Digital Fortress is a mysterious, intriguing book by Dan Brown. Dan Brown is a widely known author, who has written The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. This book is about a woman named Susan Fletcher, who works for the National Security Agency (NSA). After five years of work, the NSA invented the TRANSLTR, which could break any code known to man. TRANSLTR is faced with a code that it cannot break, and when the NSA calls it head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, she uncovers that the NSA is being held hostage by a code that could cripple the U.S. intelligence. Fletcher has to find out how to break the code, while her fiancé, David Becker, is in Seville, Spain to find the man who created this code and get the pass key to break the code.
Digital Fortress was one of the most fascinating novels I have read. This book had three or four different stories going on at the same time, which alternate by chapter. As you finish each chapter, the reader is always “hungry for more.” All the stories come together at the end, so you are not completely satisfied until the book is finished. Mystery books are without doubt my favorite books, but I love mystery with some kind of twist. Near the end when Fletcher is trying to break the code, Brown adds in a little science and history. He includes the isotopes of the element uranium and the system of codes that Julius Caesar used.
Yet there were a few things I thought about this book that could have been improved. Having four different stories going on and then combining them at the end is a great idea, but with the fine details Dan Brown puts into each sentence it can hard to understand everything. The other thing that was a little upsetting was the end. Finding the password that would kill the virus took a series of complicated steps, but the password ended up being the number 3. I would’ve liked to see something a little more complex.
Even though Digital Fortress had some bad points, it was an exciting novel that I enjoyed. Any reader who loves mysteries would love this book. Alone this book is enjoyable, but the science and the history that are mixed into the plot makes this book a techno-thriller. Even if you are not a mystery fan, it is guaranteed that this book would be fascinating to read.