Digital Fortress: A Thriller

Written by Dan Brown

Narrated by Paul Michael

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)--in this thrilling novel, Digital Fortress.

When the National Security Agency’s invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, 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 complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence.

Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, 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. It is a battle for survival—a crucial bid to destroy a creation of inconceivable genius that threatens to obliterate the balance of world power…for all time.

This edition of the book is the deluxe, tall rack mass market paperback.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Jun 1, 2004
• ISBN: 9781593975647

Dan Brown

Dan Brown is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Origin, The Da Vinci Code, Digital Fortress, Deception Point, The Lost Symbol, Angels & Demons, and Inferno. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher before turning his efforts to writing full-time. He lives in New England with his wife. Visit his website at DanBrown.com.

Reviews for Digital Fortress

[elleceetee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Oh Dan Brown, how I love to hate you. It seems a universal truth that when you have run out of all of the books to read that you’ve brought with you, it is impossible to find decent reading material wherever you are. In my case, I ran out of book in Ethiopia. And, unlike Tanzania and Nairobi, I was unable to find any reasonable English language bookstore. I suppose this is because unlike Tanzania and Nairobi, English is not an official language of the country. As I don’t read, nor speak, Ahmraic, I was stuck with the selection of books found at the Hilton and Sheraton Hotels.

The situation was dire, I tell you. DIRE. My choices included a fine selection of literature aimed at the people here working with developmental organizations. There are also the requisite Ethiopia picture books to be toted home as souvenirs, and some dry travel writing about exploring the Blue Nile. Please note that I actually greatly enjoy the travel writing genre, so for me to say that it is dry, it is very very dry. There were also multiple copies of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and several books on how to trap a man. In the novel category, there were simply rack upon rack of Dan Brown books (plus one battered copy of Black Beauty – not sure where that came from …).

Shamefully, I’ve actually read most of his books. I read Angels and Demons because someone recommended it to me. Though I found his writing to be extraordinarily poor, I found the story to be engaging enough to overlook that fact. I didn’t guess the ending, and it posited some fascinating ideas about history. I read The DaVinici Code because everyone was reading it and because I liked Angels and Demons. The DaVinici Code was written equally poorly, but I noticed a lot of similarities in the plots of the two novels. But it was still an entertaining read so I figured I’d forgive it. Then, on my way to Costa Rica, I realized that I didn’t bring enough books with me for the plan ride. I went to the bookstore in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina and picked up Deception Point, yet another Dan Brown masterpiece. The plot of this book was “The DaVinci Code Goes Arctic”. That’s when I realized that Dan Brown came up with one good plot and he’s just recycling it over and over again.

Even so, faced with the prospect of Rich Dad, Poor Dad or He’s Just Not In To You, I picked up Digital Fortress. I do think his writing is getting better, but I had the ending of the book figured out within the first ten pages. I didn’t even have to read the ending first to know what was going to happen. Maybe I’ll register Digital Fortress on bookcrossing and send it out into the world.

[rlbarker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another Dan Brown masterpiece! This one is based in present time and ‘probably’ future tech.

[rubs917 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

very good book, but after i've read the other Dan Brown novels, the outcome and what will happen next is a bit predictive for me....

[jaimelesmaths · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was great except for the ending. It managed to be simultaneously too obvious (I guessed it) and improbable (no one would ever do that). The cryptographic part of the denouement was not exciting, but the more active part of it was handled very well. I give it four stars because I'm a math dork, but, if I didn't already know cryptography, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

[sabs83_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The NSA is threatened by a specialized new cryption method that would render them unable to decipher documents sent online to track terrorists and prevent major events.

[Sarvesh Khara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read it first in 2016 and later in 2020 but I still found it so relevant and exciting.

[stefany_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Based upon how very little I'd heard about Dan Brown's two non-Robert Langdon books, I went into this one with very low expectations. However, Digital Fortress is a fairly well-written and entertaining novel. The main storyline is based upon a hush-hush operation within the NSA to obtain and or destroy the only existing copies of a pass-key that, if made public, could enable the use of an encryption program that would create coded messages that would be entirely unbreakable thereby rendering the NSA obsolete and allowing undecipherable communications between terrorist organizations and crime rings throughout the world. The storyline takes place mainly in two separate locations: the top two members of the encryption team trying to break the program and track down the pass-key from headquarters and in Spain where the search is on for any possible physical pass-key possessed by the recently deceased creator of the program.This is a pretty fast-paced novel with lots of action on both fronts. As usual with a Dan Brown novel, things get a bit unbelievable at times, but that's what part of what makes them fun. He has created an interesting cast of characters and circumstances that really keep the storyline moving along at his usual break-neck pace. I had fun reading Digital Fortress and would recommend it to fans of Mr. Browns other works and also to those who enjoy thrillers along the lines of James Patterson if you haven't yet read any of Dan Brown's other works.

[debavp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While not at the level of Deception Point and The Da Vinci Code, this still is an excellent government-based corruption gone mad. I stayed up way too late the second evening because I couldn't put it down until I finished. And I wasn't disappointed, well, maybe just a tiny bit with one character. Brown is quite skillful at introducing difficult, technical items with great ease to the reader. He gives you a very easy flowing, easy to understand definition without detracting you a second from the story unfolding. Based on the ending and some the interesting side characters, such as Jabba and Midge, there could be a decent sequel to this one.

[rbe500 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I found myself without a book and was obliged to borrow one. Unfortunately it turned out to be Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress, oh dear. The fact that the front of the book is plastered in rave reviews for The Da Vinci Code should have set alarm bells ringing. That was a dire read and this was no better. The story revolves around the usual set of perfect people: Susan Fletcher, beautiful cryptographer with an IQ of 170, her boyfriend, David Becker (Brad Pitt) brilliant academic with eidetic memory and ability to speak six Asian dialects as well as Spanish, French, and Italian, and a motley crew of flag-waving patriots and lethal assassins. Once more, Brown has written a screen-play thinly disguised as a novel. There are 128 chapters in this book, I kid you not. The cryptology itself is very weak, he knows less than me. The end-game involves the hunt for a password to stop a computer worm (it was actually a virus, he doesn’t know anything about computers either) that I managed to work out seven chapters (that’s twenty-five pages) before the brilliant Ms Fletcher! If you want to read a book with credible cryptology then read Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. The thought that Mr Brown has taught English and Creative Writing to anyone should be a worry to anyone concerned with the future of American thriller writing. Avoid!

[rarache_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great book by Dan Brown. Love his writing and will read all of his books if possible.

[ct4bergeron · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chillingly current and filled with more intelligence secrets than Tom Clancy, Digital Fortress transports the reader deep within the most powerful intelligence organization on earth--the National Security Agency (NSA)--an ultra-secret, multi-billion dollar agency which (until now) less than three percent of Americans knew existed.When the NSA's most classified technological wonder--an invincible code-breaking machine--encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in 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 will 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.With a startling twist that leaves the agency scrambling to avert the biggest intelligence disaster in U.S. history, Digital Fortress never lets up.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 balance of power. Forever

[kaelirenee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It probably doesn't speak well to Brown's talents that I can literally copy and paste my review of Deception Point for this book...but it does speak well that I've actually read all of his stuff.Another one of Brown's books-literary crack like all the others-completely without quality, but completely addictive anyways. Brown should stick to writing religious history fictions-his grasp of science isn't really strong enough for this kind of book. And, as always, he is hopeless at writing women. Has he ever met a woman?

[ngeunit1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is probably my favorite Dan Brown novel. I think he overall creates a more interesting female protagonist compared to his novels with male protagonists. I really enjoyed Susan Fletcher's character a lot, and I really enjoyed reading her perspective on the story. I also liked the characters of Becker, Tankado, and Strathmore and how each of these characters developed in the novel. Granted some of the big "surprising" moments in the novel were easily seen coming, but they still made for an interesting story. I likes the subject matter of the plot, focusing on a lot of code-breaking and computers, while still grounding itself with Becker's action in the real world as a more average person compared to our other characters who found their strengths more in the digital world. I also really enjoyed the ending a lot, it was exciting and action packed and felt satisfying when it was over. Overall, the pacing of the novel was pretty good, this were consistently interesting and the story kept itself moving with very few dry moments. The only bad things I personally have to say about the novel, is that in the normal Dan Brown fashion, some of the time it almost seems illogical that our characters are so good at solving these remarkably difficult puzzles then get thrown off by some puzzle that feels trivial in comparison. Granted, this a tough balance to find, it still bothered me a bit. Also the end felt like it was supposed to be surprising, but was fairly predictable. However, none of these problems stopped me from really enjoying this novel.

[lauawill · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Once you realize that this is a farce and not a thriller, it's a very enjoyable book. It's fun to laugh at the characters' abject stupidity, especially the supposedly-brilliant hero and heroine, who can't see the clues that are right in front of them.

[lady6gill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good light read. Some cheesy parts.

[mwtemple_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Your basic page-turner, focused on breaking a seemingly unbreakable code before something terrible happens. It's undoubtedly suspenseful and the subject matter is interesting, especially for those who enjoy technology and science-based thrillers. However, Brown's characteristic "one-page chapter" style can be pretty distracting, although expected if you've read his other books. This is pre-Da Vinci Code, so the subject matter is quite different, but the writing style is the same.

[mswallack_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was Brown's first book. While it wasn't bad, it was certainly not good enough to have made me eager to read his other books. I am, thus, very, very glad that I did not read it before Angels & Demons or The Da Vinci Code.

[clurb · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Poor. Awful plot, awfully written with no redeeming features.

[pamd_45 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found the incredible computer innacuracies very irritating.

[jensenc_6 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Nice twist on the story of David and Bathsheba; otherwise:- Poor representation of computers, networks, and the inner workings of the NSA.- People in this book are extraordinary geniuses and complete morons depending on what moves the story forward or what creates suspense.- The characters are not believable (neither is the story itself).

[scotsguyinwales · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

oh come on... top crypto people can't figure out simple anagrams? not worth it really

[Donald Knisley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Decent book. You can tell it was early I his career and could see the plot twist coming from a mile away.

[dmilor · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This has some of the most unbelievably bad writing I've ever read on computing.Apparently (according to my wife) my reading of this book was accompanied by frequent snorts of derision. Another review mentioned geeks would like it. In my opinion real geeks will cry if they read this.

[theboylatham_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Four out of ten.

The NSA find a code they cannot crack with the potential to cripple the US intelligence agency and make them vulnerable. Can they crack the code or find those responsible for the cypher before something terrible happens?

Trashy but simple adventure story. Unfortunately written in typical Dan Brown style.

[trench_wench · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was disappointed with this one, I was interested enough to finish the book, but I didn't find the subject matter very captivating, and I felt it was much more predictable than his other novels.

[aaronz82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had a good time reading this book. At times it was pretty clever with good cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. To me, there were a couple negatives - 1) a couple loose ends that weren't tied up, & 2) a bunch of typos throughout the book.

[aditya0patel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dan Brown's novel THE DIGITAL FORTRESS,is technothriller.Its a blend of suspense,action,betrayal and ironically,of LOVE.The novel doesn't focuses on a single character,rather each character has its own role for the story to progress.It largely has technological appeal to it,so its fun for tech savvies.The story's main character(or so it seems)is Susan Fletcher who works at the cryptology dept of NSA.While on a holiday,she finds out that her fiance has been sent on a mission by NSA to fetch a ring belonging to a former NSA agent who was mystriously killed in Spain.Meanwhile she herself is summoned by Comm.Strathmore,second-in-command of NSA,only to find that NSA's most advanced(and precious)asset is under a great danger.But as the story progresses,it becomes evident that this is not just another DANGER,but a calamity that can cripple down US Intelligence so badly,that it will risk the lives of every single citizen of USA.The novel has many characters lined up to grip the attention of the reader.The main character Susan Fletcher,a good example of a true and dedicated professional who can do anything to help the agency.On the other hand, she also shows her soft side for her lover and intends to do anything to save him.All in all it is a great book,which is hard to put down,courtesy to Dan Brown unique way to stir up the suspense and plot twists in a manner that leaves the readers spellbound

[boes0106 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best book i've read this summer. Super fast paced with over 130 chapters. It reads more like an action movie than a novel with all the surprising twists and turns. I would have to say this is Dan Browns best work. WARNING: don't read this book before bed. you probably wont sleep till your done. Has anyone figured out how to solve the code on the last page?

[etimme_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was plodding and predictable, but at least it read quickly. I think I'm also a little offended at how far back Dan Brown has put the struggle for strong female characters in literature. Susan Fletcher has an off-the-charts IQ combined with a leadership role in a technical field typically dominated by men, both of which take a back seat to her huge rack and incredible ass, as well as her total lack of common sense. It's a good thing she has men to tell her what to do.

[eltomaso · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A pretty good murder mystery.