http://kotaku.com/5445824/dantes-inferno-the-official-novelization-of-the-book
They are re-selling the original Alhghieri text, with the game stuff on the cover. This is a disgrace to literature. Dante must be rolling in his grave so vigorously he's digging a hole across the world.

Wouldn't he technically be digging a whole through the different levels of Hell?

Is the translation in prose or verse?

It takes a special kind of stupid to think up something like this. Considering that the overlap between people interested in reading The Divine Comedy and people who liked the Dante's Inferno game is probably very, very small I'm not expecting this business venture to turn out particularly well.

It's a rehash written by stoners working in EA.

It;s the Longfellow translation, so they're not doing anything to the text, from what I understand. I don't see the big deal here. The worst that can happen is it opens up the world of classical literature to people who would otherwise not go near it.

I'm with you. Except that all the retard consoleboys are going to think that the book is about a badass dante with twirling scythes who fights boob monsters in hell. And they're going to think the book sucks in comparison.

I see absolutely no problem here. They have not modified the text. Some people who may have never thought of picking up the book may actually read it and potentially enjoy it. How is a cover a disgrace to literature? Dare I say it?
Don't judge a book by its cover.

They're only putting it out to sell more copies of the game is what's the matter with it. :P
And I'm sure they cared as much about the poem during development, too. Annnnnnoyyyyyyying

I tried reading it for fun in high school and it was incredibly painful to get through, and I gave up a quarter through.
I highly doubt thats been changed though. Still, I doubt it's gone through as much re-translating or cuts as Frankenstein or Dracula have been through.

I just think it's false advertising. They're making it look like one of those Halo books, when in reality it's just the original with a fresh coat of paint for cover. It associates the book with a game about demon babies spawning from giant demon breasts, and some God of War-style hero kicking ass with a scythe. Not only does it make the book look not very original, but it also confuses customers. People who may be looking for his work may see the cover and judge at once that it isn't what they're looking for, and people who are huge fans of the game will think it is some crazy action book, flip through it at Barnes and Noble, and get annoyed by the fact that it's more intellectual that action-packed.

So? What about the ones that don't get annoyed that its not like the game and decide to give it a go anyway? The fact is that they would have picked it up and flicked through it and in a lot of cases they probably wouldn't have even got that far.
I also don't really see it being a problem for people who are actively seeking the book out. There are still other editions of the book in publication. Besides, in my case anyway I'd probably be more interested in having a closer look at the book with the ridiculously out of place cover while browsing the usually muted tones of the classics section at the book store. (That is if it doesn't just get bundled away into the 'tie in' section and be doubly ignored anyway)

Dammit, if only the nearest bookstores weren't closing down. *SOBS*
Oh well, only half an hour trip to Barnes and Noble.

I'd just buy the book and forget the game.