Rating: 
Summary: This first book should have been left unpublished
Review: Techno-thrillers succeed when the technology they revolve around is presented accurately and with some respect for the knowledgeable reader. When technologies are handled superficially or inaccurately, readers shudder and wish they had not invested time or money in the book. A classic "shudder" moment is the Model 1800 Coke machine with built-in Electro-Magnetic Pulse in Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact. When you read that the Coke machine can emit an EMP that suppresses sound waves through nearby doors, you just want to laugh. Or cry. You certainly do not want to believe the author's other pronouncements on rifle technology and bullet capabilities. Dan Brown's Digital Fortress centers on the technology of cryptography - code making and code breaking. The opening chapters provide a cloudy mish-mash of half-true and embarrassingly mis-presented cryptographic processes, technologues, and threats. This farrago of nonsense launches a sophomoric plot based on the development of an unbreakable code and the reaction of America's premier crypto establishment, the NSA. The flimsy plot crashes near the end in another barrage of techno-incompetence when a virus / worm / backdoor program blows up NSA headquarters (fair warning - I'm condensing a denouement that, though interminably longer, makes no more sense). A fair defense against my criticism would be this: "cryptography is too complex or too specialized to present correctly, so just sit back and enjoy the ride". I find that tough to accept. First, if the core technology cannot be presented with some credibility, why choose it as the linchpin of a book? Write a book using something within reason, like a deadly virus - you may have lots of competition, but at least you have a chance of writing something worth reading. Second, one of the best techno-thrillers of the last decade is based on cryptography and deals with it brilliantly in fuelling its plot, developing its character, and satisfying its readers. I'm speaking of Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which is so much the better book it's hard to talk about it in the same conversation as Digital Fortress. Do yourself a favor and skip Digital Fortress. The author's subsequent books are somewhat more worthwhile, and if you want to see a realistic and fascinating presentation of the value and threat of cryptography, read Cryptonomicon.
Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: Based on his past writings, I really expected to become engrossed in this book and hang onto every word. Instead, whole chapters got skipped, like those cat-and-mouse chapters with Becker and the assassin. Cheap trick for padding out the story. This is a book I wish had come from the library rather than purchased from a major discount store. Save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Another cookie cutter thriller from Dan Brown.
Review: I read Brown's other books (Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point), and liked them all despite many flaws and the fact that they were all incredibly similar in plot development and characterizations. This book was pretty much like those, but I didn't like it as much. There were so many unbelievable situations in this story, including the premise that the book is based on, that they were harder to ignore than in the other books. Brown once again manages to make a ridiculous story readable and entertaining, however, which is why I gave the book 3 stars. I don't know if Brown just doesn't have any other ideas, or if he is just trying to stick with what works, but I really wish I could see a different plot from him. As it is, if he comes out with anything else, I'll make sure to read the reviews first, because if it's anything like his other books, I think I'm about burnt out on the one plot that he has come up with so far.
Rating:
Summary: Innaccurate and hackneyed but entertaining
Review: With errors an eagle-eyed editor should have caught (like a silencer on a revolver or a man described as vulnerable due to the noise his scooter made although his pursuer was deaf), plus descriptions of practices in the tech world at which techies (like me) can only groan (the last time I've dimmed a monitor, it said VT-220 on it; I power off my monitor to my pc or let the screen saver do the work for me.) Still, a good story. All in all, a 'beach' book that will keep you entertained but not too engaged.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable Fluff
Review: I did get hooked into reading this book, so I give it two stars, for its "thriller" nature. The content reads like it is science fiction written by an English major who didn't do enough research into the science part of his fiction (which, of course, it is). The mumbo-jumbo about "replication strings" and viruses just wasn't at all convincing. Yes, in sci-fi you need to suspend disbelief but in good sci-fi, that's just for one leap. Every time Brown described the encryption stuff, I just wanted to scream. Then, the characters were one-dimentional, particularly, a couple of the fanatical villains. If you're bored, you might want to read this book. Otherwise, find something more productive to do with your time.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll give it 4 and a half stars because...
Review: It's at least Dan Brown trying his best to come up with something at least a little closer to high tech science fiction and cyberpunk, such as "Foundation", "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Childhood's End", "Neuromancer", "Cryptonomicon", "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter", and so forth.
Rating:
Summary: not the Da Vinci code...
Review: This book was a let down after reading the Da Vinci code. It was an average "airplane book," and not a mind-blowing puzzle book like the Da Vinci Code. I think that Digital Fortress is a bit predictable, and although I didn't really put it down, I was reading it on an airplane (with nothing else to read), and I just wanted to get through it so I could start something else. If you loved the Da Vinci Code, I would recommend Digital Fortress, but if you only "liked" the Da Vinci Code, I would recommend skipping Digital Fortress.
Rating:
Summary: Just like DVC
Review: What a book. It starts with a murder, has a smart good lookin' woman and a smart man, AND an assassin. Yes, the DaVinci Code....no wait, we were talking about Digital Fortress, weren't we? All I really need to say is that after four "eye-rolls" in the first three pages, I should have burned this piece of crap (it was borrowed from a friend, thankfully, so I couldn't destroy it). THREE! It's THREE you idiots! That's probably what I'll remember most from this loser. The only good thing I can say about it is that I didn't waste money on it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book but the quest for the "Ring" just doesn't cut it
Review: It is nice book if you have a lot of time to kill. It has a very good intro, and it will get you addicted once you start reading. As you are almost half way through the book, you notice that its only focus is about finding the missing ring. After about 350 pages, however, the plot starts to unravel to readers with predictable result. Towards the end, it turns out that the whole quest about the ring has nothing to do with the outcome. It does make readers think "What? Why do you make me waste my time to read something that doesn't contribute to the ending?" Oh well, it is a love story too, and the author tries to place the thrill in a good ending while spicing it up with all the general facts and mystifying it with "code breaking" I have done programming in the past, and the German machine enigma didn't fancy me that much, but apparently, author thinks we all gasp and "woo" and "wow" Buy this book if you truly want to kill time or if you are very much into the Lord of the Ring :) Without wax,
ThunderRiver
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.
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