Rating: 
Summary: Do your research!
Review: I know nothing about cryptography or supercomputers, so I can't tell whether there are major or minor inaccuracies in Brown's descriptions of them (though, judging from the reviews, there are.) But I do know a little bit about Japanese, and in the first few pages of the novel there is a bit about how Becker is decoding into Mandarin Chinese, and suddenly tells them that all the characters he has translated are also part of "Kanji language," a Japanese writing system, and that in "Kanji language" these Chinese characters have different meanings. All wrong. No one calls it "kanji language," for starters. And characters used in Japanese as kanji (the word means "Chinese characters") have the same meaning in Japanese as they do in Chinese. If you had a sequence of kanji, you would be missing a lot of grammar in Japanese, but the meaning would be clear. It would be like a sequence of nouns and verbs, maybe adjectives. A first year student of Japanese could have explained it to Brown. So when I see a flaw like that on page 9, I wonder how he did with the far more technical stuff. But his plot tricks are clever, and I read the whole thing with a grain of salt and enjoyed the ride. Not as good as Da Vinci and Angels and Demons; closer to Deception Point. He's got me hooked on thrillers, however, and now I'll have to find another author to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A riveting thriller that will keep you up too late
Review: Dan Brown has been getting a lot of press lately for his most recent novel, *The DaVinci Code*, which debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. *Digital Fortress*, Brown's first book (published in 1998), is another taut, intelligent thriller designed to keep you up late. Just as *The DaVinci Code*, *Digital Fortess* is peopled by highly intelligent characters. Susan Fletcher, brilliant mathematician/cryptographer, and her linguistically accomplished fiance David Becker are both caught up in a plot against the National Security Agency's secret--indeed, officially nonexistent--super computer. With the brute force of its three million processors, TRANSLTR is capable of breaking any code in an average of about six minutes. Or it is, at least, until the action of the book begins, when TRANSLTR is fifteen hours into at attempt to crack a code its creator claims is unbreakable. The clock ticks loudly in this book as David, Susan, and other NSA employees work to break the code and/or discover its pass-key before the algorithm is made public and/or a computer worm destroys the security protecting the United States' most confidential information. Meanwhile, an assassin is dogging Becker's steps in Spain, an NSA employee may be in cahoots with the author of the code, and a zealous security guard is pushed to his death in the bowels of the super computer's housing. Some of the plot twists in *Digital Fortress* are predictable, but this hardly detracts from the book. Brown's debut novel is a riveting thriller you'll find hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: MMeenan
Review: I was given this book before a business trip. I'm not normally a reader of fiction. Working in the IT field I find myself reading mostly technical books. Digital Fortress was a pleasant surprise. It was a fast and entertaining read. I'd recommend it on its ability to deliver a good story. Its technical details take some expected artistic freedom. All in all, it is worth the read. MM
Rating: 
Summary: fine 'til the end...
Review: A well-written thriller with a clever and original premise, it captured me and I read it through in a single day. Imagine my disappointment, indeed anger, at the incredibly stupid ending.
I suppose etiqutte prohibits my revealing it but it both denies history and denies science. It was equivalent to a premise that, contrary to popular belief, FDR wasn't actually the president during the Second World War. I just couldn't beleive that Brown actually used this mindless device to end an otherwise enjoyable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely can tell...
Review: ...that this is one of his early novels. The character development and plot twists are nowhere near as intricate as in Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code (the first two books of his I read -- and adore). I kept waiting for the big climax of the story, but it never happened. Maybe that's because I was able to figure out who the villian was by page 100. Still, not a bad way to pass a rainy afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Another 5 *'s for Dan Brown
Review: Digital Fortress was Dan Brown's first book, but I read backwards from DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons to get to it.
It's totally different from the last two books and just as good. The National Security Agency has a secret...no big surprise except that it's about to be revealed that they have a super computer that can break any code...until they are threatened with a new computer that will enable anyone on the internet to access and break all codes. It's a story of power and betrayal and using people who believe in their mission to betray that mission. Digital Fortress is a fascinating way to learn more than this reader knew about cryptography,and the suspense makes it a page turner to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Moving
Review: I'm always surprised to find typographical and/or spelling errors in a mass market paperback. It changes how I ultimately judge a book.
Digital Fortress was a very fast read. I like the short chapters and the simplicity with which the author moves from character to character and in and out of settings.
I'm not a techie but I am an experienced computer user; however, I didn't quite grasp some of the computer jargon. In some cases the simplicity is taken too far....'oh yes, and by the way, he's dead.'
Comic relief, "Captain, she's gonna blow!"
Rating: 
Summary: 3 out of 4 isn't bad
Review: After devouring all four of Dan's books, this is the only one that I didn't like. In the middle of the book I had a tremendous desire to throw the book away - I wish I had. Way too predictable and dialogue just not up to par. Read the other three. Can't wait for his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!
Review: This is probably in my top 3 list of books I love. I never wanted to stop reading, each page was filled with excitement and thrills. Although some characters were a little dumb at points it is still an excellent and I reccomend it to everybody.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: After reading his other three books I had to give this a try. Very enjoyable, very fast paced. Looks like this would be a perfect screenplay...
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