Perhaps we can say that this book is a distant relative of classic adventure books with a modern twist. There is no specific genre of this book and thus it can’t be classified into a particular category like other books. This book is the fusion of science fiction and thriller categories. The code was finally solved by Susan at the last possible moment and the databank was saved. There was only some precious time left to solve Tankado’s puzzle on the ring. When David find’s the ring and returns to NSA the TRANSLTR had already overheated and blasted, killing Strathmore. The only way to remove the virus is by providing the code message on Tankado’s ring. National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland: when the most powerful intelligence organization on earths invincible code-breaking machine encounters a. A former National Security Agency programmer threatens to release a mathematical formula that will allow organised crime and terrorism to skyrocket, unless the code-breaking computer that is used.

But Tankado is dead and with him has died the secret to the world’s greatest cipher.Īs the story gradually unfolds, we find that Tankado’s code is not a code at all it is just a virus designed to clear NSA’s main databank’s protective shields and release it to the public.

He sends David, Susan’s friend to Spain to find Tankado and bring him back. Digital Fortress (1998), a techno-thriller novel by American author Dan Brown, concerns the events that take place after an advance in cryptography foils the secret government supercomputer, TRANSLTR, which has been used to violate Americans’ privacy rights. He finds it irresistible not to search for the origin of the code. What he discovers is outrageous, the code is really unbreakable. NSA has always kept the TRANSLTR a secret and as now Tankado wanted to open the secret to the world, Strathmore decided to test the authenticity of Tankado’s code. Tankado threatens to release the code to general public and allow them invincibility in their communication process if the NSA doesn’t reveal the truth about the TRANSLTR to the public. He has seemingly accomplished the impossible, by making an unbreakable cipher. The main plot of the story revolves around the fact that Ensei Tankado, an insane cryptographer has made a code.

Digital fortress book review