Digital Fortress- A criminally underrated book?

Digital Fortress- By Dan Brown (1998) BOOK REVIEW

Genre: Mystery, Techno-Thriller, fiction
Pages: 510

Story Plot:

Digital Fortress" is an action packed and brainy thriller which ensures your pulse are racing. When the NSA (National Security Agency) receives a threat about an UNBREAKABLE code, it sends NSA's code-breaking beast into an endless loop, the people of NSA are forced straight into an existential crisis. What if every third grader with a modem could access the U.S's top secret files? 

This was the dilemma at hand. The NSA's deputy director calls in the head cryptographer Susan Fletcher. What she uncovers is so dreadful and shocking that it could be a matter of life and death blackouts.  The NSA- is being held hostage, not by terrorists, guns or bombs. But by an Unbreakable and powerful code- Digital Fortress. 

Susan Fletcher tries her best to save the NSA\ Betrayed by all sides, Susan is forced to fight for her country and the man she loves. 

My thoughts:

This novel is hands down one of my favorite novels. It has all the elements- The gripping mystery, spellbinding twists, romance, unexpected Betrays. It was lightning paced and super brainy. This book is carefully intricated with layers of facts and tons of research. I gained a whole lot of knowledge about codes and cryptography after reading this book. Susan Fletcher being the novel's female protagonist is so empowering that it is almost transcendent. The unanticipated twists and betrays adds on to it's remarkability. I loved how the author gives us a taste of what was happening in each of the character's life, from their own perspective. To be honest, I prefer this book over "Angels and Demons" which is another work of Dan Brown which is super hyped. I also loved the code given at the end of the book. It had me captivated for hours in my bed curled up, with a pencil and a piece of paper. 

The things I didn't like about this book were the silly twists, which were so predictable and that some of the things I believed to be true, were fiction. It had dead ends and some of the chapters were unrealistic to me. It was also a bit dramatic at places. It was not as compelling as The Da Vinci code, but definitely better than the Angels and Demons in my perspective.

Overall, a very engrossing book if you outlook a few things. I would rate this novel a solid 8/10. 

Even though it wasn't up to many people's expectations, the research which goes into writing this novel is massive and unthinkable. The Da Vinci code and Angels and demons does overshadow some of Dan Brown's other thrillers which deserve more appreciation. 

I also loved this quote from the novel, "Who will guard the guards?"

So to conclude, Is Digital Fortress criminally underrated? absolutely, YES.