Rating: 
Summary: I loved it, and so did my son
Review: I bought this book rather reluctantly, sure that it couldn't stand up to "Angels & Demons" and "The DaVinci Code". In less than fifteen minutes, I was hooked. I will grant that Susan Fletcher is a less likeable central character than Robert Langdon, but it was still a thriller.Even more impressive, my fifteen year old son loved it. The kid has never read anything except Harry Potter, but he devoured this book in three days. He would get so excited, he would actually yell out loud at every plot twist (let me tell you, that's alot of yelling). We had our first book discussion ever that didn't include the word "Hogwarts". I would love to thank Dan Brown for that gift. Even though I work on a computer all day, I can't verify whether he got the computer engineering right, but who cares? It's fiction, for crying out loud! I don't want to read a stinking manual, I want to be entertained. And "Digital Fortress" did that very well.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cover Covers It
Review: The first thing you notice on the cover (after the standard title and author) are the words "A Thriller." No lie. It kept me going. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to sit down and read it straight through. It's the author's first book, and call it beginnners luck, but he did a fascinating job with weaving in technological details without making it too boring. I found the ideas in the book believable and frightening. The code breaking and NSA jargon was "simply marvelous" and refreshing without overloading us. The characters are fairly well written, while a little clunky, but the reader is still able to bond with them. I especially enjoyed Susan's character, a nicely portrayed intelligent woman that doesn't completely break down in a crisis situation (and with Mr. Brown's use of terrific plot twists, there were plenty of opportunities to test her with). There are several leaps of faith-- Becker's wild goose chase involving the ring proved to be more than a little frustrating at times (and the ending didn't help any). Fortunately, I kind of felt sorry for David and was glad when the chase kept going-- you want him to find the ring. Unfortunately, we are forced through one coincidence after another. Okay-- it isn't any worse than any other suspense novelist and Mr. Brown serves it up with a little culinary style to it. Overall, interesting characters, a non-stop plot line and great information make for an exceptional first novel. Mr. Brown's next novel is certain to make it to my nightstand and I look forward to it very much. As long as he doesn't lapse into a formula, he will certainly gain more recognition in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: This novel was a very interesting look at technology and the cryptogrophy world. The technology described was very interesting, and made me wonder what the government has exaclty. It was a fun book that kept you guessing almost non-stop throughout. The characters were fun to get along with, and the plot very understandable. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun read. It incorporated many fun elements into it. Unfortunatly, it followed standard Dan Brown book type, but it was good enough to overlook that. This book is a must read for anyone who likes a good adventure and technology.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Da Vinci Code
Review: I don't understand why people are panning this book. I thought it was great. Far better than Deception Point and I actually enjoyed it more than Da Vinci Code. I'm not a computer tech person so maybe I missed some of the incorrect parts of the story. However the book was incredibly fast paced and extremely difficult to put down. Highly enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Inaccurate, predictable, cliched...(0 Stars)
Review: Unfortunately, Amazon does not let you give a 0 star rating...
I agree with most of the other reviewers who gave this book a low star rating. I have read his other books and really liked them all. This book is the worst of his writing and seems to have been released without verifying many of facts on computer security issues that are well-known to an average software engineer. This book seems to have been used as an opportunity to cash in on Dan Brown's successes with his other novels DVC and A&D, both of which are a good read. This book is really an insult to an average software engineer's intelligence. Perhaps the author's assumption is that the readers are less intelligent as the characters in the novel. Full of predictable scenarios and plots, boring and thin dialogues, clumsy plot, characters without any dimensions or intelligence, incredibly vague and inaccurate. If you want waste your time (like me :-( ...regretful now) by reading this, go ahead. I will be careful in buying future works of this author though.
Rating:
Summary: A wild ride...
Review: After reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, I was anxious to read Digital Fortress. This book certainly provides the reader with a wild ride! While I liked the history in Angels and Demons, I thought the plot was less hokey in Digital Fortress. It also provides a fascinating look inside the National Security Agency. The NSA is more secretive than the CIA and FBI. The NSA is responsible for gathering global electronic intelligence data, which can come from within our own country, other countries, or even from groups (such as terrorist organizations). Much of the communication that the NSA monitors is encrypted, and Digital Fortress gives us a peak at the job of a cryptographer, or code breaker. We are introduced to NSA head cryptographer and her boss, Susan Fletcher and Trevor Strathmore. Their job is made much easier by the use of a top-secret, billion dollar computer called TRANSLTR. But there is always the threat of a code that can't be broken, and when TRANSLTR takes more than 15 hours and still can't crack a code (most codes take less than an hour), the possibility of such a dangerous situation becomes a reality. This code came from a disgruntled ex-NSA cryptographer, and he seems to be holding the NSA hostage. There is murder, mystery, and mayhem and I had little clue who the villain was until the very end. Through it all, Brown also presents the debate on how much the government should be allowed to know vs. the freedoms of our citizens. Should the NSA be able to snoop our e-mail and phone conversations at will? It's a tough balancing act. So, if you're looking for great literature, this isn't it. But if you want a book that is suspenseful, fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining, Dan Brown is your man.
Rating: 
Summary: Brown's First Page Turner
Review: Lovers David and Susan awake one morning and are sent on separate life-threatening missions with the same purpose: Locate the cause of the worms in National Security Agency's computer, the world's largest, and debug it. The plot, structure, and characters are typical Dan Brown, with page-turning twists and surprises. Those who have read his other novels will feel immense familiarity with "Digital Fortress." This is Brown's first novel, and in some ways in shows. Fearful of losing his reader, there are many redundancies and hyper-explanations. Many of the revelations are already known by any intelligent soul. It is not as taut as "Angels & Demons" or the "D'Vinci Code." but change the theme (computers) and characters, and you have the same type of compelling novel that keeps the pages flying. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: I read the Da Vinci Code, which in my opinion was a work of art.
After I read that, I was hungry for more. So I got this. But this is atrocious. It is worse than anything Iv'e read in a long time. It lacks the thrilling sensation that the Da Vinci Code gave me, it was just too mainstream for my tastes. Also, I could do without all the violence. This book is simply awful. It is not worth anyone's time or money. Read the Da Vinci Code, but stay far away from this atrocity.
Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating thriller
Review: The more Dan Brown I read, the more I enjoy Dan Brown. The man is a master of the fast paced thriller and it is fun to watch his growth from one book to another even if I did begin my acquaintanceship with his blockbuster "The DaVinci Code." Brown's books always start fast and "Digital Fortress" is no exception. Ensei Tankado dies in a Seville plaza. He raises his hand, fingers outstretched . . . and dies. Susan Fletcher, a National Security Agency cryptographer is roused from her dreams first by a call from David Becker, her university professor boyfriend who tells her he has to postpone their planned weekend romantic retreat in order to fly off to an unknown destination. Seething and disappointed, her anger if interupted by a call from Commander Strathmore, her NSA boss asking - commanding - that she come in on this Saturday to help on an emergency project. It seems Tankado has launched an attack on NSA's most secret computers. From that point on, Brown takes you on a non-stop adventure - and it's fun. Brown's characters are well rounded and don't engage in super-heroics, though they do seem to catch more than their share of lucky breaks. But Brown's plotting carries you over those points so fast that you fail or simply don't want to notice them. For the thriller fan, "Digital Fortress" is an exhilarating read. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: DIGITAL FORTRESS is by far one of the three best books I've come across in months. If you read anything, you have to read these: THE RULE OF FOUR by Caldwell and Thomason, THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD by J.McCrae, and DIGITAL FORTRESS. These books MOVE and these authors know how to tell a story. Of course, I'm a Brown fan from way back, having delved into all of his books, sometimes reading them twice! But there are other great reads out there too. Whatever you do, by all means read DIGITAL FORTRESS first, even before some of Brown's better sellers. You can't go wrong with this book--it's a great beach read!!!
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