ISBN: 978-0312944926
My rating: 3/5
The National Security Agency (NSA) is one setting for this exciting thriller; the other is Seville, where on page 1 the protagonist, lately dismissed from NSA, drops dead of a supposed heart attack. Though dead, he enjoys a dramaturgical afterlife in the form of his computer program. Digital Fortress creates unbreakable codes, which could render useless NSA's code-cracking supercomputer called TRANSLTR, but the deceased programmer slyly embossed a decryption key on a ring he wore. Pursuit of this ring is the engine of the plot. NSA cryptology boss Trevor Strathmore dispatches linguist Dave Becker to recover the ring, while he and Becker's lover, senior code-cracker Susan Fletcher, ponder the vulnerability of TRANSLTR. In Seville, over-the-top chase scenes abound; meanwhile, the critical events unfold at NSA. In a crescendo of murder, infernos, and explosions, it emerges that Strathmore has as agenda that goes beyond breaching Digital Fortress, and Brown's skill at hinting and concealing Strathmore's deceit will rivet cyber-minded readers. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Booklist)
My thoughts:
It took me a while to get into the book, but it seems once I had a feel who the characters were, it was easy to follow along.
Having read a few Dan Brown books, I feel comfortable to admit that I like the stories, though they’re so farfetched and unbelievable, it gives me a giggle – but for me they’re still entertaining!
I suppose the basic plot is that the NSA has a machine which can decode most of the codes, until a seemingly unbreakable code comes along. And the race starts here to stop this unbreakable code to be available to companies.
I have to admit, sending a non-agent (David Becker, Susan’s fiancé) to Spain to find the ring, seemed a bit ludicrous. Also some of the character or scene description seemed to be over the top and borderline comical.
If you like Dan Brown, it might be worth a read, otherwise ... see whether you find another book!
No comments:
Post a Comment