Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Digital Fortress

I borrowed this Dan Brown book from another colleague, to read in the vacation. Few days into the vacation, I had lost hope of being able to read it - with all the work that was going on, there was neither time, nor place, to sit down and read. After one tiring day that constituted of standing and supervising the painters and carpenters, apart of making endless cups of tea to beat the chilly weather, I read the first few pages before falling asleep. The story had me interested within these few pages, and completely gripped me by the time I read a few more. I love suspense thrillers! So, the next day I roamed about with the book in my hand, reading every minute I could snatch in-between. After the dinner, I focussed my full attention on it. I was avoiding staying up late, but I just could not go to sleep. At quarter past midnight, I finally turned the last page, before turning the light off. So, this is how I spent the new year eve :-).

This is the second Dan Brown book I read after 'Da Vinci Code'. The first one had, of course, taken the world by storm, literally. I found the pace of this one faster, though it could be because I am more familiar with the world of computers and cryptology, than I am with Christian history and mythology. The premise of the story - Uncle Sam's need to montior everything that goes around in the world - is nothing new. But the way it has been treated, the line between fact and fiction vanishes (which I found to be true of 'Da vinci Code' as well). In fact, that is what I like about my favorite english thriller writers - they do their research well. Their work of fiction are not just stories - you learn something about the way things are done in real world.

Though most of the "turn of events" could be intuitively predicted a little while before they happened, and at some places it seemed that the author deliberately tried to mislead the reader into a different direction than what was going to happen, I still liked the way the things take a turn, keeping me hooked. I like the fast pace and the battle of wits [which is why Alistair McLean is my most favorite author :-)]. I'll recommend it to all lovers of fiction, but with a word of caution - if the words like cryptography, encoding, algorithms are alien to you, the whole story may seem to have missing patches (not too many, though).

6 comments:

  1. Happens with me a lot of times --as I finish reading a pacy thriller, I look up and realize that the world is so slow!!!

    Also, it is rare that two books by the same author are equally captivating. Guess I will pick up this book sometime!

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  2. I had bought this book 6 months back to read, but... ha ha

    Out of those 14 books I bought recently, 5 are from Alistair M !!
    Let me see when can I start them. Will let you know.

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  3. Dan Brown is known for his research. He has this uncanny ability to mix fiction and facts so very well.

    Did you know that he had reseached for 10 years before he finished the book Da Vinci Code? I cant imagine brooding over one subject for ten years!!! Would end up in an asylum if i did that!!!

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  4. @LeziB : Ya .... happens with me too. Go for it, if you like thrillers. Any recos for me, while we are at it ? :-)

    @Cuckoo : So, how many of the 14 have been "marked as read" so far ? I asked you earlier ... share your list with me, if you are willing :-) I need to find some good stuff to read, and many times I go by recommendation. Which ones of the McLean titles have you got ? I pride myself in having read most, if not all, of his original novels. :-)

    @PM: Yes .. Da Vinci Code was indeed very well researched, and a very seamless blend of fact and fiction. I had an idea that he did a lot of research, but 10 years was beond my imagination. Me too can't ponder over one single subject for long ... thats why I didnt end up doing a PhD ;-)

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  5. Shalini, you must read his other book - "Angels and Demons". Bet you will like that if you liked Da Vinci Code

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  6. Some of the people who read it told me it was not comparable to 'Da Vinci Code'. But since you recommend it, I'll give it a go :-)

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