Digital Fortress

Author: Dan Brown 

List Price: $7.99

Pages: 384

Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (May 5, 2000)

Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.0 inches

ISBN: 0312263120   

In most thrillers², "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller¹ for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden--they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is.

In this case, the secret formula is a new means of encryption, capable of changing the balance of international power. Part of the fun is that the book takes the reader along into an understanding of encryption technologies. You'll find yourself better understanding the political battles over such real-life technologies as the Clipper Chip and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software even though the book looks at the issues through the eyes of fiction.

Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace³, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper--you may want to read this one straight through. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book review

I have so far read 4 of Dan Brown's books (Angel & Demons⁴, DaVinci Code, Deception⁵ Point & Digital Fortress⁶) 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 enthralled⁷ 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 forestall⁸ terrorism) with a former employee who passionately⁹ 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 protagonists¹⁰ themselves.

Sadly, there are flaws aplenty that seriously impact the plot credibility. Apart from the likelihood of an amateur professor being used as a proxy¹² 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--vis governmental oversight¹³, 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 lapses¹⁴ and inadequate¹⁵ research.


Author introduction

Dan Brown is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Da Vinci Code -- one of the best selling novels of all time. In early 2004, all four of Dan Brown's novels held spots on the New York Times bestseller list during the same week.

Recently named one of the World's 100 Most Influential¹⁶ People by TIME Magazine, Dan Brown has made appearances on CNN, The Today Show, National Public Radio, Voice of America, as well as in the pages of Newsweek, Forbes, People, GQ, The New Yorker, and others. His novels have been translated and published in more than 40 languages around the world.

Dan is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher before turning his efforts fully¹⁷ to writing. In 1996, his interest in code-breaking and covert¹⁸ government agencies led him to write his first novel, Digital Fortress, which quickly became a #1 national bestselling eBook. Set within the clandestine¹⁹ National Security Agency, the novel explores the fine line between civilian²⁰ privacy and national security. Brown’s follow-up techno-thriller, Deception Point, centered on similar issues of morality in politics, national security, and classified technology.

The son of a Presidential Award winning math professor and of a professional sacred musician, Dan grew up surrounded by the paradoxical philosophies of science and religion. These complementary perspectives served as inspiration for his acclaimed²¹ novel Angels & Demons—a science vs. religion thriller set within a Swiss physics lab and Vatican City. Recently, he has begun work on a series of symbology thrillers featuring his popular protagonist¹¹ Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of iconography and religious art. The upcoming series will include books set in Paris, London, and Washington D.C.

Dan’s wife Blythe—an art history buff and painter—collaborates on his research and accompanies him on his frequent research trips, their latest to Paris, where they spent time in the Louvre for his thriller, The Da Vinci Code.

The Da Vinci Code has sold some 50 million copies worldwide and is now being adapted for film by Columbia Pictures.