#810 - The Lost Symbol

note: This entry will only be written in English

Warning : This Entry Might Contain Spoiler

About two weeks ago, I bought Dan Brown's newest novel, The Lost Symbol. Okay, it might not be that "new" because it was internationally released in September 2009, so it was like half year old. But I just had the opportunity to read it now (so yeah, poor me, hahaha). Anyway, I was really excited to (finally) read the novel, because I always like Dan Brown's style of writing, especially the two involving Robert Langdon, 'The DaVinci Code' (DVC) and 'Angels and Demons' (AnD). The latter is actually my most favorite novel of Dan Brown.

Well, I won't write the synopsis here since we can find it anywhere in the internet. Mainly, the mystery in this novel revolved around Freemasonry and also the (fictional) Solomon family.

::: The cover of the Indonesian version of The Lost Symbol.

However, this time, some mysteries were kinda really easy to solve (for the readers). I mean, it was kinda obvious that Mal'Akh was Zachary Solomon. Even though his real identity was kept secret until the late chapter of the novel, if we analyze the story a bit deeper, we can make a good guess in the middle of the novel that Mal'Akh was really likely to be Zachary. Why? Because somehow Dan Brown wanted us to believe that Mal'Akh was co-inmate of Zachary when he was jailed in Turkey and Mal'Akh was now after the Freemasonry's Secrets. The thing is that Dan Brown didn't specifically say Mal'Akh was the co-inmate. He just gave several statements which potentially could lead us to jump to conclusion (using false logic of course), that Mal'Akh was the co-inmate. However, if we thought about Mal'Akh's motives and way of thinking deeper, it was nearly impossible for someone who only knew Zachary for about 1 day to know that MUCH about the Solomon (including how to get through the Solomon's mansion gate, by finding a hidden key), and also the mysteries surrounding the Mason Pyramid. Okay, the latter still could be actually acquired if he did some extensive researches though. Another point, Mal'Akh seemed to possess a lot of money while he was in jail. Then, the co-inmate had been in jail longer than Zachary, why did he wait that "long" to bribe the prison warder to get out? He HAD the money! It all made sense if he was Zachary. Zachary was a rich boy! Also, Mal'Akh seemed to be too "concerned" for Zachary. I mean, if he wasn't Zachary, why would he be that mad to Peter for not bailing Zachary out from the prison? It was not his business at all. Those are why I concluded Mal'Akh was Zachary, when I was in the middle of the novel ;-)

Well, even so, Dan Brown was still really good. He created the thriller atmosphere; he knew when to spill the secrets a little, making the readers anxious about it, then jump to another scene, leaving the readers much more anxious. The mystery and thriller part was actually the best part of this novel. Reading his novel, people will keep turning pages, won't be able to stop (unless they are too tired and need some sleep or rest, LOL).

Dan Brown definitely made the main mysteries super intriguing, leaving people wondering how could Ancient Mysteries be a potential threat to the National Security? Well, as layer by layer (of mysteries) was revealed, it left me kinda a bit disappointed. Well, apparently I was expecting for something "bigger" and "unpredictable". Somehow, I felt that the mysteries was a bit too far-fetched. Still, the symbols and puzzles the characters needed to solve were still cool and enjoyable, though I don't think they were as complex as symbols and puzzles in DVC or AnD. They symbols and puzzles in this novel were kinda "too simple" for me.

Even though Dan Brown was really brilliant in most part of the book, in some parts the story was also really boring. In some parts, I felt like that I was in the middle of a lecture, reading serious papers or listening to a history or symbology professor giving a lecture; or that I was in a church, listening to a priest giving very deep and reflective contemplation. Some characters at some parts were like living encyclopedia or an old-wise hermit talking about how to interpret the bibles, that God is within ourselves and other things. The worst part was actually the closing, after Mal'Akh's death. To me, it was boring to hell. I literally couldn't wait until the last page of the book. I expected something better to close the novel.

Well, finally, even with those "flaws", I still enjoyed The Lost Symbol. I can't put it on my "most favorite" Dan Brown's novel though, Angels and Demons is still reigning that honorable place. The Lost Symbol was definitely much more interesting than Digital Fortress (DF), which I thought was the worst Dan Brown's novel. Somehow The Lost Symbol came neck to neck with Deception Point (DP). In fact, in some ways, the storyline of these two novels were similar! Anyway, I still think The Lost Symbol got a slight more points on term of better reading (than DP). That put this novel #3, behind AnD and DVC, but not that far behind from DVC.

So, yeah, another good and enjoyable novel from Dan Brown.

#551 - The Big Four

ENGLISH

Well, now I have finished reading Agatha Christie's The Big Four.

Plot Summary:

Captain Hastings came to London to visit his old friend, Hercule Poirot, only to find him in the middle of his chase of a group called The Big Four. The Big Four was an underground group led by four people: Li Chang Yen (number one, known as the brain of the group), Abe Ryland (number two, identity was revealed later, a rich American businessman), Madame Olivier (number three, identity was revealed later, a genius Frenchwoman professor), and number four who was known as "the destroyer" (his identity was revealed later near the end of the book). Poirot and Hastings met some problems on his plan but managed to escape from dangers in the end. In the end, he was able to destroy The Big Four.


Well, I think this novel is a lot better than Death In The Clouds (my review can be read here). It's not like a common detective story, but more like Dan Brown's novels, hahaha... ;) I think that's why I like it even more than DITC. Plus, this novel also highlighted Poirot's weakness side: his arrogancy.

However, for me, there is a big weakness on this novel. The ending was not exciting enough. I thought: "Well, that was it?". I mean, Poirot seemed to destroy The Big Four in a relatively easy way comparing to the greatness of The Big Four as mentioned earlier on the novel. I'm pretty sure that the novel could have been much more interesting if in the end The Big Four defended themselves and gave any counter attack, not just surrendered like that.

Overall, I still think this is a good novel and still better than DITC... ;)

::: quick update about Euro 2008 ::: (Mon 30th June 2008; 3:40 AM)

Finally Spain won Euro 2oo8 after beating Germany 1 - 0. Yea, at first I thought Germany would win after pressing Spain but that only happened on the first like 10 - 15 minutes... . That's fine tho, I'm not on any side, hahaha.... ;)

::: Agatha Christie's "The Big Four" front cover

::: Agatha Christie's "The Big Four" back cover

BAHASA INDONESIA

Hmm, sekarang aku sudah selesai membaca novelnya Agatha Christie yang The Big Four.

Ringkasan Cerita:

Kapten Hastings pergi ke London untuk mengunjungi sahabat lamanya, Hercule Poirot, dan akhirnya menemukannya sedang di dalam pengejarannya terhadap sebuah grup bernama The Big Four (Empat Besar). The Big Four adalah grup bawah tanah yang dipimpin oleh: Li Chang Yen (nomor sati, yang juga otak dari grup ini), Abe Ryland (nomor dua, identitas dikuak kemudian, seorang usahawan kaya asal Amerika), Madame Olivier (nomor tiga, identitas dikuak kemudian, seorang profesor kimia jenis dari Prancis), dan nomor empat yang dikenal sebagai "si penghancur" (identitasnya dikuak kemudian dekat-dekat akhir dari novel). Poirot dan Hastings menemui beberapa masalah dalam rencananya tapi berhasil untuk menyelamatkan diri dari behaya pada akhirnya. Pada akhirnya mereka berhasil menghancurkan The Big Four.


Hmm, aku rasa novel ini jauh lebih baik loh daripada Death In The Clouds (review ku bisa dibaca disini). Nggak kayak cerita detektif biasa lainnya, novel yg ini lebih mirip ke tipe-tipe novelnya Dan Brown tuh, hahaha... ;) Kayanya itu lah alasan kenapa koq aku lebih suka novel ini daripada DITC. Plus, novel ini juga menggaris-bawahi sifat buruknya Poirot: kesombongannya.

Namun, untuk aku, ada kelemahan besar dah di dalam novel ini. Ending-nya nggak cukup menarik dan seru. Aku berpikir: "Hah, gitu doang?". Maksudku, Poirot koq dalam menghancurkan The Big Four kesannya cenderung relatif mudah yah dibandingkan dengan kehebatan The Big Four seperti yang disebutkan di awal novel. Aku cukup yakin koq novelnya bisa menjadi jauh lebih seru andaikata akhirnya The Big Four melindungi dirinya dan memberikan perlawanan pada serangannya Poirot, nggak menyerah seperti itu.

Secara keseluruhan, aku rasa ini adalah novel yang bagus koq dan masih lebih baik daripada DITC... ;)

::: apdet kilat tentang Euro 2008 ::: (Senin 30 Juni 2008; 3:40 pagi)

Akhirnya Spanyol memenangkan Euro 2008 setelah mengalahkan Jerman 1 - 0 di final. Ya, pertamanya kirain Jerman yang akan menguasai pertandingan soalnya mainnya menekan terus. Eh, kaya gitunya ternyata cuma sekitar 10 - 15 menit pertama doang... . Gpp sih, gak dukung siapa pun soalnya, hahaha... ;)

#539 - Death in the Clouds

ENGLISH

Finally last night I finished reading Death In The Clouds, a novel by Agatha Christie.

Plot Summary:

Hercule Poirot was a passenger of an international flight from Le Bourget Airport, Paris to Croydon Airport, London. Weirdly, some times during the flight there was a bee. One passenger, Madame Giselle, was found dead some minutes before landing. At that time Poirot found a weird poisonous dart lying on the floor. On the check, a blowpipe was found on his seat! This, however, made 10 passengers on board and 2 stewards became suspects.

He, of course, started his investigation of this case. Some past secrets were dug, many things were analyzed, a likely 'intruder' came in but then eliminated. In the end he found who the murderer was.

Well, I wanna write one spoiler, huahahaha.... :D

=== spoiler starts ===

- the murderer was the one who had 2 identities

=== spoiler ends ===

Okay, my comment. I think this novel is a good one. I like the storyline since it's not confusing nor giving too many unnecessary details. One thing is that I like Poirot's Method of digging the suspects' past, analyzing them and deciding who was guilty and who were innocent. I like the way he focused on the weird fact(s) (the existence of a bee on board) >> Err, actually this thing is kinda usual for detective stories but I still like it, hahaha... :) That's why I really like Detective Conan. The simple twist is also one appeal of this novel.

Anyway, while I was still reading I also made a guess about who the murderer might be. Well, my guess was correct, wkwkwkw... lol. But actually it was only based on feeling, LOL.

So yeah, I agree that Agatha Christie is a great novelist!! hahaha...

::: Agatha Christie's "Death In The Clouds" front cover

::: Agatha Christie's "Death In The Clouds" back cover

BAHASA INDONESIA

Akhirnya semalam aku selesai membaca Death In The Clouds, novelnya Agatha Christie.

Ringkasan Cerita:

Hercule Poirot adalah seorang penumpang penerbangan internasional dari Bandara Le Bourget, Paris tujuan Bandara Croydon, London. Anehnya, pada waktu penerbangan ada seekor lebah. Satu penumpang, Madam Giselle, ditemukan meninggal beberapa menit sebelum mendarat. Waktu itu Poirot menemukan sebuah panah kecil beracun di lantai. Waktu pengecekan, sebuah sumpitan ditemukan di kursinya! Hal ini, akhirnya, membuat 10 penumpang dan 2 pramugara menjadi tersangka.

Dia, tentu saja, memulai investigasinya atas kasus ini. Beberapa rahasia masa lalu diungkap, banyak hal dianalisa, sebuah 'penyusup' kelihatannya masuk namun ternyata bisa dieliminasi. Akhirnya ketauan deh pembunuhnya suapa.

Iseng ah, mau ngask bocoran dikit neh, huahahaha.... :D

=== bocoran dimulai ===

- pembunuhnya adalah dia yang memiliki 2 identitas

=== bocoran selesai ===

Oke, komentar saya. Aku rasa novel ini ok juga loh. Aku suka jalan ceritanya soalnya nggak membingungkan atau berbelit-belit juga nggak memberikan terlalu banyak informasi-informasi nggak penting. Satu hal yang aku suka adalah Metoda-nya Poirot yang menggali masa lalu para tersangka, menganalisanya dan memutuskan siapa yang bersalah dan siapa saja yang nggak bersalah. Aku suka caranya dia fokus pada fakta-fakta tak biasa (misalnya keberadaan lebah di pesawat) >> Hmmm, sebenernya itu standar sih ya kalo untuk suatu novel dekektif tapi aku suka2 saja tuh, hahaha... :) Makanya juga kan kenapa aku suka banget sama Detektif Conan. Twist yang sederhana (menurutku) juga merupakan satu daya tarik novel ini.

Ngomong2, waktu masih membaca novel ini kan saya juga menebak-nebak siapa pelakunya. Nah, tebakan saya bener loh, wkwkwkwkw... lol. Tapi cuma berdasarkan feeling saja sih, LOL.

Jadi, yah, aku setuju kalo Agatha Christie adalah novelis yang hebat!! hahaha...

#390 - Harry Potter 7

ENGLISH

Finally last week I finished reading Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, ha3... :) This novel is the last sequel of all 7 series of Harry Potter.

As the last novel, we expected it to be the most exciting, thrilling, interesting, and of course, best, amongst all series. And how was it?? Yea, J.K Rowling is a great author, and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows was, for me, really the best!! It was superb!! I scored it 10/10, hahaha... :) For fans, this novel also could be a "true-fans test" since so many minor characters from the previous novels appeared with pretty much influence(s) on the story. Named them Griphook, Grindelwald, Gregorovitch, etc.

Well, in general, this novel told us about Harry Potter's, Hermione Granger's and Ron Weasley's "quest" for Horcruxes and destroyed them. During their quest, they also found a fact (from a tale) about the existence of the "Deathly Hallows". Harry was a bit unsure whether they should keep going on Horcruxes or also looking for the Deathly Hallows. In the end, of course their quest met them with the main villain of the story, Lord Voldemort.

There were some surprises (and one of the biggest surprise apparently wasn't a surprise for her, ha3... :D) and because I also want to be an evil (wakakakaka... lol). I'll write some of them: (be careful if you wanna protest, many Death Eaters and Dementors are patrolling, lol)

== spoiler starts ==

1. Hedwig died in the beginning of the story because of a miss curse. Poor her... lol
2. Dobby died because of saving Harry cs's lives.
3. Severus Snape became the headmaster of Hogwarts. (this wasn't the biggest surprise about Severus Snape though, hahaha... lol)

== spoiler ends ==

If on most of the previous sequels the thrilling parts of the novel were placed in about the end of each of them, this time the thrilling parts were almost everywhere, and the climax of the whole-seven-sequels was put in the last 3 chapters. However, I still expect that the final battle between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter could have been a lot more intense and exciting, not just done in one attack (Avada Kedavra vs Expelliarmus). But the complexity of the story and characters were really what made this sequel best of the others.

This novel fulfills all requirements to be a great ending. We gotta admit that JK Rowling is a great story-teller... :) She was a genius in creating the characters, haha... . None was too perfect, including Albus Dumbledore.

::: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows front cover (Bloomsbury's Adult Cover)

::: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows back cover (Bloombury's Adult Cover)

::: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Bloomsbury's Kids Cover

::: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Scholastic's Cover

BAHASA INDONESIA

Akhirnya minggu lalu aku selesai juga deh baca Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, ha3... :) Novel ini adalah sekuel terakhir dari 7 seri Harry Potter.

Sebagai novel terakhir, tentu kita mengharapkan novel ini menjadi yang paling seru, paling tegang, paling menarik, dan tentu saja dong, terbaik, dari kesemua serinya. Dan bagaimanakah novel ini?? Yea, J.K Rowling adalah penulis yang hebat, dan Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows was, untuk aku, bener2 yang terbaik deh!! Keren banget!! Aku nilai 10 deh dari 10, hahaha... :) Untuk fans, novel ini juga bisa menjadi "tes fans" loh soale banyak karakter minor dari novel-novel sebelumnya muncul dengan lumayan banyak pengaruh dalam cerita kali ini. Misalnya aja Griphook, Grindelwald, Gregorovitch, dll.

Hmm, secara umum, novel ini menceritakan tentang "pengejarannya" Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, dan Ron Weasley akan Horcrux dan menghancurkannya. Sepanjang pengejaran ini, mereka menemukan fakta (dari dongeng) tentang keberadaan dari "Deathly Hallows". Harry jadi agak gak yakin mereka sebaiknya tetap mencari Horcrux atau mencari Deathly Hallows. Pada akhirnya, pengejaran mereka membawa juga pada tokoh penjahat utama dari cerita ini, Lord Voldemort.

Ada beberapa kejutan loh (dan salah satu kejutan terbesar kelihatannya bukan merupakan kejutan bagi dia, ha3... :D) dan karena saya ingin menjadi orang jahat (wakakakaka... lol). Akan saya tulis deh beberapa: (eh, hati2 loh kalau mau protes, kan ada banyak Pelahap Maut dan Dementor berpatroli, lol)

== bocoran dimulai ==

1. Hedwig mati di awal cerita gara2 kena kutukan nyasar. Kasian yah... lol
2. Dobby mati karena menyelamatkan nyawa Harry dkk
3. Severus Snape menjadi kepala sekolah Hogwarts (bukan kejutan terbesar sih tentang Severus Snape, hahaha... lol)

== bocoran selesai ==

Kalo dari kebanyakan edisi2 sebelumnya bagian menegangkannya diletakkan di akhir novel, kali ini bagian yang bikin tegang hampir ada dimana2, dan klimaks dari keseluruhan-tujuh-seri terletak pada 3 bab terakhir. Namun, aku sih mengharapkan kalo pertarungan terakhir antara Lord Voldemort sama Harry Potter bisa lebih tegang dan seru yah, nggak cuma selesai dalam satu serangan saja (Avada Kedavra vs Expelliarmus). Tapi kompleksitas dari ceritanya dan karakternya sih yang membuat cerita ini bagus banget.

Novel ini memenuhi segala persyaratan untuk jadi ending yang bagus. Harus diakui memang kalo JK Rowling adalah pencerita yang hebat... :) Jenius deh dia dalam menciptakan karakter, haha... . Nggak ada yang sempurna banget, termasuk Albus Dumbledore.... :)

#269 - Deception Point

ENGLISH

Hello all, as you can read at one previous entry. I have finished reading Dan Brown's new novel, "DECEPTION POINT".

Even though in the synopsis it seems that this novel has something to do with alien, but mainly, this novel is not a sci-fi novel. This novel tells us about the competition between a president candidate and the current president before the next president election in The US; NASA's new discovery which was greater and more meaningful than NASA's accomplishment in making people walked on the surface on the moon; but in the end, it's figured out that the discovery was not more than a deception; the complications because of the global deception (because the president had already announced the discovery to the world; the deception had already been figured out before the president declared it, but political reason and common logic stopped that information to president's hand, eyes and ears, so president declared that 'fake' discovery). Just as Dan Brown's other novel, this is not really a light reading, some geological knowledge were also included in this novel, but don't worry, even though you don't understand what the hell geology is, but you still can follow and enjoy the story. The main characters: Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland, President Zach Henry, Senator Sedgewick Sexton (Rachel's father), Dr. Corky Marlinson, Marjorie Tench, Gabrielle Ashe, and William Pickering.

Well, in this novel we still can see Dan Brown's traits in writing: thrilling, quick story (again, the whole novel tells us about many different things happened in only one night), 'requiring' some knowledge about something (but Dan Brown explained to us about the knowledge), etc. Of course, there are some similarities between this novel and Dan Brown's previous novel (The DaVinci Code (DVC), Angels and Demons (AD), and Digital Fortress (DF)). Beside the traits above, the other similarities are: there is one group of assasinator (Delta Force in DP --> Silas in DVC, Hassasin in AD, and Hulohot in DF), there is a mysterious person who was the brain and planner of the whole 'crime' (but actually he/she had a motive and believed that what he/she did was for the good of a society or human being), the murder of some innocent people, some advanced technology, etc.

However, there also exist some differences. If the assasinators were only one person in three previous novels, here, the assasinator was one group (3 people). Of course the places were also different, if in three previous novels they took place at some countries outside The US and The US itself, in DP, it took place only in The US (well, and also the open sea at The Arktik Ocean). If the first two novels (DVC and AD) were about religion and church, the third novel (DF) was about computer, this novel (DP) was about geology and (a lil') politics. In this novel, there was no code to break (but 'the code' itself was the deception actually, and 'breaking the code' also means reveal the truth; so, I'm not sure this is a difference or similarity... :D).

Btw, while I was reading I guessed who was the 'mysterius guy' who planned all things. Hmm, at first I almost guessed the wrong person, but as time flew (:P), I changed my mind and guessed the other person, and I was right!! Yaaay... . He3... :) Hmm, in the end, I think this novel is an interesting novel to read, probably still not as controversial as DVC, but the storyline was good (at least for me).

::: DECEPTION POINT (front cover)

::: DECEPTION POINT (back cover)

BAHASA INDONESIA

Hallo hallo, seperti yang bisa dibaca pada sebuah postingan yang lalu. Aku sudah menyelesaikan membaca novel baru Dan Brown, "DECEPTION POINT / TITIK MUSLIHAT".

Walaupun di sinopsis kayanya novelnya berhubungan sama alien, tapi sebenernya, novel ini bukan novel sci-fi loh. Novel ini menceritakan tentang kompetisi antara kandidat presiden dan presiden saat itu sebelum pemilihan presiden di Amerika; penemuan baru NASA yang lebih hebat dan berarti daripada prestasi NASA membuat manusia berjalan di bulan; tapi pada akhirnya ketahuan bahwa penemuan itu adalah muslihat belaka; komplikasi akibat muslihat global ini (soalnya presiden kan sudah mengumumkan penipuan ini ke seluruh dunia; muslihat sebenernya udah terungkap sih sebelum presiden mengumumkannya, tetapi alasan politis dan logika umum mencegah informasi ini sampai ke tangan, mata, dan telinga presiden, jadi presiden mengumumkan penemuan 'palsu' itu). Seperti novel-novel Dan Brown sebelumnya, ini bukanlah bacaan yang enteng banget, beberapa pengetahuan geologi juga dimasukkan dalam novel ini, tapi jangan khawatir, walau nggak ngerti sama sekali apaan sih geologi itu, masih bisa mengikuti dan menikmati ceritanya koq. Tokoh-tokoh utamanya: Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland, President Zach Henry, Senator Sedgewick Sexton (ayah Rachel), Dr. Corky Marlinson, Marjorie Tench, Gabrielle Ashe, dan William Pickering.

Hmm, di novel ini kita masih bisa melihat ciri khas Dan Brown dalam menulis: menegangkan, alur yang cepat (lagi, novel ini keseluruhannya menceritakan serangkaian hal berbeda yang terjadi dalam semalam saja), 'membutuhkan' pengetahuan tentang sesuatu (tapi Dan Brown menjelaskannya dalam novel), dll. Tentu saja, ada dong beberapa kemiripan antara novel ini dan novel-novel Dan Brown sebelumnya (The DaVinci Code (DVC), Angels and Demons / Malaikat dan Iblis (AD), dan Digital Fortress / Benteng Digital (DF)). Di samping ciri-ciri di atas, beberapa kemiripan lainnya: ada satu grup pembunuh (Delta Force di DP --> Silas di DVC, Hassasin di AD, dan Hulohot di DF), ada seseorang misterius yang merupakan otak dan perencana dari keseluruhan 'kriminal' (tapi sebenernya dia punya motif sih dan percaya kalo yang dia lakukan itu adalah untuk kebaikan sekelompok tertentu atau manusia), pembunuhan beberapa orang nggak bersalah, teknologi yang maju, dll.

Tetapi, ada juga lah beberapa perbedaannya. Kalo pembunuhnya adalah seorang saja di novel-novel sebelumnya, disini, pembunuhnya satu grup (3 orang). Tentu saja tempatnya juga berbeda, kalo di novel-novel sebelumnya tempatnya adalah di luar Amerika dan Amerika sendiri, di DP, tempatnya keseluruhan di Amerika saja (hmm, juga di lautan terbuka di Samudra Arktika sih). Di dua novel pertama (DVC dan AD) dibahas tentang agama dan gereja, di novel ketiga (DF) adalah komputer, maka di novel ini (DP) adalah tentang geologi dan (sedikit) politik. Dalam novel ini, nggak ada kode untuk dipecahkan (tapi 'kode'nya sendiri sebenernya adalah muslihatnya itu sih, dan 'memecahkan kode' bisa berarti mendapatkan kebenaran; jadi aku agak nggak yakin ini adalah perbedaan atau persamaan... :D).

Btw, waktu lagi membaca, aku juga menebak siapa 'orang misterius'nya yang merencanakan segalanya. Pertamanya sih aku nyaris nebak orang yang salah, tapi seiring dengan berlalunya waktu (:P), aku berubah pikiran dan menebak orang lain, dan aku benar!! Yaaay... . He3... :) Hmm, akhirnya, aku rasa novel ini adalah novel yang menarik untuk dibaca, mungkin nggak se-kontroversial DVC, tapi jalan ceritanya sih bagus (paling nggak untuk aku).

#174 - DIGITAL FORTRESS

ENGLISH

As I wrote at this message, I bought a new novel by Dan Brown to read, DIGITAL FORTRESS. Why did I purchase this book?? Well, the answer is simple, because I have already read the two other Dan Brown's novels (The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demon) and I like both of them, beside, they (the bookstore) also put the books on "Popular Books" table... :)

Digital Fortress, just like its name, has something to do with the computer (and also internet). Digital Fortress is the name of a very complicated allogaritm / code which can't be extracted even by the most sophisticated translator machine in the world (they called: TRANSLTR in the novel). The creator of this code, Ensei Tankado, was a pacifist and wanted NSA (National Security Agency), which owned TRANSLTR, to announce to the world that they owned it, he wanted privacy of each person in the world was kept (with TRANSLTR, NSA could open every e-mails, or messages, or anything even if the messages were written in code). Of course he knew how to extract Digital Fortress (because he was the creator). Unfortunately, Ensei Tankado, the creator of that allogaritm, DIED!!!

To read the complete story, just read the novel... :) I think it's pretty interesting, thrilling and very different with DaVinci Code and Angels and Demon. It's not mainly about religion and Church anymore, the main characters are also different, not about Robert Langdon (and Sophie Neveu or Vittoria) again. Dan Brown also put more drama in this novel, a lot more than he put in DVC and AnD. However, there were some things in this novel which are also similar with the previous novels. There was a murderer which was hired by the bad guy in this novel (similar with Silas at DVC and Hassasin at AnD), and all part of the story happened only at one night... :) There was also code to break, etc. Btw, in the middle of the story, I guessed who the bad guy was, and my guess was right!! Yaaay!!! And about the code (Prime Difference between elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki), I could also break it, he3... :D Btw, I'm waiting to read Dan Brown's next novel (The Deception Point) >> I saw the English version of it when I was in Bali actually... :D

::: Digital Fortress

BAHASA INDONESIA

Seperti yang sudah aku tulis di postingan ini, aku membeli sebuah novel baru karangan Dan Brown untuk dibac yang judulnya, DIGITAL FORTRESS (Benteng Digital). Kenapa aku membeli buku ini?? Hmm, jawabannya sih sederhana aja, soalnya aku sudah membaca 2 buku karangan Dan Brown yang lainnya (The DaVinci Code dan Angels and Demon) dan aku suka keduanya, di samping, mereka (toko bukunya) juga menaruh buku-bukunya di meja "Buku Laris"... :)

Benteng Digital, sama seperti namanya, berhubungan banget dengan komputer (dan juga internet). Benteng Digital adalah nama dari sebuah alogaritma/kode yang sangat rumit yang bahkan tidak bisa dipecahkan bahkan oleh mesin penerjemah tercanggih di dunia (disebut TRANSLTR dalam novel). Pembuat dari kode ini, Ensei Tankado, adalah seorang pecinta damai dan menginginkan NSA (National Security Agency / Agen Keamanan Nasional), yang memiliki TRANSLTR untuk mengumumkan ke dunia kalo mereka memilikinya, dia menginginkan privasi dari setiap orang dijaga (karena dengan TRANSLTR, NSA bisa membaca setiap e-mail, atau pesan, atau apapun bahkan juga pesannya ditulis dalam bentuk kode). Tentu saja dia tahu bagaimana untuk menggugurkan Benteng Digital (soalnya dia kan pembuatnya). Malangnya, Ensei Tankado, pembuat alogaritma itu, MENINGGAL!!!

Untuk membaca cerita selengkapnya, baca aja deh novelnya... :) Menurutku sih lumayan menarik, menegangkan, dan sangat berbeda dari DaVinci Code dan Angels and Demon. Ini nggak sepenuhnya tentang agama dan Gereja lagi, karakter-karakter utamanya juga berbeda, bukan tentang Robert Langdon (dan Sophie Neveu atau Vittoria) lagi. Dan Brown juga menambah lebih banyak drama di dalam novel ini, jauh lebih banyak dari yang dia masukkan dalam DVC dan AnD. Bagaimanapun juga, ada beberapa bagian di novel ini yang mirip dengan novel-novel sebelumnya. Ada seorang pembunuh yang disewa oleh penjahatnya (mirip sama Silas di DVC dan Hassasin di AnD), dan semua bagian dari cerita ini terjadi hanya pada satu malam... :) Ada juga kode untuk dipecahkan, dsb. Ngomong-ngomong, di bagian tengah ceritanya, aku menebak siapa penjahatnya, dan tebakanku bener!! Yeeess!!! Dan tentang kodenya (Prime Difference between elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki) > Aku nggak tulis dlm Bahasa karena memang harus dalam Bahasa Inggris >> aku juga bisa memecahkan kodenya, he3... :D Btw, aku menunggu novel Dan Brown yang selanjutnya (The Deception Point) >> aku sudah melihat yang edisi Bahasa Inggrisnya sih waktu aku lagi di Bali... :D

A Few New Books

ENGLISH

Some days ago, I went to the bookstore looking for some new books. I hadn't gone to the bookstore for quite a long time (about 2 months I think) and because of that I missed some new books. I collect some comics and I missed some new volumes of them. My brother told me that new edition of some comics had already released and he asked me to buy them (well, actually I could refuse it and asked him to buy that comics instead of me but I thought it was okay if I bought the comics).

First, I went to Toga Mas. This bookstore is always in my top list because they sell books cheaper than another bookstores. They give discount around 10 - 20% and that's pretty much, isn't it? Unfortunately, I didn't get all books that I was looking for. I just got 2 of them. And then, I went to Gramedia to continue my book hunting. Finally, I got all of them there (Gramedia is actually the most complete bookstore, but unfortunately, they don't give us discount and because of that they sell books more expensive.). Well, actually I got more than I want. I was tempted to buy Harry Potter 6 (The Half-Blood Prince) and The Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe).

This is the pic of the books which I bought
:: Some books which I bought

INDONESIAN

Beberapa hari yang lalu, aku pergi ke toko buku untuk nyari beberapa buku yang baru. Aku dah nggak pergi ke toko buku lumayan lama (sekitar 2 bulan deh kayaknya) dan karena itu aku kelewatan banyak buku baru. Akumengoleksi beberapa komik dan aku kelewatan beberapa edisi yang baru. Adikku bilang ke aku kalo edisi baru dari komik-komik itu dah terbit dan dia minta aku untuk beli tuh komik (sebenernya sih bisa aja aku menolak dan gantian nyuruh dia untuk beli tuh komik nggantiin aku, tapi aku piki-pikir nggak papa deh kalo aku yang beli komiknya).

Pertama-tama, aku pergi ke Toga Mas. Toko buku ini selalu berada di baris teratas daftarku soalnya mereka njual bukunya lebih murah dari toko-toko lain. Mereka ngasi diskon sekitar 10 - 20%, lumayan kan? Sayangnya, aku nggak dapet semua buku yang aku cari disini. Aku cuma dapet 2 dari kesemuanya. Trus, aku pergi ke Gramedia untuk melanjutkan perburuan bukunya. Akhirnya, aku dapat semua buku yang aku cari deh (sebenernya Gramedia tuh toko buku yang paling lengkap, cuma sayangnya mereka nggak ngasih diskon dan karena itu mereka jual bukunya jadi lebih mahal). Sebenernya sih aku dapet bukunya lebih dari yang aku harapkan loh. Aku tergoda juga untuk beli buku Harry Potter 6 (Pangeran Berdarah Campuran) sama The Chronicles of Narnia (Singa, Penyihir, dan Lemari)

Gambar buku-buku yang aku beli ada di atas tuh... :)