NSA cryptographer Dr. Susan Fletcher receives a call from her boss Deputy Director Commander Trevor Strathmore. It seems NSA's super secret, super code breaking computer, which has the capabilities of checking everyone's e-mail without them knowing and invading American citizen's privacy in so many other ways as it monitors the internet, has apparently come across a code it can't break. Susan figures out that a Japanese man named Ensei Tankado, an employee fired by Strathmore, is responsible for writing the code, called "Digital Fortress" It seems Tankado, a numbers genius and computer geek extraordinaire, was born with deformed fingers because his mother was a survivor of Hiroshima in 1945. Tankado grew up hating America, but later came to love it after he learned the real reasons for the war. However, he's turned into a human rights activist and when he found out how the government could invade privacy with TRANSLTR (that's what the supercomputer is called), he wrote "Digital Fortress", which will not only stop the computer from spying on ordinary Americans, but it'll also cripple all of NSA's global intelligence and in this day and age that's a very bad thing. However, it seems Tankado has the secret to this seemingly unbreakable code in a ring he wears, so Strathmore sends Susan's boyfriend, linguistics professor David Becker to Spain to get the ring. David goes without telling Susan, but when he gets there he finds Tankado dead and the ring gone, stolen by a hooker, who is also dead. And the guy who bought the ring from the hooker is dead too. And now the assassin who has done them in has David in his sights. So, there you have it. Can Susan break the code before America is left defenseless, intelligence wise? Can David evade the Assassin and find the ring? Is the code really in the ring, or is the ring just a ring? Why was Tankado killed? Who is the real bad guy?
This is the second novel I have picked up by Dan Brown. The first was Angels & Demons, which I highly recommend. In comparison, Angels & Demons had a more satisfying ending and was packed with more suspense. However, the characters in Digital Fortress were more interesting, in my opinion, and once again, I have learned a lot of little bizarre truths from this book. Once you've read Digital Fortress, check out Dan Brown's website. He has some maps of the National Security Agency (had you heard of it?), bizarre true facts from the novel, and other tidbits. A thriller based in truth is always the scariest to me, and the fact that there are no clear-cut answers in the end will make you ponder privacy issues. In addition, you will find yourself trying to break the unbreakable code(s) throughout the book. And then when you get to the last page...watch out. I still haven't figured it out. This is a great novel, filled with intrigue, suspense, and revelation. I recommend it...without wax.
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