Really? My favorite was Deception Point. I found the computer in Digital Fortress a bit unbelievable from an IT standpoint. Considering how long it took for this one, you might as well pick up some other books...your electric blanket will need replacement before we have another book.
Considering how long it took for this one, you might as well pick up some other books...your electric blanket will need replacement before we have another book.[/QUOTE] When it comes, it comes. My books are my friends, and I always have plenty to keep me company.
I didn't think Digital Fortress was the best of his books. I just thought that its twist was the best of his twists. And yes, the computer was somewhat unbelievable, even for me, and I know nothing about computers on a technical level. But remember that Digital Fortress is a work of FICTION. If all fiction was entirely realistic, it would get boring after a while, and 70% of good fiction would not exist.
Yes, I know it's fiction. But fiction has to be believable. Not realistic. It just has to convince me. Fiction shouldn't make you go, "Huh?" or "Yeah... RIGHT!" I'll willingly suspend my disbelief, but don't betray my trust by creating a world that I just can't buy, even in the context of the world itself. The best example, I think, is from another Dan Brown book: Angels & Demons. (I'd better spoiler this one): Spoiler The helicopter flies into the sky, far above the Vatican... Robert Langdon falls out! He survives... by using a piece of cardboard as a glider??? Yeah... RIGHT! ( ::groan!:: ) It has to be believable, not in the real world, but at least in the context of the story. Anyone who really knows I.T. would find major flaws in Digital Fortress that would detract from the story... sure it's fiction, but that's not the point. I'm not saying it has to be real, but it has to convince me, and I wasn't convinced. I read Stephen King's "Salem's Lot," about vampires that float around and drink blood, and had no problem with it... because it was convincing in its context. It's not that everything has to be exactly like real life. It's that you have to convince me. Dan Brown didn't do that, in that particular book, where Stephen King did in that particular book. There's always the willing suspension of disbelief... just don't make me go "huh?" or "yeah... RIGHT!"
