Rating: 
Summary: Zero it out
Review: Meltzer lastest effort leaves you yearning for more. The plot does not have his usual level of development. The main characters in this book are uninteresting and the overall story is convoluted. I would recommend bypassing this book and latch onto some of his earlier works.
Rating: 
Summary: hair-raising Capitol thriller!
Review: THE ZERO GAME is a fine political adventure based on an innocent enough betting game between congressional staffers which turns into murder. It's heavy on the yawn-inducing stuff of political bartering, & lively in the tight spots into which the two surviving heroes are herded by invisible shepherds who have a lot to lose, no scruples & fingers in very high up pies.Rebeccasreads recommends THE ZERO GAME as one bumpy, entertaining ride!
Rating:
Summary: Capital Fun at a Thrill a Minute
Review: When I first started listening to this novel on unabridged audio cassette, I admit to being confused and having to rewind the first 45 minutes in order to listen to the opening sequence a second time. But after this bout of fuzzy thinking, the fast pace and non-stop excitement narrated in the intelligent and frat boy confident voice of Washington staffer Harris Sandler. moved me along at breakneck speed, unraveling a mystery as labyrinthine as the old gold mine in one of the novel's most exciting sequences. Bored to an unhealthy cynicism with the Washington CYA scene of political manuevering, Harris and his best bud Matthew have spiced up their otherwise mundane careers by doing the unethical: gambling on Congress in a little wagering fun known only by a select few as the Zero Game. Very early on in the novel, the sure thing turns bad, and Harris finds himself in an unthinkable position: on the run for his life from a maniacal assasin with a black box tool that simulates a heart attack when used on its intended victim, with 17 year old Viv Parker, a senate page from Michigan as his only ally.
As Harris and Viv weave from DC to South Dakota and back attempting to uncover the secret of the Zero Game, the reader unearths vital information about the smooth and clever Harris Sandler whose pin-striped perfection hides a disillusioned knight unhorsed by over ten years of back-stabbing DC wheeling and dealing. The innocent, idealistic and religious Viv plays the light to his shadow and together they make a wonderfully precocious and unforgettable team.
The denouement is not predictable, the science interesting, the Washington insider scenes informative and the thrills lasting until the epilogue. If listening to the audio performance, Scott Brick does a more than admirable job of depicting Harris' fallen angel personality; his Viv is brilliantly bright-eyed and wholesomely winsome.
At the end, the two protagonists part ways, but I would like to see these two reunited in the future, say 10 or 15 years down the road; perhaps difficult for the author to envision a future political climate, but fun nevertheless to imagine what could happen to these two down the road.
I recommend this book highly to all those who like a little espionage with a domestic rather than Ludlem-esque international flavor.
Rating:
Summary: lots of action and suspense !!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book it is a page turner and is very hard to put down. Meltzer is as good a Grisham! The gane "Zero Game" is clever and truns deadly for Matthew and Harris they have been friends since college days. Harris persuades MAtther to join the Zero Game. All is well until Matthew is killed . Harris is on the run for his life and career. This book is a must read !!!
Rating: 
Summary: Felt like it was a screenplay
Review: I picked this book up while stuck in an airport during a flight delay. I had read all the other books on the newstand, but this one didn't look that bad. I worked for a Senator for a year and have always been interested in books that deal with DC and the federal government so I thought I was the prime audience for a book like this. While his details and research are pretty good, I just couldn't get over the language and word flow at times. The plot was typical with no real surprises for me, but I felt like I was watching a movie at times with how he worded scenes. It was like Meltzer wrote it so it would catch the attention of some producer as a book easy to translate to film. However, it put me off. It was a good read while waiting for 10 hours in an airport, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others.
Rating:
Summary: Not a particularly well conceived story.
Review: This book disappoints nearly from the very beginning. The key ingredient of the plot is utterly implausible and since it is introduced at the beginning of the book the reader is forced to forge on despite this egregious weakness. It never stopped nagging at me throughout the book and at the end Meltzer adds insult to injury by disclosing that it was indeed NOT plausible. But our hero, Harris Sandler was bamboozled nonetheless. Despite his political savy and cleverness he was fooled by a transparent ruse that even a high schooler would have detected.
Even accepting the preposterous story line, this book was a pedestrian effort at best. Very predictable. The only redeeming quality of the book was the glimpse into the inner workings of the Congress. I enjoyed that, but wading through this mediocrity was too high a price to pay for what I suspect was not a particularly accurate portrayal. I found myself skimming large sections of the book in order to just get through to the unsatisfactory end.
Ordinarily I would have simply quit reading but the story was just barely interesting enough to keep me going which is why I gave it three instead of one or two stars.
Now, if you are stuck on a transcontinental flight and you find this book beneath your seat cushion AND you have absolutely nothing else productive to do then and only then should you consider reading this book. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and find something more worthwhile to expend your efforts on.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Worthy of Meltzer
Review: I have really enjoyed other books by this author but this is beyond stupid! One chase after another described in detail for pages at a time. The plot could have been covered in one chapter. It goes on and on with little in the way of interesting detail. The worst read I have had in years!
Rating: 
Summary: Fast paced Read
Review: The book starts off slowly and within the first 50 pages Meltzer sucks you in and never lets you go. Harris and Viv are running for their dear lives after Matthew dies and hARRIS discovers the game he was playing was in fact non at all.It wouldn't surprise me if this was made into a movie. This book is a perfect antidote to a weekend afternoon with nothing to do. The Zero Game is one of Meltzer's best books and even better than his last effort. (The Millionaires)
Rating:
Summary: The Zero Game
Review: I have read and enjoyed all of Meltzer's books. I was looking forward to this one, but found it boring, boring, boring. What is it telling me? Why should I care? There was noting that I found entertaining about this book, and after the first 50 pages, I dumped it. Back to the consistently entertaining authors, like James Patterson,
Rating:
Summary: My First Meltzer Read
Review: What a ride! Nothing that I expected. Meltzer has done a lot of research to come up with a great read in The Zero Game. I even learned something as well as was entertained. Good job Meltzer.
If you're looking for a different and exciting novel, read LUST OF THE FLESH by Beverly Rolyat. A story about district attorney, Nick Allapapalaus, who finds himself caught up in a web of lust, deceit, mystery, suspense, betrayal, murder and sex galore. Is he really the biological father of his ex-wife's promiscuous teenage daughter's infant son? Or has he been set up? A compelling, riveting, engaging, pageturning novel. Enjoy!
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