Digital Fortress

Excellent novel

The novel is ingenious in a way not many other books are. In most thrillers you would expect gunfights and bombs, although the fights in this book are not run that way. They are clever battles planned through precision that will make you want to read faster so that you know what will happen. From cathedrals and hospitals in Spain to buildings in Tokyo to top-dollar facilities in the US, the book will take you on an unforgettable ride. It is a web between several stories that are happening at the same time, making your reading experience even more intense. I have read the book once and I'm going for the second time already. Nevertheless, I am still anxious to be submerged into the mystical world Dan Brown has created every time I grab the book. I strongly recommend this book. If you like puzzles that are more than what is just written on paper, this is the book for you.

The NSA is the most powerful intelligence agency in the world. It's mission to intercept and decipher computer algorithms in emails and such, so that terrorist can be intercepted before their attacks even come to light. They have already prevented 3 nuclear attacks, and dealt with thousands of terrorist threats. Without the NSA, the FBI, DEA and many other agencies that keep the world at peace would be worthless. The NSA finds itself in trouble when they learn about Ensei Tankado's new, unbreakable algorithm: Digital Fortress.

Ensei Tankado was once one of the NSA's most brilliant cryptographers. Upon his discovery that the NSA was building a machine that could open and re-seal any email it wished to, he became outraged. Upon Commander Strathmore's refusal to abort the operation, Ensei quit his job in a fit of fury and swore that they would be sorry. A few months later, he holds the NSA hostage and possesses the world's most sophisticated algorithm.

After the routine ID checks, finger scans and such, Susan Fletcher innocently arrives at the Scy-Sec lab only to encounter one of the rarest things she has ever seen in the NSA: Commander Strathmore's face of distress and anxiety. Even when nuclear attacks were on the border of execution, Commander Strathmore had never lost his face of confidence and determination. That day was different. TRANSLATR, a multi-billion dollar machine with three million processors that was capable of breaking sixty-four bit algorithms in a matter of seconds, had been running for sixteen hours straight. Digital Fortress was immune to the National Security Agency's mighty brain. Without TRANSLATR, terrorist would be able to chat and email with no worry of being spied on, and the US would be vulnerable to all imaginable attacks. In the meanwhile, David Becker, Susan's splendid husband, is in a corporate jet flying to Spain to assist solving the present dilemma. What he does not know is that he is in danger and is being closely watched and followed.

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

A Good Dan Brown Novel

Another great plot and story by Dan Brown. He continues to really impress me with his ability to take facts and twist them creating these great stories. This book centers around code breaking and the NSA. Dan Brown loves to create these stories that not only keeps readers on the edge of their seats but also makes them mentally focus on the material at hand. This book kept me interested the entire time I read it and if you like mystery or fictional history you would definately like this book!!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book after reading the da Vinci Code. It was the last one I read and by now his formula for writing books was not working.

I bought this book after reading the da Vinci Code. It was the last one I read and by now his formula for writing books was not working.

Regardless, the ultimate downfall of this book is BAD WRITING. The characters are flat and annoying. Their actions are contradictory to their personalities -- for no other purpose than to move the 'plot' along. I think Dan Brown has a Word-a-Day calendar and he uses that new vocabulary word several times in the 10-15 pages of writing he produces that day. Words such as 'andalusian' are used several times in a 3 'chapter' span and then never again surface throughout the book.

Most frustratingly, Dan Brown apparently never learned similes are functional and get the point across, but should not be used often as they can be extremely annoying and counterproductive to getting a point across. Towards the end of the book all these sentences are seriously used in less than 2 full pages:
- "The commander rose through the trap door LIKE Lazarus back from the dead."
- "Freon was flowing downward through the smoldering TRANSLTR LIKE oxygenated blood."
- "Susan was standing before him, damp and tousled, in his blazer. She looked LIKE a freshman coed who'd been caught in the rain. He felt LIKE the senior who'd lent her his varsity sweater." [nice double simile, huh?]
- "Her gaze was LIKE ice -- the softness was gone. Susan Fletcher stood rigid LIKE an immovable statue." [another one] "The puddle of blood beneath Hale's body had spread across the carpet LIKE an oil spill."

Believe it or not, there are more in this 2 page space, but I'll stop here. Yes, the writing is THAT groan-inducingly bad. These two classics in the book make me laugh every time I think of them -- "Like in a cheap hollywood movie, the lights went out in the bathroom just as she heard the scream," and "any more interesting than last night and I'll never walk again."

Ultimately, I did finish the book. BUT I WAS DISAPPOINTED.

3 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

Dan Brown does it for me again!

I was hooked by this and couldn't put it down. Twists and turns, exciting technology, this fast paced book is great to read on a rainy day.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Make another great movie

I really enjoy the works of Dan Brown and this book has not been a let down. As expected, he has captured the readers attention from the beginning and holds it until the end.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!

Everything he writes I thoroughly enjoy! I would however say Angels & Demons was his best. I highly recommend this book as well as all his others & look forward to anything he publishes!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Non-Stop!

I only opened the book once. Because when I closed the cover I was finished with the book. Excellent for any military/intelligence buffs.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent - Non Stop Action

I very rarely write reviews but after reading this book I had to. The author held my attention from the beginning to the very end. Great suspense and not easily predictable. Well written. I stayed up until 3a.m. reading this book. The best electronic book I have downloaded.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Enjoyment for the computer junky and non-junky

Dan Brown has offered a peek into some very specialized and very frightening worlds. While providing a real computer thriller, something you simply can't put down, his writing takes you for a world tour, touching on three continents. His accuracy on techno-terms and world culture provides such realism that you will find your heart racing and your mind on two sides of some very important issue.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Brown hit the target

Techno-thrillers need to be well done and Brown has done that. As one who is in the computer world I find some of the assumtpions that underlie the story to be a little far fetched, but then again 15 years ago no one guessed what today would be like. There are enough potential bad guys to keep you guessing until nearly the end. For those who think the government is always 'up to something' this book will reinforce those feelings. Unfortuately, I can put names to many characters in this novel. That's what makes it more real.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Favorite

This was my favorite book that he has written.

Suspenseful

I enjoyed the story, pretty suspenseful. I never knew cryptology could be so interesting!

Good read, fast moving like his other books, but in a different vein.

An excellent read with a different background than DaVinci Code. Still very fast paced and compelling with an interesting backdrop.

One of my alltime favorites!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not as good as his other books, but still a good read

"Digital Fortress" starts out quickly and continues down a high-speed road of twists, turns and surprises. The basic premise is that a disgruntled former employee of the NSA has allegedly created an unbreakable encryption algorithm that he's threatening to release into the open - effectively rendering our anti-terrorism monitoring programs worthless. However, this man has died - and nobody knows who is now in control of this monster. More importantly...is this technology really what it appears to be? As a computer geek, I enjoyed the authentic technology described in the book (though some of it was a bit "off"). Brown does his usual great job of building suspense and gradually guiding the reader to the final solution - which is almost never what it seems. I'll admit...I guessed wrong on this one. It's a great read that you will burn through quickly (it's short book compared to some of his others). Not as good as his other books, but break into this "Digital Fortress"...you'll enjoy the results.

By'kadia

Sounds awesome

Wow what a book

A must read

Another great one!

Never met a Dan Brown book that I didn't love and this one is no exception.

this book seriously is amazing

this book blew my mind away thats how good it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great!

Another great Dan Brown book.