Book review by Jong Navarro
This Dan Brown book was an eBook read on a Palm m505 device, most bestsellers are available in
eBook format which are downloadable for a fee on the Internet. Author Dan Brown, whose popular
The Da Vinci Code has brought attention to his other works, explores the world of high-tech cryptography
in the thriller Digital Fortress.
On the second scroll-down you will see the author expressing "a quiet thank you to the two faceless
ex-NSA (National Security Agency) cryptographers who made invaluable contributions via anonymous
remailers (untraceable email servers). Without them this book would not have been written."
Immediately there is intrigue and you wonder what grave secrets are laid open to the world by the
ex-NSA cryptographers. Don't hope for much.
The story revolves around Tankoda, a former employee of the government's code breaking agency,
who created an encryption program that cannot be broken. The key to the encryption program was
lost after Tankoda's death, and the search for that key is the driving force of the story.
Dan Brown does not assume anything and guides the reader to a basic understanding of cryptography.
From there he leads the reader in discussing the practical and political ramifications of such technology.
However, while the author successfully instructs the newbie-techie on the subject, a veteran programmer
or a technology enthusiast will not fail to notice the technical flaws in the story. But then no technical fiction
can be entirely faithful to the science it is making a fiction of.
The characters require a little more polishing and you'll end up questioning why they were described as
being so when their reactions to the events prove otherwise. Worse, the players do not always act in a
logical manner. The inconsistencies happen enough times in the book but should not be considered as fatal
to the whole plot.
The pace of the book is typical Dan Brown, that is, fast and full of suspense that keeps the reader turning
page after page - or continually scrolling down. Action cuts between two to three different events taking place
and the build-up of tension is sustained.
The technical research and writing may not be as developed as Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons and I
attribute this to Digital Fortress being Dan Brown's first book. As long as the reader keeps in mind that Dan
Brown is not a computer guru, and that the technology may not be so close to reality, Digital Fortress will not
be a total waste of time.
While I wouldn't consider Digital Fortress a must-read, it is entertaining and is a good read if only to contrast
it with Dan Brown's later works, and to while away a lazy afternoon.
