Digital Fortress : A Thriller

Rating:
Summary: Demerits for typos
Review: Good action movie, er, novel. But they rushed it out too quick. It has annoying typos, including one that an earlier reviewer pointed out is essential to understanding a section of the book. Fire that proofreader!

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent & gripping
Review: Digital Fortress was one of those books that I wished would never end. I heard the author on the radio talking about international terrorism and codebreaking. As a retired military officer and law enforcement official, I was fascinated with the book's issues of national security and technology that can intercept and decipher digital communications. The author managed to raise both the issues of national security and invasion of privacy very effectively and did it in a scary and really believable read. Excellent novel.

Rating:
Summary: Thanks to Brown, I couldn't sleep until I finished that book
Review: Man, this book had me laying awake at nights wondering what was gonna happen to Susan next, and counting the seconds until I could grab the book off my dresser and open it back up. It was good, and I had trouble determining that this was Brown's first novel. While it is true that his main characters seem a bit perfect, I'd like to see him write another story with them in it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Couldn't put it down
Review: Dan Brown sent me an e-mail asking me to read and review his book. I am happy I agreed. I picked up this book and I statrted to read it and I couldn't put it down until I finished. I hope to see more from this author in the future as he is most certinaly the next great government mystery writer. Great Job Dan Brown

Rating:
Summary: At the request of the Author
Review: This book is truly an anomaly. I really didn't like it, but after fits and starts, I found myself reading the last 150 pages or so in one sitting. So it had its air of mystery and suspense, but that was more than overcome by wooden characters, all of whom performed like puppets on a string. The hypothesis is interesting - a super translator that has the potential of intercepting and decoding any message in any form from any source. But the book doesn't flow, it jerks. Each passing thought seems to constitute a chapter. In short, the plot and character development lack continuity. We start with some Japanese computer nerd dying in Spain. His last act is to give a gold ring to a total stranger. The reason for this generosity is never explained. Perhaps it was because he wouldn't be caught dead with a ring inscribed "quis custodiet ipsos custodes." In any event, we now have a red herring that is pursued relentlessly by the hero (David), who is in turn pursued relentlessly by the most inept assassin that ever trod the earth. This guy would be a natural for the current "action" film genre - a killer who can empty three clips from an AK-47 from 15 feet and not hit anything. David is at the same time the unluckiest and the luckiest character in recent fiction. Example: (Unlucky) - As part of an infinite series of amazing coincidences, David secures information about the whereabouts of the red herring from a fat German and an unhappy hooker. Instead of promptly following up on this lead, David finds himself in desperate need of a glass of cranberry juice. Bad move, for while he is refreshing himself, our assassin (whose job it is to follow David and eventually kill him when the ring has been secured) has time to somehow gain access to fatso and his paramour, and murder them. Why he would risk losing his main target to do this, we don't know. Perhaps he is such an incompetent assassin that he must knock somebody off periodically, irrespective of how irrelevant they might be, just to keep his license to kill. Anyway, back luck for David. As he finishes his cranberry cocktail, our assassin has finished his job just in time to be back on David's tail. Example (Lucky) - Continuing with the infinite series of amazing coincidences, our hero finds himself in possession of the red herring. The assassin chases him through the streets of Seville, missing innumerable shots, and finally has him trapped, on foot, in a cul-de-sac too narrow for an automobile. It is six o'clock in the morning, and there is not a soul in sight. The assassin has drawn a bead, and David is prepared to breathe his last. Suddenly, the church bells chime. Instantly, and I mean instantly, this five foot wide cul-de-sal is packed with three or four thousand Sevillians, all clad in black, and all headed for the Cathedral. David joins the happy throng, and if one listens carefully, the assassin can be heard muttering under his breath, "curses, foiled again!" No fear, after several vain attempts at murder in the Cathedral, our assassin croaks, and David is safe (maybe). While all this is going on in short spurts, the true villain is trying to save the translator from the bad guys. He is a highly motivated person - motivated by an Oliver North (ugh) perspective of patriotism and unrequited love for the heroine (Susan). He is the one who sent David to Spain; he is the one who hired the assassin to do him in. In this respect, the book could be subtitled, "What I did for Love." Susan, who is the hero's main squeeze, looks askance at the villain's unique approach to romance, and once again, after many jerks and spurts, the villain dies horribly without succeeding in either mission. The translator is destroyed, and Susan is irrevocably the sole and exclusive property of the hero. The heroine is a study in herself. She purportedly has an IQ somewhat higher than God, but she needs 20 critical minutes to have explained to her that the elemental difference between Uranium 235 and Uranium 238 is three! While she is struggling with all this, our national secrets, military and otherwise, are leaking into cyberspace. Fortunately the delay isn't fatal, but from page one this paragon of mental acuity hasn't a clue what's going on. When I think of first novels, I think of such masterworks as Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Michael Crichton's "Andromeda Strain," Ira Levin's "A Kiss Before Dying," and John Grisham's "A Time to Kill." Dan Brown has undeniable flair, and Digital Fortress could have been right up there with Andromeda if the plot had been thought out and the characters developed. Try again, Dan, but try flow instead of jerk.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book.
Review: I recently read DIGITAL FORTRESS. I thought it was a good book insofar as it kept my attention and kept me reading. I was particularly impressed by the action in Spain. But I found the action at the NSA to be a stretch. I am usually willing to stretch, but this one bothered me. I found it hard to accept that all that could happen at that level without SOMEBODY knowing about it. It was a good book. I enjoyed it. It was well paced and the characters were well drawn. I will read some more of Mr. Brown's work and hope.

Rating:
Summary: So you want to crack a code...
Review: Fresh and ingenius. It's like nothing I've ever read. Dan Brown has proven to be a very promising writer. What a great way to start off a career. Everyone is a suspect, yet no one seems to be guilty. You read enough books and you realize that the guy with the blood on his left hand and the knife in his right is not the murderer. But what a refreshening way to craft up a conspiracy theory. You gotta be a little crazy to think up stuff like this, but look at Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, and Mary Higgins Clark! They're laughing hysterically all the way to the bank. Add it to your library, this ones a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: it was so good, i can't wait for it to be made into a movie!
Review: i just finished digital fortress, and i just couldn't put it down. i think it would make an excellent movie.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best I have ever read!
Review: Okay so the characters are a little too perfect, but WHAT a story! More twists and turns than I've ever read in a novel. The chase through Spain is as skillfully rendered as scenes by any of the action masters (and I've read a few!) I STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mainstream nail-biters. There's plenty of espionage and spy gadgetry. The Clancy fans might find it a bit light on technical description, but I appreciated Brown sparing me some of the electronics for a faster pace. Great read!

Rating:
Summary: The next Tom Clancy!!!
Review: Digital Fortress reads like "The Hunt for Red October." It is a fast-paced story with well-researched technology issues. I began making comparisons between Brown and Clancy about 100 pages into the book. This story, like Red October, grabs the reader by the throat and never lets go. I am usually disappointed with books that lack character development but Dan Brown's story makes up for it. I look forward to more stories featuring Susan Fletcher. Great job, Dan.