Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

Summary: The NSA’s multi-billion dollar code breaking computer encounters the first code it’s never been able to break. The head of the Crypto division calls in his best troubleshooter to help him figure out what’s going on, while simultaneously sending her boyfriend over to Europe to chase down the personal effects of the code’s designer. It’s a race against time when the code transforms and starts breaking down the machine’s defenses, threatening to open the country’s most secret databases to the entire world.

Setting: Present day U.S. and Europe

Plot: In this case, the summary pretty much says it all.

Criticisms: Can get a bit geeky at times, but not a bad read.

Wrap-up: Dan Brown is pretty good at his craft, and this one’s no exception. He’s not the greatest dialog writer around, but there are some decent action sequences. Not a ‘must read’, but a fun book if you’re looking for something to keep your mind busy.

Grade: By my arbitrary scale, I give this book a solid B.

Phoenix Rising – John J. Nance

Summary: A newly revived Pan Am is in trouble. Accidents are plaguing their planes, they’re being turned in to the FAA for bogus violations, and their financial security is anything but stable. From all indications, someone is manipulating their stock valuation, and the lenders are calling in all the chips. Will the new CFO be able to save this fledgling airline?
 
Setting: US and Great Britain, late 1980’s

Plot: It’s not very often (in the books that I read, anyway) that the plot revolves around financing a company.

According to the narrative, Pan Am went out of business and the company has recently been brought back to life, due to the efforts of Elizabeth Sterling, a rising star on Wall Street. When the CFO of the fledgling airline makes some bad decisions (undoing some of the deals Elizabeth put together), management in the company smells trouble coming and entices Elizabeth to sign on as their new CFO.

Now Elizabeth has to restructure all of the deals all over again, but now someone’s been talking to all the lenders and convincing them not to loan to Pan Am. Other things start going wrong as well; maintenance problems with the planes, missing pilot certification records, intruders discovered in their maintenance facilities. It looks like someone is trying to put Pan Am back out of business.

Can Elizabeth find someone who’s willing to lend the necessary money to the new company?
 
Criticisms: Some of the financial material was over my head, but there’s enough action to pull you through the rest of the book.
 
Wrap-up: It might sound pretty boring, but it’s actually a pretty good book. Nance is very knowledgeable about the airline business, and he’s not too bad at the action sequences either. Worth a look.
 
Grade: By my arbitrary scale, I give this book a solid B.

High Crimes – Joseph Finder

Summary: Claire’s a law professor at Harvard, and everything’s going right for her. She’s got a beautiful daughter from a previous marriage, tenure, and she’s married to the man of her dreams. Or is she? Following a break-in at their house, her husband is chased down by the government and the military for a horrendous war crime he’s accused of committing 13 years earlier. Claire takes the reins and leads her husband’s defense team, trying to keep him alive and out of military prison.

Setting: United States, 1993 and flashbacks to Central America, 1985

Plot: Claire is a tenured professor at Harvard, a rising celebrity due to her involvement with a highly publicized case, and is happily married to a wonderful man. Her life starts falling apart around her when her husband is accused of war crimes in an undeclared war in Central America, and chased down by the FBI. She pursues a vigorous legal defense for him, taking on the military justice system in a bid to get down to the truth, or at least to keep her husband out of prison. Are those goals mutually exclusive?

Criticisms: No significant criticisms. The book is written about a pretty graphic series of events during an undeclared war. Most of the graphic events covered are described from a more narrative style, rather than from a gritty, realistic perspective.

Wrap-up: Finder does a good job of dumbing down some of the more technical concepts (regarding armaments, etc.), and while his courtroom scenes aren’t quite as polished as Grisham, he’s quite effective at capturing the courtroom drama. Most of his books are written more about the corporate world and corporate espionage, so this was a nice change-up, and nicely demonstrates his versatility as a writer.

Grade: By my arbitrary scale, I would give this book a B.