Digital Fortress by Dan Brown - Book Review

Although being Dan Brown’s debut novel, ‘Digital Fortress’ does not really shine under the spotlight as compared to his other books, and hence is less sought after. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting read given the year it was released in.

The year 1998 consisted of global technological advancements, and writing a techno-thriller in that era was eloquently profound and a milestone for any writer.

The story revolves around an endless premise of codes, cryptography, and computers. The head cryptographer and protagonist, Susan Fletcher works in the National Security Agency and is caught in an array of strenuous circumstances when their decoding super computer TRANSLTR is seized in a loop.

The computer tries to decode an encrypted algorithm, called Digital Fortress that is written by NSA’s ex-employee, Ensei Tankado, who abruptly dies in Spain and loses his ring containing the password. Fletcher’s partner, David Becker is sent by NSA’s deputy director, Trevor Strathmore, to retrieve the ring, while she, Fletcher, hunts for Tankado’s partner, Ndakota.

Through a series of strenuous events, they somehow manage to stop the hackers, who are ingeniously prying to take down TRANSLTR. Becker and Fletcher have an immense responsibility to make this seemingly impossible operation successful, saving the agency and the deep-rooted secrets of the U.S. intelligence agency.