A new Dan Brown novel is coming in May, and the subject is Dante. Doubleday announced on Tuesday that Brown's book is called "Inferno," named after Dante's epic journey in verse. Brown will feature Harvard's symbologist Robert Langdon, the protagonist of his blockbuster 'The Da Vinci Code' and in the million-selling follow-up 'The Lost Symbol', in this novel as well.

This book might seem familiar in other waystoo as Brown takes on the masterpiece of Western civilization again: "The Da Vinci Code" centered on an iconic painting, the Mona Lisa.

"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 in a statement. "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."

Brown may also be returning to the religious controversies of "The Da Vinci Code," when he infuriated some Catholics by suggesting that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children. Dante himself was a Catholic who was critical of church leaders.

"Inferno" comes out May 14, a week before another likely top seller of 2013, Khaled Hosseini's "And the Mountains Echoed."