Rating: 
Summary: Ken Follett has writers block
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Follet
Review: I never really liked Follet novels except for "Wings of Eagles," but "Code to Zero" is a very good book. I think it is one of his best works. Yes, it's different, but it's a book by a seasoned writer who plays with words, applies excellent charaterization, and pays attention to detail. "Code to Zero" is not your typical breathtaking thriller, but it's an interesting book and time well spent. If you prefer a fast-past thriller, I highly recommend the new powerful megathriller THE CONSULTANT by Alec Donzi.
Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining, but that's all
Review: I really enjoy Ken Follett's books and began this with enthusiasm. I settled quickly into the tempo of the book, but was thoroughly disappointed with the details which pad out the story - the environment, the history of the times, the fine details of the characters. This book is set in the scientific world of space exploration in the late 1950s, but it could be set anywhere, at any time. The only real references to the background subject matter are the headers in italics at the beginnings of the chapters - the book is remarkably light on research - so unlike his other great books.We follow the adventures of our hero who has lost his memory. Unfortunately, he finds this out and sorts out his life with remarkably little trauma and ease. He has a history of course, but even this colourful past is pat and unbelievable. This is quite a weak story that kept me entertained enough to finish the book, but no more. I was frankly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Farfetched Premise but Interesting Nonetheless
Review: Although "Code to Zero" is overall a fairly fast-paced interesting story, there are a few too many coincidences and loose ends to make the story very plausible. The protagonist, Luke Lucas wakes up one morning in 1958 in a bus station with a hang-over, dressed like a bum, and not knowing who he is. Through many scrapes and close calls he steals a car and a fresh set of clothes, breaks into someone's house to take a shower and change, and starts relentlessly pursuing any clues to his past. He walks through the halls of Georgetown University hoping someone will recognize him and tell him who he is! How believable is that? The reader is lead through a series of flashbacks to Luke's pre-war days at Harvard and parallel scenes at the rocket launch site in Cape Canaveral, and is thrust into the tension of the U.S. vs. Russia space wars of the late 1950's. Each chapter is introduced with a brief statement about the various phases of rocket design, which doesn't really add any useful or interesting information to the book. Luke gradually uncovers the secret to his past and why he has been subjected to his drug-induced amnesia. The reader figures out who the "bad guys" are long before the end of the book, but you're never really sure why they became bad guys in the first place. The novel could have benefited from a more thorough character development of some of the critical players. Not one of Follett's best books, but that's not much of an indictment since some of his earlier novels are among my perennial favorites, including "Eye of the Needle" and "The Key to Rebecca".
Rating:
Summary: Code to Zero
Review: This book is a real page-turner, I read it in one sitting. Though it has a predicitable ending, the author keeps you guessing with bizarre twists and turns. I recommend it for those who want an easy read to pass the weekend.
Rating:
Summary: Part rocket science, part James Bond...
Review: I read this book in one sitting. I picked it up because I like spy stories and I am fascinted with stories of amnesia. Being an avid follower of the space program, I was even more taken by the fact that it dealt with the lauch of America's first satellite, the explorer. This book seemed to have been written just for my taste. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though the plot was a little thin and the characters a bit simpler than I would expect from people in the world of espionage, but this IS a novel set in postwar idyllic America. This book would probably make a good movie with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron and a hot soundtrack featuring the Foo Fighters and Shaggy. I recommend it as a well written, straightforward, interesting spy novel. Part rocket science, part James Bond... a good solid four star book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not Great
Review: Having been a long-time fan of Mr Follett's early work, I was a bit disappointed by his last two novels (The Third Twin & The Hammer of Eden). "Code to Zero", which is again set in the Eastern US, starts off quite well and is an entertaining read over all, but after finishing it (which doesn't take very long at barely 300 pages net) I found it suffered from the same flaws that Ken Follett's other recent novels had: it's just too superficial. The lost memory idea is not really new, but a gifted author like Mr Follett should have made so much more out of a pretty simple storyline. Like its two predecessors, "Code to Zero" reads like a TV-thriller script which includes a strangely shallow love interest sideline. I'd rather wait two or even three years for a new Follett novel that's up to the standards of "The Pillars of the Earth", "Night Over Water" or "Eye of the Needle" than be slightly disappointed again by another rush-job like the new book. I really wish this review could've been more positive, but in comparison to earlier Follett classics "Code to Zero" is a terribly flat affair. You might check out a "A Tourist in the Yucatan" a different kind of thriller. I liked it!
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, this one's a dud
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Flat characters, borrowed plot, awkward storytelling.
Review: I really wanted to like this book - the premise of an amnesia victim struggling to find out who he is and what happened to him is, while not a new idea, a fun plot to read. But the flat characters never develop into people you can care about - and the flip-flopping of time lines to tell the story is awkward. The race for space with the Russians, amnesia, double agents, lost loves, cat and mouse games to stay alive - it's all here but it never comes together. Maybe Follett should have take a tip from Ludlum and gotten Gayle Lynds to co-write - perhaps then all the potential of this book would have come to fruition.
Rating:
Summary: Overdone amnesia but still a fun, fast-paced read
Review: Code to Zero is an entertaining mystery-thriller that is relatively fast paced and keeps you guessing to a point. We first meet the protagonist waking from a sleep only to realize he suffers from amnesia. Slowly realizing his intelligence and his place in life, the reader follows him through Washington, DC to meet old friends from Harvard and a former love. Unbelievable, we follow him through interactions with the FBI/CIA and then to Nasa. We follow him from bum to "potential suitor to save the country". While the story gets rediculous, it is entertaining and fast paced, and fun to read.
| 
