Digital Fortress - Dan Brown [A Weekly Geek Style Review]

Mrs S | Blue Archipelago

Welcome to the WGs!

I’ll ask about Digital Fortress.

Why did you decide to read it?

Would you recommend it to a girl who enjoyed Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code?

Why did I decide to read it? Well i was just looking for some lightweight page-turning stuff that wouldn’t need much brainwork. Would I recommend it? Well, if you like Dan Brown’s stuff, yeah you should enjoy it enough to make it worthwhile, if you were a bit ‘meh’ about them, then I’d give it a miss.

Ivette

Hey! I’ve read one of those! did you like digital fortress?

Hi Ivette! It was okay, nothing fantastic, but enjoyable enough.

Suey

I’ve got Digital Fortress on my shelf waiting a turn. Is it worth the effort? Should I bump it closer to the top?

As I said to Mrs S, if you like Dan Brown, then yeah give it a go, if you are ‘meh’ about his stuff, then probably give it a miss.

Katherine
I’ve never read Digital Fortress. If you’ve read any of Dan Brown’s other works, how does this one stack up?

Not as good as Angels and Demons, but probably better written than The Da Vinci Code, though maybe not as much fun.

Andi
So Dan Brown, huh? You’re a brave man to take him on after The DaVinci Code hullabaloo. I liked that book, at least somewhat, but the thing that frustrated me about it was the fact that each chapter seemed to end with such a contrived cliff-hanger - is the Digital Fortress better at embedding the literary devices? Am I the only one who doesn’t want a book to set me up for what’s next?

Ha, yes! That is exactly one of the issues I had with The DaVinci Code! and yes I would say this one is better written, but it maybe loses some of the fun and the sheer exhilaration of reading that book.

Chris
I heard that Digital Fortress was a stinker though I haven’t read it. Would you recommend it? And did you read the other Dan Brown books? Should we believe the hype?

I wouldn’t say it was a stinker, in my opinion The Davinci Code was more of a stinker. No we should not believe the hype, his books arn’t horrible, but nowhere near as good as the sales would leave you to believe.

Tasses

Welcome to the Geekdom!

I liked Da Vinci Code and loved Angels & Demons and they are not my type of reading, at all. I haven’t picked up Digital Fortress as it seems even farther from my taste. Have you read theses also? If so, how do they compare? Does Digital Fortress have a methodical mystery theme where the author builds tension, releases it a bit and then builds again, etc…? Is there a surprise ending?

I think, that I’ve already covered some of your questions in my other answers, as for the way the theme and tensions build, well I’ve compared his stuff to a summer blockbuster movie before, and I think that still holds, none of the surprises are shockingly surprising and the ending is what you would suspect.

Rating:

Angels and Demons ~ Dan Brown

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyse a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organisation — The Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt though sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth…the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.

I have now read both “Robert Langdon” books. The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.

The Da Vinci Code first. I enjoyed both books, in plot and style they are both very similar, but I must say I prefer Angels and Demons, Something about it seemed more coherent - less choppy maybe. It does suffer the same problems though, the characters just accept wild leaps of faith, with little explanation as to why, and their are too many ‘dodgy’ moments when, the rules of gravity, science, motion etc. are ignored (In a Hollywood blockbuster, sort of way) that they start to grate.

But just like it’s sequel, it is an entertaining read, and a good page-turner.

• Buy The Da Vinci Code here.
• Buy Angels and Demons here.

Rating:

The Da Vinci Code ~ Dan Brown

Thought about reading this book for a while, picked it up with the intention of buying it, but for one reason or another I’ve never actually ‘bit the bullet’ and taken it to the counter.

I think it was one of those occasions where the hype had a negative effect. Still Waterstone’s were running a 3 for 2 promotion so I took the chance and decided to give it ago.

Does it live up to the hype? No I don’t think it does, don’t get me wrong it’s a very entertaining book and a definite ‘page turner’.

The story fair licks along, pulling the reader along with Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu’s adventure.

I’ve seen it described as a ‘Blockbuster of a Novel’ and this is the books main failings, just as ‘Movie Blockbusters’ take liberties with the plot, so does this book. The main protagonists, make some huge leaps of faith (pun intended :o) ) accepting major revelations and jumping to amazingly accurate conclusions, without a second thought.

However if you approach this book like you would a blockbuster film, it’s a fun and very entertaining read.

Buy ‘The Da Vinci Code’ here.

Rating: