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Summary: Needs more thought, less action
Review: I really like Brad Meltzer's work and was excited to pick up Zero Game. But I'm disappointed: the whole book reads like the script to the movie he hopes to sell. Way to much violence--and in bone-crunching, gravel-slicing-into-face-as-person-slides-head-first-into-ground detail. Too much running around, not enough mindplay. As usual, he's a great researcher, characters are likeable, and he paints a good picture. I'm still a fan, but I'll skip the movie.
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Summary: Fast read,,,good plot twists
Review: 1) As usual with this author, he has a good set-up plot and then action spins out of control to (almost) uncomfortably tense moments. (You're glad it's not you down there.) 2) The dialogue has improved substantially since "First Counsel" (Hist first book.) 3) Instead of giving away most of the plot at the beginning and making the rest of the book a chase (which he usually does as in "The Millionaires") he saves key plot points for the middle and the end. 4) The chase/action scenes might be a little long, but they read very quickly. 5) The man seems to know his subject matter (well to me, anyway.)
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Summary: Sometimes a Little Knowledge Can be a Deadly Thing
Review: Matthew Mercer works on Capitol Hill writing Interior Appropriations for Congressman Cordell. The committee the congressman serves on decides where and when discretionary monies are spent. His best friend Harris Sandler is a Senate staff member and deals with the orientation of Congressional pages. Harris is the kind of guy everybody likes, confident, sure of himself and he likes to play games. Like pinning the Lorax, the Dr. Seuss character who speakes for the trees "for the trees have no tonuges," on Congressman Enemark's lapel when he's not looking. The congressman is the Dean of the House and Congress's longest serving Member and according to Matthew, "He'd clearcut Oregon, hang billboards in the Grand Canyon, and vote to pave over his own garden with baby seal skins if he thought it'd get him some cash." Matthew is bored and cynical, looking for excitement, so when Harris introduces him to a clandestine game betting on the likelihood of various pieces of legislation being passed, he plays. It's a harmless little betting game centered around how many votes there will be on a particular bill. One day the bet concerns a trivial government land sale that Matthew has the power to control. It's a sure thing and Matthew and Harris bet their savings. The way the game works, each person invites one other person to play, so each player knows only two others, the rest of the players are kept anonymous. But the game hides an explosive secret and turns deadly when someone close to them winds up dead. Now they realize the rules have changed and that they're about to become the game's next victims as a ruthless killer is on their trail. They turn to the only person who they can trust, a young and idealistic black Senate page named Viv who, because she can move around the Capitol undetected and in and out of private offices without raising suspicion, turns out to be the perfect person to save their bacon. THE ZERO GAME was an excellent read, but Mr. Metzer writes in the first person present tense and that took me a whole chapter to get used to, but once I did I was caught up in the book and the game, unable to quit till both were finished, plus as an added benefit I relearned how government really works. Something I think I learned back in college, but sadly forgot, however it's something I'm certainly going to remember the next time I go to the polls. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
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Summary: DUD
Review: Waste of time, get it from the library if you have to read it. If you're looking for a great thriller to read, pick up Joseph Finder's Paranoia.
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Summary: So Disappointing- I waited for this book for two years!
Review: Let me start off by saying this- every other book by Brad Meltzer was AMAZING. This one stank. It seems like 75% of the book was very verbose fight scenes and a long, drawn-out chase. I hardly saw any "political thriller" aspect to this book like some other reviewers seem to think there was. In addition, the characters were never developed enough to even care about them. Take it from someone who loved Meltzer's other books for their spontaneity, crisp dialogue, and fun premise- this book has none of it.
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Summary: Yet Another Intriguing Thriller from Brad Meltzer!
Review: You cannot come away from reading a Brad Meltzer book without being just a little smarter. THE FIRST COUNSEL provided an extremely interesting peek behind the curtains of the White House. THE MILLIONAIRES contained several side dissertations about finance that were not only informative but also interesting. In his latest offering, THE ZERO GAME, Meltzer provides an illuminating, and at times, quietly frightening look at the way the United States government does --- and does not --- work. At age 19 Meltzer was an intern on Capitol Hill. Along the way he apparently acquired a bit of knowledge about appropriations committees. You've heard the term "appropriations committee." It's a term of art that usually causes one's eyes to glaze over. He apparently did a lot more than work on Capitol Hill, however; he observed and absorbed a lot as well, if THE ZERO GAME is any indication. The initial focus of the novel is the appropriations committees of the House and Senate. Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler are good friends who are on appropriations committees in the House and Senate, respectively. One day Sandler lets Mercer in on something called the Zero Game, which is kind of a clandestine government office betting pool. But it isn't a wager on football games --- it's a bet on such things as how many votes will be cast for or against House resolutions, or whether items will be included or excluded from bills or resolutions. The fact that the participants in the game don't know the identity of the other players, other than the pool member who invites them to participate, adds to the intrigue. Meltzer initially takes a bit longer to set up THE ZERO GAME than he ordinarily does in his novels, and for just a page or two his regular readers might wonder if he's going to tone things down a bit for this offering. Never fear. The quiet beginning is a setup. After the first 50 pages or so Meltzer takes a completely unexpected left turn that will have you rereading a paragraph or two several times until you're sure that he actually did what you think he did. I still can't believe it, but he did do it. From there, Meltzer doesn't even give his reader a chance to come up for air. What appears to be a harmless, even beneficial, line item in an appropriations bill --- authorizing the private acquisition of an abandoned, and apparently worthless, gold mine in South Dakota --- becomes a wager subject of the Zero Game and leads to a desperate cross-country race to determine why someone is willing to stop at nothing --- including murder --- to ensure that the transfer of the land goes through. Meltzer is in fine form here, as his protagonists are pursued back and forth across the country with an ultimate, and perhaps symbolic, showdown in the bowels of the Capitol Building. The elements that make Meltzer's work so addictive are all present here. Meltzer has few equals in his ability to ratchet the suspense level of his narratives to new highs, all the while dropping interesting little factoids about the nooks and crannies of his well-known surroundings. I learned more about the Capitol Building in a few pages of THE ZERO GAME than I learned from a solid year of high school civics. Yet Meltzer never lets the information drag his storyline down. There are times when reading this book is like being taken on a tour of the Capitol Building by a tour guide who has a pistol stuck in your ear while you race through the corridors of government. You know where you are and you're conscious of what he's saying, but you're praying that everything turns out okay. Meltzer also demonstrates some familiarity with caverns. I don't know if he is a spelunker in his spare time, but his descriptions of mine shafts and caverns are dead on. Maybe a little too dead-on, actually. If you're at all claustrophobic, you might want to read the last half of the book outside so you can take a breath once in a while. With THE ZERO GAME Meltzer continues to demonstrate his ability to present a complex plot in an understandable manner while using it as a method to propel his characters, and the reader, through a reading experience that is unstoppable. Although this is only Meltzer's fifth novel, he writes like a Grandmaster of many years' experience. If you haven't reserved a bookshelf in your library for him yet, you will soon. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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Summary: into the Toilet
Review: Brad must have some young chldren. The first two chapter use "potty " humor add infinitum. He also overdoes the kid book analogies. It is so tiresome and booring that you do not have patience for the rest of the story.
From the first page, you just want to throw away the book. Don't wast your timne or money. Read anything else
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Summary: This Zero is a Hero
Review: I had intially started reading this book based on the recommendations of some friends and from his Green Arrow series.I am really glad I did because this book delivers. Meltzer always keeps you guessing with PLAUSABLE plot twists and fleshed out BELIEVABLE characters. I picked up this book on Wednesday and finished Thursday at 2 AM. I just couldn't put it down. Run don't walk to get this book. As Howard Dean said, "YEEEEEEEAAARGHHHHH". Great book.
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Summary: Another Winner
Review: Whether a Washington DC insider or simple lover of political fiction, this book will keep you wrapped in the plot till the very end. It's one of those "hard to put down" books that develops the characters quickly, is an easy read, but throws enough plot twists throughout to keep you from ever possibly getting bored!
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Summary: Another winner from Brad Meltzer.
Review: The zero game is a dangerous game surrounded by secrecy. It is a game of risk, reward, mystery and the thrill of knowing that just being invited to play confirms your status as a Washington power broker. Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler are two young men playing the zero game, no one knows they are playing, not their friends, not their co-workers and definitely not their bosses who happen to be some of the most powerful senators and congressmen. The game starts off as fun for both men with the reward of some extra cash, until someone they both know turns up dead. As Matthew and Harris try to figure what they have become involved in, they realize the zero game hides a sinister secret and that they both have been marked for death. With a killer tracking their every move, Matthew and Harris must run for their lives and their only chance for survival is to trust the 16 year-old Senate with the know-how to roam the capital undetected. 'The Zero Game' is another great thriller from Brad Meltzer. From page one the story grabs hold and doesn't let go. Complex plot, break-neck pacing, well-drawn characters and shocking twists all blend together to make an unforgettable read complete with an explosive climax. Brad Meltzer's smooth writing style and ingenious plots have earned him the reputation of being a master thriller writer, with 'The Zero Game' he not only confirms the reputation, he proves he is at the top of his game. Expect to see this book dominate the top spot on the bestseller lists. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
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