Digital Fortress: A Thriller

Dan Brown

Jun 2004 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Paul Michael

About this audiobook

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.

Ratings and reviews

My goodness, what a train wreck. I bought it because I'm in IT and like Dan Brown. I should have first noted this was from 2004. It DID NOT age well. They talk about "every 3rd grader with a 300 baud modem" and cars with "cellular fax machines". Then there are the many ways that technology and/or cryptography are bent/folded/spindled and mutilated to make this story work. It is enough to almost make you overlook the not-too-subtle misogyny (which I won't go into due to the spoilers it would entail). Bottom line. Make this a hard pass!! My biggest regret - using my free Google Play audiobook credit to get this piece of trash. Don't make the same mistake.

Loved this book, it accurately represents the time in which it was written and plays out a stereotypical fear of the team. A great fun read if you enjoy 'big brother' type thrillers.

About the author

Dan Brown is the author of numerous #1 bestselling novels, including Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling novels of all time. Named one of the World's 100 Most Influential People by TIME Magazine, he has appeared in the pages of Newsweek, Forbes, People, GQ, The New Yorker, and others. His novels are published in 51 languages around the world. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he also taught English. Digital Fortress was inspired by his experiences at the academy. He lives in New England with his wife.