Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer ISBN: 0-446-53098-0 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 20 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.13 (62 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Clever Political Game Turns Deadly
Comment: For his fifth novel, Brad Meltzer returns to the D.C. locale of two of his earlier books, THE TENTH JUSTICE (his first) and THE FIRST COUNSEL (his third). This story follows the same format as his previous works; it is a fast paced thriller that is built around a particular branch of government, in this case Congress, especially the inner workings of the appropriations process. (The other books dealt with events inside the Supreme Court and the White House, respectively.) In keeping with Meltzer's past work, events quickly transpire which involve the main characters in situations well above their pay grades and place them in extreme danger as a result of knowledge which they possess. Then, as is common to all of the author's work and in keeping with the format of the genre, there is a race against time and a struggle against seemingly overwhelming odds to unravel the mystery before the protagonists are killed.
The first sixty pages of THE ZERO GAME are much slower moving than most of Meltzer's stories, but are very cleverly utilized to present the backdrop for the plot. We meet Matthew Mercer, a 32 year old assistant in the office of Congressman Cordell and his older college friend, Harris Sandler, who has been employed on Capitol Hill since graduation and now works for Senator Stevens. They have been recruited to participate in a clandestine game that is only known to the participants. In fact, an integral element of the game is that it is conducted as an anonymous chain where the identities of the other players involved are furnished only in code form. It appears to be a harmless diversion that involves betting on relatively inconsequential Cogressional items and which injects some excitement, risk, strategy and the possibilty of financial gain into the frequent tedium of the day-to-day legislative process. The author has created a really ingenious idea and his descriptions of both the conduct of the game itself as well as the inner workings of the Capitol (the staff, politicians, lobbyists, and the building itself) are very informative and create a completely credible aura for the story which follows.
Surprise! It suddenly seems that the game may not be as innocuous as it appears; someone regards its current subject as important enough to attempt to manipulate the outcome regardless of the cost. People start to die, and it is totally unclear who can be trusted and what comprises the real agenda of Martin Janos (a stone cold killer masquerading as an FBI agent) and his unknown associates. A sixteen year old Senate page is reluctantly enlisted to help unravel the mystery, and a breakneck and almost continuous chase develops as the Congressional aides, isolated from their friends and associates, try to develop an understanding of the goal of the high stakes game in which they are caught while simultaneously managing to stay alive. The plot is quite original, and I have chosen not to include more specific details in order to avoid spoilers.
The author states in his acknowledgements,"in every novel, the goal is to make a complete fabrication sound like absolute fact. The only way to pull it off is to arm yourself with details." And as I stated above, he does an incredibly good job of creating a credible premise because of the level of convincing detail that his research has provided for the major elements of this book. The influence of lobbyists, the Congressional appropriation process and House-Senate conference procedure are all accurately portrayed in detail, and the author even descended into a mine to make sure that the portion of the story that takes place in such a venue would ring true. (N.B. If you suffer from claustrophobia do not read this book, two lengthy segments of it take place in confined quarters underground.) Unfortunately, as in Meltzer's previous books, the action eventually gets so sensational and so far fetched that he does not achieve his goal. An occasional difficult escape is standard for this genre, but some of these are nothing short of miraculous, usually without the benefit of either the training or equipment which would lend them any credibility at all.
Two other elements deserve comment. First, there is the usual lack of character development in such stories, although enough details are provided concerning each of the main characters to keep them from appearing unidimensional. (Perhaps the most interesting involve Janos' observations in regard to his love of automobiles.) Second, as with THE FIRST COUNSEL, this story is told in the form of a first person narrative. This is very effective and serves the author's goals well, but there is a disconcerting element. Since no person is present for all the action, we witness the events through the eyes of multiple individuals. This was a little disconcerting when the transitions occurred; fortunately they were not too frequent and handled well by the author.
In summary, there are several really interesting elements to this story, and the premise is indeed very clever. If you are a Brad Meltzer fan or like action thrillers with a political flavor, you should enjoy this book. Despite its weaknesses and the fact that several of the plot twists were foreshadowed as the story proceeded, I decided that it deserved a four star rating. However, with a lot less sensationalism and a tighter plot it would easily have deserved a solid five stars. Thus, in the end I was both disappointed and tantalized by its unrealized potential.
Tucker Andersen
Rating: 5
Summary: Layers of suspense and thriller intrigue
Comment: After his taut mystery thrillers, The Millionaires and The First Counsel, Brad Meltzer again takes you by the throat for a game and a chase through the corridors of the U.S. Congress for a new and original take on how human weakness can affect the governance of our nation and allow it to become an unwilling provider for a treasonous operation. If you don't get caught up in the drama (but you will), you'll come away from this read with an insight into how congressional staffers negotiate appropriations for bills. It's our money, so it pays to have some idea.
The weakness is in being a sucker for an insider's game -- a secret game for the privileged. Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler his mentor who helped him get on Congressman Nelson Cordell's staff and in on the game, are players. It's a secret game that gives you a sense of importance because you don't know who else in Washington might be playing. The object is to bet on such things as getting unsuspecting legislators to do or say specific things, or guess the final tally on a vote. The stakes are based on a preceding round of betting and, so far, the it's been little more than dinner money, but the real payoff is establishing yourself as a true power broker in Washington.
To win the latest Zero Game, Matthew has to insert his Congressman's land sale project into the Interior House Appropriations bill, which has to do with the transfer of land rights for a closed gold mine in South Dakota, little more than the usual pork and a simple matter for him to do. He can taste victory and wavers only when the bet rises to a couple of thousand dollars. Greed and the intoxication of a sure thing drives him to ignore the fact that a loss could put him in the poor house. He inserts the project into the bill and, shortly thereafter, is murdered.
Harris is devastated, but he also realizes that his friend's fate can't be unrelated to the game. Drawing in the unwilling help of Viv, a 16-year old, black, female page whose access around the Capitol is as unnoticed as it is unlimited, he sets out to investigate a case his superiors are suggesting was just an accident. It doesn't take long to realize that his efforts have made him and Viv targets for attack by Janos, an arch, relentless hitman who's working for the influential lobbyist pulling all the strings.
This is high adventure in high places, with layers of unpredictable developments in a dense plot of international intrigue. Highly recommended for the mystery thriller reader who will happily fall into its trap of suspense in a completely new set of circumstances and locales.
Rating: 4
Summary: Great premise
Comment: I absolutely loved the premise of this book, but wish that the execution could have been a little different. Oh well, everyone is a critic, I suppose. Aside from that, "The Zero Game" was better than most other books I come across. I do disagree with another reviewer in that I thought the character development was good--something that frequently doesn't happen in a "thriller" such as this. Would also recommend two other books that I loved: Baldacci's SPLIT SECOND and a book called THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Both are excellent, but buy THE ZERO GAME first!
 |
Title: The Last Juror by John Grisham ISBN: 0385510438 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: Split Second by David Baldacci ISBN: 0446530891 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
 |
Title: The Second Chair: A Novel by John T. Lescroart ISBN: 0525947752 Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: 26 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: 3rd Degree by James Patterson, Andrew Gross ISBN: 0316603570 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
 |
Title: The Big Bad Wolf: A Novel by James Patterson ISBN: 0316602906 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 17 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
