Digital Fortress
By Dan Brown
Before the multi-million, runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown set his razor-sharp research and storytelling skills on the most powerful intelligence organization on earth–the National Security Agency (NSA), an ultra-secret, multibillion-dollar agency many times more powerful than the CIA.
When the NSA’s invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage…not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it would cripple U.S. intelligence.
Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Susan Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.
From the underground hallways of power to the skyscrapers of Tokyo to the towering cathedrals of Spain, a desperate race unfolds. It is a battle for survival–a crucial bid to destroy a creation of inconceivable genius…an impregnable code-writing formula that threatens to obliterate the post-cold war balance of power. Forever.
Summary from Goodreads.
I have had Digital Fortress sitting on my bookshelf for about 2 years now so I finally decided that it was time to pick it up and read it. I must say that I am glad I did. Whilst not fast and action-packed like the books that I tend to read, it is a slow burn that I struggled to put down.
Digital Fortress has alternating view points for each chapter. Susan Fletcher is the NSA’s head cryptographer and David Becker is a university teacher who teaches languages. Susan and David just got engaged and were going to celebrate their 6 month engagement university when David suddenly called it off as he had something important that needed to be taken care of. What follows is a race against a clock that they didn’t even though way there to stop all of the NSA’s files being leaked to the work thanks to an unbreakable code.
For my first Dan Brown book, I enjoyed Digital Fortress. If you understand anything about cryptography or maths make sure to leave that part of your brain at home though as Brown does take some poetic licence to how they work in here.
If you have enjoyed Dan Brown’s other books, or you want to read a slow thriller then this is a great choice.
3/5
Have you read Digital Fortress? Do you agree with my review? Let me know your opinion in the comments below!
Check it out on Goodreads here.
Purchase it on Amazon here.
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