Bestselling writer Dan Brown has
unleashed his latest page turner as
eager fans made Inferno an instant
chart-topper.
The writer, whose sales have already
exceeded 200 million with his previous
novels, has published his latest thriller
starring Harvard professor Robert
Langdon.
But despite a history of strong sales, his
new adventure has once again come
under fire for the novelist's literary
abilities, with one reviewer calling it his
worst book yet.
Brown's new work sees Langdon in a
number of Italian cities, and other
European locations, as he tries to stop
the spread of a deadly virus.
It managed to top the Amazon book
sales chart on the strength of its pre-
orders, which were 24 per cent higher
than those for his previous book The
Lost Symbol which was published in
2009.
Many had bought digital versions of the
book which were delivered to e-readers
such as Kindles at midnight on Monday
when the book officially went on sale.
It went on sale in Australian bookstores
on Tuesday.
Amazon said interest in the new book
has had a knock-on effect for Brown's
back catalogue, with sales for his books
rising by 340 per cent year on year as
anticipation has grown.
The audiobook version of Inferno -
which takes themes from Dante's Divine
comedy - also topped the iTunes
audiobook chart on Tuesday for a
version which weighs in at more than 17
hours.
Although reviewers were in no doubt
that readers will lap the book up, they
were scathing about the writing on
show.
Jake Kerridge in Britain's Daily Telegraph
said: "As a stylist, Brown gets better and
better: where once he was abysmal, he
is now just very poor."
And he added: "In the end this is his
worst book and for a sad, even noble
reason - his ambition here wildly
exceeds his ability."
The Daily Mail called it "bilge, but one
hell of a page turner".
The Guardian said the book was
"engineered with miraculous efficiency,
a tasty cocktail of high culture and low
thrills".
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