Book Review : Digital Fortress

1 more science fiction by Dan Brown , which I thought of reading with my brains aside and thinking as If I am Science freshman and Dan, a professor.

Cryptography, when was in my engineering fascinated me as it is such a vast field full of challenges. You design one code and the moment later someone breaks it. It is all about permutation n combination and there is never an attempt short not to break one. However, I also believed that if the code is dynamic, it will be difficult to break and the same is emphasized in this sci-fi fiction. However, up to the expectation, Brown has tried to exaggerate to make his point clear, but it is fair to do so in a fiction. So let me give you a glimpse of this book, and by the way I liked it.

This time I am not going to write a book review of the story here with the exact characters and the plot, However will let you know a brief gist of the same.

NSA, the National Security wing of American Govt, possess a very big deciphering machine called TRANSLTR which can possibly encrypt any code by going through multiple iterations ( a value large enough per second) to get a result in considerable time. However when a code comes which is convoluted and dynamic and keeps the giant m/c busy for hours together and puts everyone of the great minds on alarm. Who has written that code, What is that suppose to serve, How can one write such a code which cannot be cracked even by TRANSLTR, all these questions come in mind of NSA director and her gorgeously described cryptographic whiz. Also somewhere in Europe is a death scene of some Asian named Ensei Tankando believed to had a fatal stroke in a public park runs parallel. The Asian is none but a key part of NSA who resigned and later on came to be known as the master mind behind the unbreakable code called Digital Fortress. A professor, who supposedly the boy friend of the whiz lady at NSA is sent to get the passcode for digital fortress from any clue or belongings left in Spain post death of the Japanese mastermind.
There are many people behind the code from multinationals to govt, but NSA has everything at stake to possess it or destroy it. Is that really Ensei who wanted to revenge on NSA who created this with destructive aim or is there someone else involved.

This pseudo sci-fi tale leads into a political trail to a bloody trail. There are good twists, some unrealistic but exciting. Enjoy the story with a touch of humor and fiction and a non science mindset. You will like it if you like the genre of mystery trail.

That's it from my end on Dan brown for this time. I have now read every one of his famous books and waiting for the next release - ' The Solomon Key'

Till then,
adios

Book Review : Angels and Demons

Hahaha, whoa.. Who is this guy to write a review of one of the most successful and critically acclaimed book by Dan Brown. I know, I am no one, but I could not stop myself penning down the feelings immediately after reading this book, And here I go !
569 pages and around 14 hrs spanning across 5 days, thats what it took for me to read this fiction. I was in deep clutches of the plot wherein the characters and the mystery kept unfolding with every chapter bringing a new one every time along with. I kept talking about this for the entire week when I was into it and I am certain this is going to have an everlasting impression on every reader of it. The charisma was so great that while reading it, I was in no mood of doing anything, even the essentials took a back seat.
With The Da Vinci Code already in attire along with its screen version , I could visualise Tom Hankes as Mr Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbology art scholar and the hero of the thriller. Although, I can easily say that even if I would have been unknown to any of the other works of Brown, I would have visualised the entire book with equal ease.
With Antimatter, the author's usage of science was put to a test, however Brown's genius levelled all the barracades quite comfortably. With no doubts on the in depth knowledge of Vatican history, Brown depicted a real picture of the marvellous architecture of the city along with its pen piucture of Swiss guards and cardinals, so true as to be come out of the pages of the book and stand infront of you showing their full vigor. At the same time, the layout of the city of Rome and the four churches symbolising the basic elements of Illuminati, the secret self enlightened sect presented a treasure hunt to every reader forcing one to go to Google Maps and check & confirm the same. I could not stop myself reading the wiki of Galileo and Bernini, the so believed Illuminati masters while reading the book. I also read about Professor Langdonn & came to know that the on screen name 'Robert' was actually pointing to the Drexel professor John langdon, an expert at ambigrams. Ofcourse not to mention the spectular ambigrams of Illuminati, Earth, Air, Fire and Water along with the Illuminatus diamond. I bet everyone who read the book would have tried drawing one. I also recorded for my own personal interest, the speech given by Cameralango to the BBC reporter at the hour of ultimate crisis.
I initially had 3 people (not mentioning their names for the sake of those who have not yet read) in mind as Janus, the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy. The third ( least probable one) was removed quite early though,when he died. However, I must admit that the actual one was my second bet, and when it was revealed and the way in which it was, made perfect sense to me. It left no doubt about the motto behind the plot and the adjustment made in the same by Janus to achieve the destination.
With my second nature of finding the alternative ending or should I say no ending to any story, I analysed the entire book after finishing the same for few minutes wherein I concluded that if the deceased pope would have used object/ task based gramar in his conversation rather than subject based, the story would have had no beginning itself. There would have had no shattered confidence in faith and no science overtaking God and there would have had no Angels and Demons for us. Dan did an excellent job by din't doing it. Overall, it is one of that book which made me satifisfied from within, the one which put my heart and brain cells to equal use and the one which I can tell anyone around me to read and feel contented.

For more curious folowers of Brown, here is a link to the trailer of the movie based on the same novel supposed to release in May' 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd5v4yW-RKg