digital fortress

I recently finished reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. I must admit that I was first turned onto his work by all the hype surrounding The Da Vinci Code, but at the same time I must admit that when I finally picked it up I was not disappointed. Initially, I didn't want to pay $30 for the hardcover edition, so I compromised and picked up the prequil to The Da Vinci Code, which is Angels & Demons.

All of Brown's work is intelligently written, and he clearly puts a tremendous amount of research into his stories. I particularly like how he weaves in the origin of word meanings into his work, it adds a lot to the power of his stories. Part of what makes his writing so engaging is the brevity of his chapters. He will have about three story lines progressing at a time, and he will give each one a couple of pages before moving onto the next one - and of course he leaves you with a cliff-hanger at the end of each chapter. This writing style makes it very hard to put his books down, especially when you keep telling yourself, "I will just read one more chapter, it's only three pages long..."

Check out this link for an overview of the plot of Digital Fortress. It was a good read, but it was not nearly as good as A & D or T DV C. The storyline was predictable and I saw each plot twist coming from a mile away. With that being said it was still an interesting read and I think the subject matter would be interesting to anyone who is into computers and/or conspiracy theories. I want to pick up a copy of Deception Point soon so I can finish reading the last of Brown's novels.

Here are some interesting facts relating to the subject matter addressed in Digital Fortress, copied this information from Dan Brown's Website:

In large cities, Americans are photographed on the average of 20 times a day.

Everything you charge is in a database that police, among others, can look at.

Supermarkets track what you purchase and sell the information to direct-mail marketing firms.

Your employer is allowed to read your E-Mail, and if you use your company's health insurance to purchase drugs, your employer has access to that information.

Government computers scan your E-Mail for subversive language.

Your cell phone calls can be intercepted, and your access numbers can be cribbed by eavesdroppers with police scanners.

You register your whereabouts every time you use an ATM, credit card, or use EZ PASS at a toll booth.

You are often being watched when you visit web sites. Servers know what you're looking at, what you download, and how long you stay on a page.

A political candidate found his career destroyed by a newspaper that published a list of all the videos he had ever rented.

Most "baby monitors" can be intercepted 100 feet outside the home.

Intelligence agencies now have "micro-bots" -- tiny, remote control, electronic "bugs" that literally can fly into your home and look around without your noticing.

Anyone with $100 can tap your phone.

A new technology called TEMPEST can intercept what you are typing on your keypad (from 100 feet away through a cement wall.)

The National Security Agency has a submarine that can intercept and decipher digital communications from the RF emissions of underwater phone cables.