Customer Reviews

Code to Zero

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

I've always been a huge fan of Mr. Follett's work but was a little disappointed with the last two releases. After the first good reviews of his latest effort I eagerly awaited the delivery of the novel and immediately started reading.

The story is good and exciting, but the book could have been so much better if Ken Follett had just developed the characters a little deeper. The british edition clocks in at just 324 pages, at twice that amount "Code to Zero" could have been brilliant.

Just imagine the lead character waking up without any memory of who he is - solving not only his own mystery but working out his past love life, saving the American space program and bringing the bad guys to justice - all in 300 pages (net).

I would have loved a little more of this basically good story for my money. Ken Follett knows how to keep readers hooked beyond a few pages, as he's proven with blockbusters like "Pillars of the Earth" or "Night Over Water" - why not try again?

Espionage is at the core of this Cold War era thriller and the suspense sizzles. The time is 1958 when the space race was young and the Soviets seemed to be outdistancing the America. The protagonist is an inventive, complex study - he's Dr. Claude Lucas, an important cog in a new space launch. However, he's also a victim of amnesia, an apparent vagrant in Washington D.C.'s Union Station.

Toss in the CIA, a covey of spies, and an old college buddy of Lucas's who is more foe than friend. Some might deem this a classic take on chased and chasers - not so. Thanks to the deft Mr. Follett, it's a no-holds-barred, riveting epic. And, so are the readings.

Frank Muller, who has been featured on over 150 audiobooks, offers a splendid rendering of crisp, character driven dialogue in the two abridged versions on cassette and CD.

While Obie award-winner George Guidall, an actor for 40 plus years, reads the unabridged version. He takes sinister and dramatic to their zenith.

I had the opportunity to read Ken Follet's CODE TO ZERO last week. The tale of a man who wakes up in a Union Station restroom suffering from autobiographical amnesia is compelling The protagonist must find out, in short order, who he is, why he has lost his memory, who has done this to him and what are the consequences if he does not recover. The story is set in the late 50's as America attempts to put a satellite in space, countering the Russian-launched Sputnik. As he slowly discovers that he is Claude "Luke" Lucas, a rocket scientist of some fame and renown, he discovers that he is the victim of a plot to silence him. Why, however, he and the reader must discover as the novel races from place to place at race-car pace.

Ken Follett has long been a favorite author of mine, particularly for his book, PILLARS OF THE EARTH, which involved the construction of a magnificent Gothic cathedral in 12th century England. That book, epic in scale, intertwines various characters, kings, noblemen and noblewomen, clergy and peasants in a story of faith intrigue and power in the middle ages. This book, while considerably shorter in length, move quickly. I never lost interest! Indeed, I read the book in one sitting in about 4 hours which is most unusual for me. I would recommend the book highly to anyone who enjoys a good yarn.

If you like Ken Follett's spy thrillers you won't be too disappointed. I loved his historical novels and just started in on these cold war stories. The thing that shocked me was the inattention to detail and almost consistent misrepresentation of historical facts. I felt like his historical books were great fiction set against solid research. Now I'll have to go back and check. In this book, he made small mistakes, like portraying Huntsville, AL in the Eastern time zone instead of Central. Maybe that helped the story since the action kept moving from Huntsville to Washington DC and Florida during the countdown. But he also had Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1968 instead of 1969. What was the point of that? So I went onto the web and looked up several items that he talked about in the foundation of the story. Turns out that Mr. Follett may have intentionally changed a bunch of things, but I never figured out the purpose of the misrepresentations. If you like his historical notes at the beginning of the chapter, don't believe them. Go to http://www.spaceline.org/rocketsum/juno-I.html to get a nice summary of the reality. Otherwise, the book is certainly worth the price. I couldn't put it down. It is just fiction, after all.

In 1958, he awakens in the public toilet Of DC's Union Station. In the mirror he looks at the reflection of a bum. Still, the image means nothing to him, as he has no idea who he is. A companion Pete informs him he is Luke, a wino and that they shared a bottle last night. However, in spite of his buddy's insistence, being a derelict seems wrong to Luke and when he has no psychological need to find alcohol he concludes that Pete is a liar.

Luke begins to search for his lost identity and the someone who went to the trouble of setting up the tramp scenario. As he uncovers more and more of the truth, Luke realizes that he is somehow involved in the American space race to match the Russian successful launch of Sputnik. How and what his role was eludes Luke who remains unaware of the master plan to abort the space program.

Ken Follett returns to his most comfortable milieu, the heated period of the Cold War with a fabulous, fast-paced thriller. The story line moves forward quickly as readers obtain a look back to an era that seems so much like ancient history though it is only four decades ago. Though a bit formulaic, the plot keeps the attention of the audience due to Luke's everyman fighting impossible odds a la Grant on Rushmore.

Harriet Klausner

"Code to Zero" is a Cold War thriller about a group of college students whose lives overlap over a period of years. In a series of flashbacks from the 1940's, alternating with the present (1958, to be exact), Follett shows how a bunch of carefree college students go on to play crucial roles in the rivalry between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. The U. S. S. R. has launched Sputnik, and the United States is attempting to keep pace by launching Explorer I. The prestige of the United States hinges on the success of this launch. However, someone may be attempting to sabotage the launch, thereby damaging the U. S. space program. "Code Zero" starts out well. I was interested in the lives of Luke, Elspeth, Billie and Anthony, who are attractive and intelligent college students with big plans for the future. However, as the book progresses, it begins to sag. Follett allows the plot to sink into melodramatic and predictable plotting, and the dialogue becomes banal. The ending (which should be exciting) lacks suspense, since it is obvious how the plot will turn out. Too bad, because the book started out as good campy fun.

Ken Follett has a knack for building a suspense thriller around historical events, even one which might have been routine. His latest novel, Code to Zero, is a perfect example. While the 1958 launch of Explorer I, putting America into space and starting the drive to catch up with and surpass the Soviet's space initiative was historically significant, it is not something a reader would expect to inspire an espionage thriller. Evidence of Follett's writing skill is that he keeps the suspense level high while we all know the launch was successful. Code to Zero begins with an apparent bum waking up in the men's toilet at Union Station in Washington, D.C. He has no memory of who he is or even where he is, much less how he got there. Someone else in the room guides him toward a shelter for food, and calls him "Luke." As he wanders around, however, he discovers that he has skills. He notices that he is being followed, that he knows how to elude his shadowers, that he knows how to "live off the land" in an urban setting. He also realizes that he has no cravings for drink or drugs. Something must be wrong. Luke's adventures do not have the anxiety dream character that Robert Ludlum provides in his novels. Luke proceeds logically and makes progress in his quest for identity and explanation. He finds help along the way, of course. In this case there is the amazing coincidence of having also in D.C. Luke's former girlfriend who is a specialist in memory loss, and two more of his college friends who served with him in the O.S.S. during World War II. It still works, aided immensely by Follet's use of flashbacks to develop the characters as we meet them and as their parts in the drama grow. Code to Zero is good, solid Follett, and a pleasure to read.

Its hard to believe that the same man who wrote the masterpiece Pillars of the Earth could write this incredibly simplistic novel. The characters are all undeveloped and one-dimensional, which combined with a dull and predictable story line makes for a boring read. I've read everything Ken Follett has ever written, and this novel is by far his worst.

I'm a big fan of historical fiction and suspense so this book was a wonderful combination of both. Set in 1958, in the height of the Spudnik anxiety, the reader gets a mix of early space program with D.C. area political intrigue.

Follett has assembled an interesting central cast - a group of friends from their days at Harvard (late 30's/early 40's) who went on to intrigue in WW2. They're now in their late 30's and crossing paths as the countdown to the last hope for the American space program is due to launch. Our protagonist, Luke, wakes up with amnesia and the story begins. Along the way, he's able to look at old friends with fresh eyes. An old flame comes to his rescue and well....

Wow, what a group of mixed opinions in these reviews. All I can say that as a middle aged reader who hasn't seen all those Hitchcock movies, this was an entertaining read. I listened to George Guidell's unabridged reading and found myself sitting in parking lots so I could just listen to a few more pages. That doesn't happen all that often these days.

Ken Follett, who wrote the brilliant "Pillars of the Earth" and the excellent novels, "Key to Rebecca" and "The Eye of the Needle", has cranked out a quickie that misses badly, in my view. The basic idea is okay - a man wakes up, dressed like a bum, in Washington D.C., with no idea who he is or how he got there. Turns out he's actually a rocket scientist involved with the launch of the United States' first satellite. Unfortunately the story is filled with anachronisms (a Ford Fiesta in 1958 is one glaring one)and highly improbable plot devices. In one segment, a CIA agent fires several shots at our hero, in the dark, behind a large Washington hotel, then runs out and gathers up the spent bullets! However, the absolute worst, the point at which I felt like hurling the book against the wall, was the final chapter in which the moon landings took place. Follett has it happening on July 20, 1968! 1968! Is there anyone who doesn't know that the moon landings happened in 1969?? Is there an editor or fact checker working at this publishing house? Mr. Follett, I've been a fan of yours ever since "Key to Rebecca" but you're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than "Code to Zero" to keep me. This book is a dud.