Rating: 
Summary: Too many errors
Review: How could a Harvard grad, WWII veteran, spy, and engineer not know where Newport News was? The use of xeroxing has been mentioned as a reflexion of poor editing; I agree, that troubled me to the point where I wondered what other historical information was also untrue. At one point our hero is driving a jeep on the Florida sands, the next moment he leaves his "car" to venture on foot. No one in 1958 called a jeep a car. Shouldn't do it now either, but back then a jeep was a four-wheel, very rugged, but very small off-road vehicle that would never have been referred to as a car. Sloppy work. No more Follet. I actually felt sorry for his editors, I imagine they caught errors but due to publishing deadlines, the changes were not incorporated into the final book. On the ideolgical side, too little depth to explain the motivation of those who leaned to the left. It also seemed too far fetched that a small group of young pre-war coeds in Cambridge would all play such significant roles in the major events of the world. Try "Cutout" by Francine Mathews
Rating:
Summary: Read this book only if (a) its free and (b) you're stranded
Review: Hard to believe that this book is by the same author that wrote "Pillars of the Earth" and "Night Over Water". Good premise that never, ever, gets off the launch pad for the entire book. Historical inaccuracies abound, i.e., Xerox photocopying in 1958, sloppy editing, i.e., in one scene Elspeth is driving a white '57 Chevy Bel Air convertible, in the next scene its a white Corvette and in the next scene the '57 Bel Air is back, and Mr. Follet assumes that the reader has no short or long term memory, i.e., he tells over and over why a character is loyal to another character. Poorly developed plot, no real character development and the way that events fall together are pretty incredible. James Lee Burke and Martin Cruz Smith are better at writing this kind of story.
Rating: 
Summary: Amnesia and an Urgent Mission
Review: I remember April 1981, being at Cape Canaveral in Florida at eight in the morning, and a multitude of people had come from all over, from England, France, Canada, various states of the USA... standing at the beaches by Intercoastal Route A 1, to see the space shuttle be carried piggy back overhead into space. It didn't happen, and we all went somewhere for breakfast. In Ken Follet's story CODE TO ZERO his plot thickens to an impenetrable gruel, however the year is 1958, and Wernher von Braun was the man with all the grey matter to put man into outer space. Believe it or not, the story has only 24 hours to get untangled. A masterpiece! Gerborg
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly disappointing
Review: Of course the protagonist lost not only his memory but had the misfortune to fall into an alternative universe where in 1958 there existed the concept of xeroxing documents along with Cadillac Eldorados and Ford Fiestas, which in our universe came along many years later. I too would have been as confused as our less-than-intrepid author, and I too would have lapsed into insipid dialog and unreal plot twists.Mr. Follett gives great credit at the end of the book to his researchers, etc., who helped him. Too bad none of them had the brains to do any research into contemporary history. For shame, Mr. Follett.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: I read this book in one day while on vacation. As always, Ken Follett did his research and created compelling characters in a non-stop action situation. Although this was not my favorite book by him, this book was excellent. If you want an edge of your seat, fast paced novel that has a little bit of everything from crime, to romance, history and suspense, you have your book. If only he wrote faster.
Rating:
Summary: disappointed
Review: For the author of "Pillars of the Earth", "On the wings of eagles" this is a disappointig book. I bought it in the airport before a long intercontinental flight, thinking it would take me trough the flight. That was two weeks ago, I still didn't finish it. If you look for a cold war - time, spy novel, try something else. To bad for Follet.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Summer read
Review: I really don't understand all the negative reviews I've seen on this board. I read this book in 3 days (Very fast for me) because I simply could not put it down. The plot engages you from page 1, and twists and turns throughout the entire novel. I was riveted as I read Code to Zero!! This is a fantastic book to take along on vacation - it reads fast, and will definitely take your mind away from your day-to-day worries and hassles of work, etc. I loved the characters, the plot, and the theme, and will definitely go read some of Follett's earlier works. GREAT BOOK!!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book disappointed the devout Follet fan in me. The book does have exciting moments, but its often very predictable, a trait definitely not desirable in any suspense books. The amnesia thing does seem interesting, but the author doesnt pull it off that well. I found Bourne Identity, (by Robert Ludlum) which has a similiar idea, immensely more exciting. I would recommend that to any avid reader of suspense. This book however is just okay.
Rating: 
Summary: I originally bought this book as a gift for someone else.
Review: The plot synopsis that I read interested me enough that I decided to read the book myself after the person I bought it for had finished the book. I'm not usually a spy/thriller fan, and have never before read any of Ken Follett's books - but I did enjoy this one. I found it entertaining, and was interested enough in the story and the characters to want to know what was going to happen next. I was particularly intrigued by the use of the U.S. space program as a major part of the story. I was too young to remember any of the major history that was a part of this story, but did follow the later NASA flights. And, I do very much remember the Apollo 11 flight.
Rating:
Summary: Formulaic and sloppy, too
Review: I came to this book excited about the amnesia aspect (I study memory professionally), but was disappointed. I found this book to be too predictable, not in its plot details but in the overall design. Good guy finds just what he needs just when he needs it, is befriended by all the right people, discovers the truth just in the nick of time, etc. More disturbing was the way Follett played fast and loose with facts. There is not now, and certainly was not then, a reliable way to induce total autobiographical amnesia in one treatment over a few hours. Want something more clear-cut? Several times he refers to people "xeroxing" things, but Xerox (then called Haloid Xerox) introduced the first plain-paper, dry-ink xerographic copier in 1959 -- but this book is set in 1958. Surely Follett is old enough to remember mimeographing things all the way into the 60s and 70s, and if he doesn't an editor should have. This shows a disregard for accuracy and, by extension, a lack of respect for the reader, which definitely destroys my respect for the book.
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