The website for Dan Brown's upcoming book The Lost Symbol has gone live, though at the moment it just features a countdown clock to the release of the next blockbuster. More interesting though, is that there are also pages on Twitter and Facebook devoted to the book - and the Twitter page is featuring clues to the content of The Lost Symbol.

Seems from the Twitter clues so far that the change of title *does not* mean that the content has changed - already there have been mentions of Freemasonry and Washington, D.C. Also, other things that I covered that weren't so well known - such as the influence of Francis Bacon - have turned up in the clues after just a few days, so I'm feeling good that I was on the right track with a lot of my research. I've noticed a few other things of interest as well, but I'll post about them separately at a later date.

I'll be posting solutions to some of the puzzles, and linking to other content of interest, via my own Twitter account: @LostSymbol. Warning: spoilers!

Dan Brown is keeping tight-lipped regarding the upcoming sequel to The Da Vinci Code - he hasn't even told director Ron Howard what the book is about:

“At the premiere in Rome, we were all surrounding Dan, refilling his wine glass, trying to get him to tell us what the book is all about,” Ron, who directed both the “Angels…” and “Da Vinci…” films, told us in a recent interview in New York. “But (a), Dan can hold his liquor and (b), he was not going to tell us a thing except that he believes it’s very cinematic and when the time comes, he is eager for us to look at it. He hopes it’s a movie. And yes, it’s another Langdon story. He has not told me anything more than he did when I began filming ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ He said then that it was set in Washington. I also know that he’s gone back and deepened the story. He reworked it several times.”

Tom Hanks tells a similar story about not being told any details (although one would think Howard - given his front and centre role in the film versions of Brown's books - would have been filled in somewhat as to the territory the next book will be heading for). To read Howard literally though, it sounds as if the Washington focus remains, just with more added to the mix.

The BBC has a summary of the pre-release reviews for the film version of Angels and Demons, and things are looking up for Ron Howard. Screen International says the new film is a "far superior job" than that done in adapting DVC, Variety labeled it a "cleverly produced melodrama", and the Hollywood Reporter said that "Ron Howard and his crew have worked hard to make Professor Robert Langdon's return a thrilling, faster-paced walk in the park." The latter review also mentioned that the action was pretty much non-stop for 139 minutes. So it would seem A&D is a better film, despite clocking in at almost 2 and a half hour.

Just in time for the announcement of The Lost Symbol, Wired Magazine has released a special issue devoted to puzzles. In amongst the articles there is one on the enigmatic Kryptos sculpture at CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia. The article talks to the creator of Kryptos, Jim Sanborn, and it appears Sanborn is not too happy about the link being made to Dan Brown's next novel:

Though Sanborn's usual practice is to stay in the background, every so often he feels obliged to comment. In 2005, he refuted author Dan Brown's claim that the "WW" in the plaintext of K3 could be inverted to "MM," implying Mary Magdalene. (Brown included pieces of Kryptos on the book jacket of The Da Vinci Code and has hinted that his next novel will draw on the CIA sculpture, a prospect that deeply annoys Sanborn.)

You can find more information about Kryptos at Elonka Dunin's website.

The UK's Telegraph published a profile of Dan Brown last week, undoubtedly a puff piece to jump on the publicity of the announcement of The Lost Symbol. In saying that "details of the plot have leaked", they seem to mean "people have written about the contents of The Solomon Key for a number of years now", because as far as I know there have been on plot leaks regarding The Lost Symbol. Much of the article also seems to have been regurgitated from Lisa Rogak's biography. Nothing to see here, move along...

Angels and Demons, with its Vatican-centred conspiracy, has created somewhat of a backlash from the Catholic Church - both in Rome and the United States. Now, in a recent blog entry at The Huffington Post, directory Ron Howard has defended his upcoming movie, most particularly against recent polemics about the movie by Catholic League president Bill Donahue:

For a $5 donation to his organization, Mr. Donohue will send you his glossy new booklet (Angels & Demons: More Demonic Than Angelic), in which he writes that I and the people who made this thriller "do not hide their animus against all things Catholic."

He's been making these assertions for years, going back to the theatrical release of The Da Vinci Code. He stepped up his campaign more than a month ago with a series of press releases. And there he goes again, in a Daily News op-ed last Friday, saying that Dan Brown and I "have collaborated in smearing the Catholic Church...."

Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome. After all, in Angels & Demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?

Some really nice glove work from Ron Howard in the blog post, although Bill Donahue's the kind of guy who will stand there bruised and bleeding, telling his friends "you should see the other guy".

After almost five years of delays, the publication date and title of Dan Brown's sequel to his blockbuster The Da Vinci Code has been announced. The Lost Symbol is the title, and it will hit bookstores on September 15 this year:

The Lost Symbol will have a first printing of 5 million copies, and it will once again feature Dan Brown's unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. The announcement was made today by Sonny Mehta, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

"This is a great day for readers and booksellers," said Mehta."The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait."

Brown's longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, "Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book's narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan's readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The Lost Symbol is full of surprises."

"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," said Brown. "Weaving five years of research into the story's twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."

Of course, having a book called The Guide to Dan Brown's The Solomon Key, I'm a bit disappointed with the title change. Not least, because it makes me feel that I've misled readers. However, it is worth noting that The Solomon Key was obviously always planned as the title until recently - the title was announced by Brown's publisher back in 2005, he has website domains for that title listed under his name until 2016, and he has maintained a trademark claim on the title since 2004, updating it most recently in December 2008*.

The question is: Brown has changed the title of the book. Will he change the content as well? That would be a bold move, considering that his publisher has run website competitions which overtly stated many of the topics to be discussed in the DVC sequel, and Brown's website has also stated the setting (both of which I expanded upon in my book). On the other hand, both my book, and things like the National Treasure movies and Brad Meltzer's The Book of Fate, may have stolen much of Brown's thunder when it comes to revealing hidden aspects of American history - so he still could have been tempted to change the setting and themes on that basis. Though today's press release keeps the book's themes secret, perhaps the most revealing part is Dan Brown's statement that he had weaved "five years of research" into the book. This would suggest that many of the original topics are in the book, rather than a late change of theme in the last couple of years.

One more mystery worth contemplating: last year, Brown's then-publisher Stephen Rubin (who originally announced the title The Solomon Key a few years previous) talked to the press, saying "Dan Brown has a very specific release date for the publication of his new book, and when the book is published, his readers will see why." Now, it's only been a few hours since I've heard the publication date of September 15th, but at this stage I can't see the significance of the release date (the only possibilities I've thought of thus far couldn't be considered obvious: the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows, the birth date of William Howard Taft, the founding date of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, and some of the more significant Nuremberg Laws instituted by the Nazi regime in 1935 and the adoption of the swastika on the German flag). Was Brown originally aiming at a date linked to the Presidential election or inauguration, but simply missed the boat? Or have I missed something significant about September 15?

In any case, I do apologise to anybody who feels misled by my book. I'm pretty sure though that, regardless of the title and content of Brown's upcoming book, The Guide to Dan Brown's The Solomon Key provides a fascinating look at the 'hidden history' of U.S. history which stands by itself as a fun read. I'd be inclined to say as well that it still provides some good background to the material likely to be in The Lost Symbol (peruse the articles here on The Cryptex for plenty of free content on these topics).

Feel free to share your thoughts on the new title, and likely content, in the comments.

Update: It has been pointed out to me that the significance of the September 15 release date could well be that the Constitutional Convention voted to approve the U.S. Constitution on that day in 1787. Not only would this tie in with the original topics announced as being in Brown's next book, it's also a neat 222 years since that day - seems a likely candidate. Thanks Clay.

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* Dan Brown has legal reasons for saying he intended the title to be The Solomon Key until recently. The trademark extension filed in December 2008 contains the words "The applicant has a continued bona fide intention to use or use through the applicant's related company or licensee the mark in commerce on or in connection with all of the goods and/or services listed in the Notice of Allowance or as subsequently modified for this specific class...The undersigned being hereby warned that willful false statements and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment

This recent news item suggests that the title of DB's next book will *not* be The Solomon Key. The news is based on a discussion a (different) journalist had with Brown's representative:

During a conversation about the book, which the journalist repeatedly called “The Solomon Key,” Brown’s rep seemed to get exasperated and stopped her:

“You are using a title that was used several years ago. That is completely out of date.”

I'd imagine this was the same journalist that called me about Dan Brown's next book a couple of weeks ago. She told me the same thing, although not in that detail, and asked me for my thoughts. I agreed that it could well be the case, given that much of DB's 'thunder' has been stolen in recent years (not least by myself!), and also given similar news items a couple of years ago.

However, I also noted that some things still argue in favour of 'The Solomon Key' as being the title. A couple of years ago - after the first news of the title change - DB's Solomon Key domains were renewed through to 2016. Also, there have been no new trademark applications in Brown's name since The Solomon Key was registered - and it was renewed most recently in December 2008 by his lawyers, suggesting the title is still well and truly in the frame and not "out of date" as his rep stated (although this is the last 6-month extension available to him for that trademark - so we might know for sure in June).

It's worth noting also that the rep dismissed the ET story as well (regarding Ron Howard's comment that the next book was finished) "repeating that Brown had not finished the book." Not sure that Howard would get that fact wrong, given he's in direct communication with DB. So I'd reserve plenty of skepticism for the rep's statements. Hopefully we'll find out either way pretty soon.

Director Ron Howard may have just spilled the beans. Talking to Entertainment Tonight on the set of Angels and Demons, Howard said...

...Brown had finished writing the long-awaited third book featuring Langdon, and that the author was "very excited" about the novel.

But still DB's US publisher Doubleday are refusing to make anything official, saying only that he was making "great progress" with the book and that there was as yet no title or publication date to share.

In other news a longer Angels and Demons trailer - with shots from the actual movie this time - has been released on the movie's official website. Looks like some good fun.