Digital Fortress

by Dan Brown

mass market paperback, 528 pages

English language

Published Nov. 20, 2013 by Corgi Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-552-16998-1
OCLC Number:: 844311468

(12 reviews)

National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland: when the most powerful intelligence organization on earth's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, it calls for 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 US intelligence.

Seville, Spain: the creator of the code, Ensei Tankado, is found dead. And with him has died the secret to an impregnable code-writing formula that threatens to obliterate the post-cold war balance of power. Forever.

From the underground hallways of power to the skyscrapers of Tokyo to the towering cathedrals of Spain, a desperate race unfolds. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, betrayed on all sides, Susan Fletcher finds herself fighting not only for …

49 editions

Sean Randall reviewed La Fortaleza Digital / Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Review of 'La Fortaleza Digital / Digital Fortress' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I've never read a Brown: I got pushed abridged audio of the Da Vinci Code on its release, and the furore around it failed to attract at the time.

It feels like this one was written earlier - cellphones are very new tech and even floppy disks get an honourable mention. The crypto side of things was pretty interesting and of course the trope of teacher turned superhero is widespread. Some of the language stuff felt a little OTT at times too, and of course the last-minute array of firewalls was pure visual cinema.

all that said, I still enjoyed it, even if, quite Ironically, the book comes across as quite dated - unusual when you consider Brown's plaudits as a new voice of his generation.