- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan; First Printing edition (16 Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0333780760
- ISBN-13: 978-0333780763
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.4 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 352,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Code To Zero
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
A man wakes up in ragged clothes in a back-alley with a headache, no memory and an equally shabby companion who assures him that this is an everyday occurrence. What distinguishes Luke, hero of Ken Follett's effective new thriller Code to Zero, is that he realises so very rapidly that the absence of any desire for alcohol means that he is being lied to. Smart and resourceful, but no superman, Luke's personal memories are gone, but his skills are still there--skills he realises he learned in WW2. Follett's sense of the conflicts and loyalties of the late Eisenhower 50s, with Sputnik in the sky and its American equivalent about to launch, is spot on; he is excellent on the game of shadows played by the early CIA men like Luke's old friend turned enemy Anthony, and the reasons why some people retained treasonable allegiance to Stalinism for so long. His management of shifts of time and viewpoint is slick and professional, but he also remembers what all this is for; the back story of Anthony, Luke, Luke's wife Elspeth and Billy, the woman whom Luke once loved and who holds the key to his mind, is intensely credible and moving. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
A man wakes up terrified, cold, aching and not knowing where he is or how he got there. He picks up a newspaper and finds it is 29 January 1958, and the US is about to launch Explorer - if the launch fails the Russians will dominate space for the foreseeable future.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book had me reading it at all hours wanting to know what was going to happen next. This is the first Ken Follett book I have read so I can not compare it to others but I will certainly be reading others. The book at nearly "400" pages may have been a little short for some people but over all a good read and gets my thumbs up!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Espionage is at the core of this Cold War era thriller and the suspense sizzles. The time is 1958 when the space race was young and the Soviets seemed to be outdistancing the America. The protagonist is an inventive, complex study - he's Dr. Claude Lucas, an important cog in a new space launch. However, he's also a victim of amnesia, an apparent vagrant in Washington D.C.'s Union Station. Toss in the CIA, a covey of spies, and an old college buddy of Lucas's who is more foe than friend. Some might deem this a classic take on chased and chasers - not so. Thanks to the deft Mr. Follett, it's a no-holds-barred, riveting epic. And, so are the readings. Frank Muller, who has been featured on over 150 audiobooks, offers a splendid rendering of crisp, character driven dialogue in the two abridged versions on cassette and CD. While Obie award-winner George Guidall, an actor for 40 plus years, reads the unabridged version. He takes sinister and dramatic to their zenith.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
kindle
New Kindle so this was an easy choice as part of holiday reading by an author I have come to enjoy very much
Published 12 days ago by Vinceb56
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this book. i found the characters quite engaging and the story line quite original. I would purchase another by the same author.
Published 14 days ago by nicdigby
Another page turner from a master story teller
I've been a fan of Mr Follett's work for some years. He is a master storyteller whether he's dealing with medieval times, current times or the more recent past. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Bookie
Page turner
A book to keep you on your toes. Not the best Ken Follett but certainly a very good read.Highly recommended.
Published 24 days ago by Denilew
Good but not Great
I could imagine this book being made into a film - which would probably have done the story more justice. Read more
Published 28 days ago by R
A great page turner
I was a bit wary when buying this book after some reviews called it predictable. Ken Follet wasn't re-inventing the wheel here, but it was a great read and a real page turner. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Conor M
A mystery and a drama
This is well paced novel that takes the reader through a mystery which slowly unravels and leads into a drama. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Fairporter
Poor
Disappointing read. I have read and enjoyed many of Follet's novels but this is the first for a few years and i was surprised how lacking in substance this story was. Read more
Published 12 months ago by David Brooks
Ken Follett - once again the master story teller
I have read every book that Ken Follett has written, from the first book I read which was "A Dangerous Fortune", I then read "Eye of the needle", which to me is the best one, far... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2006 by D. J. Denham
I would even give it 6 stars if I could!
When I picked up the book at the station - I was a little concerned as it sounded to be an opening I had heard before. Then when I started into the book this feeling was dispelled. Read more
Published on 18 May 2006 by Brian Butterly
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
