DIGITAL FORTRESS

Brown's FORTRESS is strong in plot and action but average in presentation by reader Patrick Cohen. Its heroine, Susan Fletcher, a stunning mathematician and cryptographer, is charged by the top secret National Security Agency with breaking an ingenious code that threatens the U.S. intelligence community. Cohen's voice is pleasing enough, but he makes no effort to differentiate between characters--or events. The listener is left with the impression that Cohen is reading a paper--not performing a story. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]