard in its own chain-link enclosure, with two locks requiring two separate people for entry", describes it. The worldwide launch of The Lost Symbol on Tuesday is certainly the event most anticipated by booksellers since the last Harry Potter Day.
The publisher, Random House, is unleashing the largest first print run in its history, 6.5m copies, on Tuesday, as well as abridged and full text audiobooks, downloads and ebooks.
The book is already the Amazon number one bestseller on pre-orders alone, and will probably drag all Brown's other books – reissued in new covers – back into the bestseller lists.
The Lost Symbol again follows the tangled trail of Dr Robert Langdon, the "Harvard symbologist" and hero of The Da Vinci Code.
Brown says he has been working on the book for the last five years, although he did have to take time out to defend Da Vinci successfully in the high court in London against a plagiarism action brought by the authors of another book from his own publishers, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," Brown said in a message on his website. "Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."
Despite savage reviews of the clunking style and tortuous religious conspiracy plot of the 2004 Da Vinci Code, the book became a worldwide phenomenon, with over 81m copies in print. The film got even worse reviews and equally stunning box office, taking $758m (£454m) to date.
The publisher, Random House, is unleashing the largest first print run in its history, 6.5m copies, on Tuesday, as well as abridged and full text audiobooks, downloads and ebooks.
The book is already the Amazon number one bestseller on pre-orders alone, and will probably drag all Brown's other books – reissued in new covers – back into the bestseller lists.
The Lost Symbol again follows the tangled trail of Dr Robert Langdon, the "Harvard symbologist" and hero of The Da Vinci Code.
Brown says he has been working on the book for the last five years, although he did have to take time out to defend Da Vinci successfully in the high court in London against a plagiarism action brought by the authors of another book from his own publishers, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," Brown said in a message on his website. "Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."
Despite savage reviews of the clunking style and tortuous religious conspiracy plot of the 2004 Da Vinci Code, the book became a worldwide phenomenon, with over 81m copies in print. The film got even worse reviews and equally stunning box office, taking $758m (£454m) to date.
For the full report link to The Guardian online.
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