Rating: 
Summary: Lack of understanding explains the bad reviews.
Review: This is an excellently compiled and highly detailed insight into the world of cryptology.Fast paced and intelligent.It is plainly obvious to the reader the astounding amount of planning and research that must have gone into this book.....and yet people say they dislike it!
I have concluded that these people obviously do not understand the ideas, theories , or the techno'-world type background within the story. This book appeals to a certain type of person ....definately a person who understands todays technology.
Just because Dan Brown wrote 'The Da Vinci Code' , and you enjoyed that does not mean that you will enjoy , or understand for that matter, the complexities within this book.
This is a highly engaging book which if you buy on the basis of its summary on the reverse of the book YOU WILL ENJOY....THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!
Rating:
Summary: FYDFMMFOU
Review: Absolutely brilliant job done here by Dan Brown!! I agree with someone here saying "ppl writing bad reviews didnt actually understand the plot". how very rite.
Well I have my own other reasons for loving this book. It motivated me back into writing crypto algos and network security...
and I am so glad!! :)
thanks Dan!!
Rating: 
Summary: NOT BAD....BUT NOT GREAT
Review: After having read "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons" I was ready to attempt to crack another mystery thriller by Dan Brown. The previous books were a challenge to solve but "Digital Fortress" did not measure up. The basic plot of a super computer "code breaker" gone mad was interesting but it was evident within the first 75 pages that the mystery was going to be easily solved. The charcters were given highly educated credentials but didn't seem very brilliant when it came to solving fairly obvious clues. This was very evident in the last part of the book when the computer printed out the "Ceasar's Box" algorithm. A room full of scientists and UBER computers geeks took forever to come up with the simple answer "3".
Perhaps because this was Dan Brown's first book and he hadn't mastered the skill he showed in "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" that I wasn't overly impressed with this effort. If you've read other books by him you'll quickly see that he follows a similar formula for each of his books. While this book wasn't bad, it doesn't come close to his later work. If this is your first Dan Brown book you'll probably enjoy the read but if you've read his other books first, you might end up a little disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Secret Codes, Enigma, and the American Black Chambe!
Review: Codes, ciphers, Enigma, American Black Chamber.....If any of these words intrigue you then Digital Fortress by Dan Brown might just be a book for you. For many years I have been interested in all facets of intelligence, from David Kahn's book, The Codebreakers to James Bamford's, The Puzzle Palace. These works described the processes from breaking codes and ciphers to how one of America's most secret organizations orchestrates the massive responsibility of gathering and interpreting all type and matter of intelligence. Dan Brown has done his research well in the creation of this novel. He has created characters that are very down to earth and very believable. The story itself is centered around the NSA, National Security Agency, how it operates, what it does and what it would like to do. Susan Fletcher a very intelligent and beautiful intellectual who is the head of the Crypto Group and her boyfriend David Becker, a university professor with a proclivity for languages, get entangled in some very interesting and dangerous situations. The action comes very fast and is well written. Brown puts several twists into this tale of the intelligence world and how it totally revolves around high powered computers and unbreakable algorithms. If you are a fan of techno fiction than you will find this a great and entertaining read. Beware ! The book is reminiscent of the movie "The Sting". You'll know what I mean when you get there. If you think it's all a conspiracy... then check out these books also: I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban, and always read the Amazon reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Soon to be a Movie Script
Review: Compared to his other work, Digital Fortress felt like Mr. Brown was writing this story with a screen play in mind. This was not the level of complexity and character development that readers get from his other works.
Of his non-Angel&Deamons/Da Vinci works, read Deception Point, it is a much better book.
Rating:
Summary: Not your average Brown...
Review: Digital Fortress was Brown's first published novel, and the last one I happened to read. Some very familiar basics immediately popped into mind while reading Digital Fortress, while there were also some crucial things missing.
The similarities are the main characters are supposedly highly intelligent (though naive and sometimes a tad looking into things too much ), there's a bunch of plots-twists, killers on the loose, and some rather nicely done cliffhangers.
The differences are that Brown usually does his research. That completely lacked in this book. I have to agree with earlier reviewers that the number of mistakes made were too numerous to be ignored. The last part completely resembles bit and pieces from the movie 'hackers', where fancy graphical screens replace the dull windows hackers (and system administrators) usually employ.
The plot twists in Digital Fortress were at times predictable, sometimes just plain unbelievable. The professor/fiancee escaped death (and the hands of an experienced assassin) way too easily, and some of the dialogue just made one just groan and cringe when reading it.
Even though it's not Mr. Brown's best work, I still found it an enjoyable read even though I am familiar with the NSA as an organisation, cryptography, programming, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, fun and Fun
Review: I had been steering clear of fiction for a long time. The last fiction I read was Roddy Doyle's "Paddy Clar Ha Ha Ha" - and this was almost 10 years ago! I heard some faint murmurings of a book called the Da Vinci code on the net and from a few friends. Curious to see what it was about, I picked it up. I think I got hooked to Dan Brown books right then and there! I went on to Angel's & Demons. That was very enjoyable to read. After that I had to read Digital Fortress. It is clearly a book in a different genre from the other two. Being a software writer myself, I found the ideas in the book very intriguing. But cryptology and "viruses" apart - the book was just fun. Agreed, some of plot is a little far fetched, some things just happen coincidentially (if you know what I mean:)but Dan Brown has this knack of grabbing your attention and not letting go until the very last page.
As with his previous books, dialogs and character development don't seem to be Dan Brown's forte (I am only comparing him to great writers like Frederick Forsythe & Jeffrey Archer), but he is a very smart writer. He mixes and stirs fiction, history, science, and different sub-plots in a giant cauldron, and he does it so adroitly that the result is a potent edge-of-the-seat read!
Over all - a great book - probably not a classic, but still a very enjoyanble read.
Rating:
Summary: A good weekend read when you want to kill time
Review: I have so far read 4 of Dan Brown's books (Angel & Demons, DaVinci Code, Deception Point & Digital Fortress) and three features of his writings stand out. First, audacious plotlines; Brown does not believe in small measures but goes out on a limb. The plotlines are way over the top but have just that crucial amount of credibility to draw in a reader, even when he knows it is fiction. Second, the pace is mercilessly quick; the entire plot of the book plays out over a few days at most. Last but for me the best of all, his books have a wealth of esoteric information that one would not normally read about. I found myself enthralled by a never ending series of factoids that had me rushing to the Internet for explanation or elaboration.
Digital Fortress follows the above lines. A quick capsule : Set with a cryptographic background, it describes a battle of wits between a governmental agency focused on breaking codes (used by good and bad guys alike in order to forestall terrorism) with a former employee who passionately believes in individual privacy. In a rapid-fire series of thrust and counter-thrust, the action cuts between Washington and Madrid with the standard does of blood, explosions and romance. Unlike Brown's other novels, this is very undemanding of a reader's intelligence - the average reader will see the signposts well before the protagonists themselves.
Sadly, there are flaws aplenty that seriously impact the plot credibility. Apart from the likelihood of an amateur professor being used as a proxy agent, the ease of the bypassing of the Gauntlet anti-virus software, particularly when Gauntlet safeguards not only TRANSLTR but also the databank is simply not possible. In such a situation there would be multiple layers of safeguards, not just a single bypass attributable to a single individual no matter how senior. More to the point, having raised the whole issue of individual privacy vis-Ã -vis governmental oversight, Brown never follows through on the implications. A pity, as this is of key topical importance as well.
Nevertheless, this is a good weekend read when you want to just enjoy a story and not get too caught up in the process. Three stars for that, with a star each subtracted for the plot credibility lapses and inadequate research.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Engaging Techno-Thriller
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have not yet gotten around to reading The Da Vinci Code, also from Dan Brown- I do own it, I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Digital Fortress however piqued my interest because it related directly to computer and network security. Brown certainly does his homework as it relates to computer security technology and talks intelligently about encryption algorithms. The crux of this story revolves around a new encryption algorithm which, even with a relatively small key, is completely unbreakable. I found the book fast-paced and engaging. I almost literally didn't put it down until I was done. I don't take many forays into the world of fiction, but if you like cyber-thrillers I highly recommend you pick this book up and read it.
Tony Bradley is a consultant and writer with a focus on network security, antivirus and incident response. He is the About.com Guide for Internet / Network Security (http://netsecurity.about.com), providing a broad range of information security tips, advice, reviews and information. Tony also contributes frequently to other industry publications. For a complete list of his freelance contributions you can visit Essential Computer Security (http://www.tonybradley.com).
Rating:
Summary: Confusing Satisfation
Review: I was very bored the first couple of chapters, but as the book progressed, I couldn't put it down. A lot of the terms used were very confusing and sometimes I would skip over sentences, but you could understand the jist of what the author was trying to say. I found myself trying to play detective and figure it out, but when it was all said and done, I really had no idea "whodunnit" I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a great afternoon reading.
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