Kell
23rd October 2005, 17:02
Author: Dan Brown
ISBN # 0552151696
Publisher: Corgi
1st Published: 1998
Wherever there are codes, there are code-breakers, & to be a good code-breaker, you need to have an understanding of code-writing or cryptography. The NSA employs the best of the best & they have built the ultimate code-breaking machine – TRANSLTR. But what happens if the ultimate in US computing intelligence comes across a code it can’t break? The world of law enforcement will lose its edge & the criminal underworld will be able to encrypt all correspondence to unfailingly hide their shady activities. The countdown has begun, & now the greatest cryptographers are working against the clock to do something impossible – they have to breach Digital Fortress before it is sold on the internet to the highest bidder… but who can they trust?
Digital Fortress sees Brown take a break from the Catholic religion, but carries on with the theme of codes & cryptography, this time in the confines of the NSA’s top-secret Crypto Development Division. The action takes place over a single weekend & is fast-paced, action-packed & filled with lightening-fast deductions, assumptions & dialogue.
Once again, the lead female character, Susan, could have been lifted directly out of either Da Vinci or Demons, except that this time she’s American rather than European: She’s frighteningly intelligent, fiercely loyal, extremely capable &, of course, devastatingly beautiful. (I think Mr Brown has an unwritten code for his books that brainy women have to be beautiful too – you can’t have one without the other – she has to be the perfect woman.)
This time, the main character focus is actually on the woman, with the male characters playing second fiddle (although her fiancé, David, still does a fair bit of the running round & figuring out, but from another continent). There’s a lot of power-play here & it also highlights the struggle of women in male-dominated fields to get the recognition for which they work so hard, & the derision they receive when they get those well-deserved promotions. The message is clear – men like to be in charge, but sometimes a woman is better suited for the role.
This was a more well-rounded read than either Da Vinci or Demons, with none of the preposterously unbelievable stunts or revelations – this is purely technical & firmly set in reality. I’ve not yet read Deception Point, but I feel it will be hard pushed to best this.
ISBN # 0552151696
Publisher: Corgi
1st Published: 1998
Wherever there are codes, there are code-breakers, & to be a good code-breaker, you need to have an understanding of code-writing or cryptography. The NSA employs the best of the best & they have built the ultimate code-breaking machine – TRANSLTR. But what happens if the ultimate in US computing intelligence comes across a code it can’t break? The world of law enforcement will lose its edge & the criminal underworld will be able to encrypt all correspondence to unfailingly hide their shady activities. The countdown has begun, & now the greatest cryptographers are working against the clock to do something impossible – they have to breach Digital Fortress before it is sold on the internet to the highest bidder… but who can they trust?
Digital Fortress sees Brown take a break from the Catholic religion, but carries on with the theme of codes & cryptography, this time in the confines of the NSA’s top-secret Crypto Development Division. The action takes place over a single weekend & is fast-paced, action-packed & filled with lightening-fast deductions, assumptions & dialogue.
Once again, the lead female character, Susan, could have been lifted directly out of either Da Vinci or Demons, except that this time she’s American rather than European: She’s frighteningly intelligent, fiercely loyal, extremely capable &, of course, devastatingly beautiful. (I think Mr Brown has an unwritten code for his books that brainy women have to be beautiful too – you can’t have one without the other – she has to be the perfect woman.)
This time, the main character focus is actually on the woman, with the male characters playing second fiddle (although her fiancé, David, still does a fair bit of the running round & figuring out, but from another continent). There’s a lot of power-play here & it also highlights the struggle of women in male-dominated fields to get the recognition for which they work so hard, & the derision they receive when they get those well-deserved promotions. The message is clear – men like to be in charge, but sometimes a woman is better suited for the role.
This was a more well-rounded read than either Da Vinci or Demons, with none of the preposterously unbelievable stunts or revelations – this is purely technical & firmly set in reality. I’ve not yet read Deception Point, but I feel it will be hard pushed to best this.