Review: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Reviewer: KF Breene



Disclaimer:
Please note that I am an author now. I have worked at this writing gig, trying to get better. I have a different critical understanding of a story than I used to. I have always been critical, but now maybe I'm absurd.




Back Jacket:

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.

Let me preface this by saying that I have read a few books by Dan Brown. DaVinci Code was first, as you might imagine. And I did actually like it. The information, true or not, fascinated me. The action kept my focus. I turned pages in a mad rush, and when I reached that last page, I decided, "Why not? Let's try another one."

Angels & Demons was next. I probably took the path most often traveled with this author. That one wasn't so great, but whatever, it didn't throw me off his bandwagon all together. From there I hit the Lost Symbol, which also wasn't great. I probably would've stopped there, but I decided to try one more, grabbing Deception Point when I was in the airport one year.

Deception Point kept my interest. It wasn't a knock-down, oh-my-god-give-me-more book, but it was fast, entertaining, and I dug it. Cool. Maybe I'll try another one down the road.

Oh lookie--Apple has Digital Fortress on sale for next to nothing. I might as well download that bad-boy and turn some pages real quick.

The first thing I noticed about this book was the style of writing. Dan Brown writes as though he is drifting over the story, telling you what's happening from all vantage points and characters. If a character has a reaction, it is expressed in italics. This doesn't bother me, I thought while reading, I can get used to this. 

His dialogue is somewhat stilted, not exactly how someone might talk, and his description of the character reactions are usually overdone. For example, if the character was shocked, he might say, "She was shocked. She almost fell out of her chair." It gets a little silly, and actually had me wondering if I didn't make a terrible mistake with this book.

Then he gets to what he's good at. Research. It is like a light comes on in his writing. He could be in the middle of describing, for the umpteenth time, how steadfast the commander is, or how smart and pampered the beautiful Susan is, or how everyone loves the genius hero, which gets old, but when he gets to the meat of his research, he explains it with a newfound passion. He immediately turns engaging, drawing you in, explaining the inner workings. Your face gets closer to the page, suddenly paying attention.

And then back to the story telling. The light dims.

The book is something Michael Bay might produce; a fluffy story without much substance filmed using excellent camera work, filters, explosions and guns. Don't get me wrong, I like Michael Bay. He is entertaining, and this book could've been, too, I'm sure, but with any Dan Brown book, you have to like what the research is about. While the code breaking information was interesting at first, it isn't enough to keep the average reader enthralled. So how does he inject this sense of urgency in his stories that Michael Bay injects in his movies?

Trickery. I learned something new.

 In an action sequence in a movie, the editing is fast and furious. Explosion <cut to different angel> Hero reaction <cut> Gun coming--oh god! <cut> Hero dives <cut>

Fast cuts, one after the other, giving you small doses, driving up anxiety. That's what Dan Brown does. Each chapter is left with a cliffhanger, most of them weak, but each giving you foreshadowing. A chapter might only be a couple pages. Some were not even one full page. One scene was chopped up into fourths and stuffed between a different scene from another character's POV, which was also chopped up. You might have a 350 page book that actually has 300 pages of writing.

It worked. I have to hand it to him. I might actually use it at dull parts in a story.

The last thing with this book that I feel needs work, and that he might be better at now since this book was written in 2007--passive writing. He has extremely passive writing. What does this mean?

Dan Brown: She was a tall woman. Her hair was long and brown. *Notice the 'was'.
Me: Her height topped those around her, standing out as the tallest woman in the room. Her brown hair fell down her back in a glossy sheet.

Even his action sequences had all sorts of passive writing, slowing it down.
<Cut>
But not to bother
<Cut>
He had those cuts in place
<Cut>
To keep things rolling.

Very tricky.

Anyway, I can't say I really loved this book. I also can't say I'll read one of his books again. But the way he cut it up did keep it moving. And I was engaged when he was talking about his research. So...hmm.

Let's do it this way--would I recommend it? If it's $2.99, sure, why not. It'll pass the time. If it's $9.99--probably not.