Rating: 
Summary: A trivial game turns deadly.
Review: Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler work on Capitol Hill. Matthew is an assistant to a Congressman, and Harris is the youngest chief of staff ever hired by a Senator. Both young men are very bright, but they are a bit bored and looking for some laughs. They decide to play "The Zero Game," in which they place bets on their ability to push through meaningless pieces of legislation. No one gets hurt, the guys can make a few bucks, and it's all in good fun. Unfortunately for Mercer and Sandler, there's more to the "zero game" than meets the eye. The seemingly trivial pursuit proves to be extremely dangerous for its participants.Brad Meltzer, the author of "The Zero Game," does well when he discusses the inner workings of Congress, especially the machinations of lobbyists, the horse trading that occurs during appropriations meetings, and the quid pro quos that grease the wheels of politics. Unfortunately, it takes more than this to make a successful political thriller. The plot of "The Zero Game" is both far-fetched and repetitious. Brad Meltzer has written a book of over four hundred and fifty pages, with numerous descriptions of one chase sequence after another. To his credit, Meltzer's good guys, Harris and Vivian Parker, a seventeen-year-old Senate page, are affable, intelligent, and engaging characters. They are tough and idealistic, and they put up a good fight. It is also refreshing that Meltzer does not include a hokey romantic subplot in this novel. However, the villains are straight out of central casting, the dialogue is stilted, and the unrealistic story goes on far too long. As a political thriller, "The Zero Game" ultimately misses the mark.
Rating: 
Summary: Great premise
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful
Review: This is my first Meltzer novel, I believe. I also believe it will be my last. It begins with a mildly interesting tour of the arcana that may fill the lives of Congressional staffers.
The initial premise is the "Zero Game," a game played by a group organized into cells. You know only one person above you who invites you into the game and one person below whom you can invite to join.
The game turns deadly and serious. (I don't like to give plot details because I think it can interfere with the enjoyment of the novel.
In competent hands the premise so far could have led to a satisfying thriller. Meltzer, apparently, lacks the competence to accomplish this. He has one of the protagonists, a Senate staffer around 30 teaming with a 17 year old African-American woman . . . and from that point on, the story is just plain silly. And slow. And impossible to believe.
Some authors, particularly Clive Cussler, can present the reader with utterly unbelievable characters, plots and situations and by sheer force of words, induce the reader to suspend credulity.
Meltzer can't do this and the result is a slow, unpleasant and unsatisfying experience. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: A Clever Political Game Turns Deadly
Review: 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: 
Summary: Layers of suspense and thriller intrigue
Review: 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 is playing. the object is to get 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 stakes have been little more than dinner money. On a staffer's salary, the risk has been comfortable, but, the greater accomplishment of winning is to establish 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. (Review will appear in NoHo>LA, a Los Angeles newspaper)
Rating:
Summary: Great premise
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: weak Meltzer
Review: I ordered this since I havereally loved his previous books.This one is so weak in plot andaction and needless dialog Idid something I rarely do. After200 pages, I put it in recylepile
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't give it three stars
Review: This is the first Meltzer book I have read. Although I really enjoyed reading the book, I found I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with much of the plot. Harris Sandler and Viv Parker make a fun team to follow, but many of the other characters are unbelieveable. If you are only looking for something fun and fast-paced, this could be your book. But if you have trouble with unbelievable plots or are looking for something deeper, this may not be for you.
Rating:
Summary: ENTHRALLING AND ENTERTAINING LISTENING
Review: Audie and Earphone Award winner Scott Brick is one of the most versatile and accomplished voice performers to be found. He has recorded more than 150 books for Time Warner; this breadth of experience comes to the fore in readings that tend to become even better than the last. Brad Meltzer, with a string of bestsellers to his credit, now draws upon his time as an intern on Capitol Hill to lend authenticity and detail to "The Zero Game." Matthew Mercer has decided he may want to leave his job as a high paid staffer in our country's corridors of power. Rather than lose a buddy his best friend, Harris Sandler, invites him to join in an intriguing game - it's a game no one knows about, least of all their important bosses. Bets are made on the outcome of proposed legislation. Sound like fun? Perhaps, until someone is murdered. The pair have uncorked more than trouble. Now, someone is out to kill them. They have no one to help nor anyone they can trust save for a 16-year-old Senate page. Scott Brick's readings on the Abridged CD version and the Unabridged Audio Cassette edition will both enthrall and entertain. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Solid Book. Good Story
Review: This was my first Meltzer book. I thought it was well written, although some of the dialogue was stilted. The story begins with a young employee on Capitol Hill, just running through the paces, when his friend decides to introduce him to a secret game. Our young hero soon finds himself mixed up in all sorts of political and mysterious intrigue that takes him -- seemingly -- very far away from the Zero Game...but he is soon to find out that everything in life is a circle and he is right in the middle.
If you like political stories with some James Rollins' type action, then this stoy is great. The writer shifts between first person and third often, which can be somewhat jarring in the beginning, but later on, you hardly notice it and it's nice to be in someone's head for a while.
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