Code to Zero

Follett, Ken

ISBN 10: 0141802731 ISBN 13: 9780141802732

Publisher: Penguin Audio, 2000

Synopsis

A suspenseful tale set during the height of the Cold War follows one man's journey to uncover family secrets on a quest that leads him into the heart of the nation's burgeoning space program. Simultaneous. rocket.

About this title

Review:

Veteran thriller writer Ken Follett (Eye of the Needle, The Third Twin, The Key to Rebecca) turns in another nifty story of espionage, deceit, and betrayal, a fast-paced read with "bestseller" written all over it. A man wakes up in a Washington, D.C., train station in 1958, shortly before the launch of Explorer I, America's first space satellite, with no idea who he is or how he got there. And in less than a few hours, it's clear that someone doesn't want him to find out. He's dressed like a bum, and he looks like he's been on a bender. But he's remarkably skillful at evading pursuit, obscuring his tracks, stealing a car, and breaking into a house. He's not sure how he came by those talents, and it worries him:

"I wonder if I'm honest?" Maybe it was foolish, he thought, to pour out his heart to a whore on the street, but he had no one else. "Am I a loyal husband and a loving father and a reliable workmate? Or am I some kind of gangster? I hate not knowing."

"Honey, if that's what's bothering you, I know what kind of guy you are already. A gangster would be thinking, am I rich, do I slay the broads, are people scared of me?"

That was a point. Luke nodded. But he was not satisfied. "It's one thing to want to be a good person--but maybe I don't live up to what I believe in."

But he does, and it's that firm interior moral compass that keeps him on track through the novel's most fascinating pages as he solves the puzzle of who he really is: Claude "Luke" Lucas, a renowned rocket scientist who was en route from Cape Canaveral to Washington to warn someone in the Pentagon about something he also can't remember, even with the help of some of his oldest friends. Like Anthony Carroll, a CIA agent who apparently has proof that Luke's been sabotaging the fledgling American space program and working for the Russians. And Billie Josephson, the woman Luke once loved, who happens to be an expert in brainwashing and memory loss. And Elspeth, Luke's mathematician wife, who'll do almost anything to save his life.

This is one of Follett's strongest books in years. The flashbacks bring the story of the idealistic young collegians from World War II into 1958, nicely setting up the action in an exciting, solidly plotted, and suspenseful read that grabs the reader by the throat in the first paragraph and doesn't let up until the last. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Ken Follett was only twenty-seven when he wrote Eye of the Needle, the award-winning novel which became an international bestseller and a distinguished film. Before that, he had been a newspaper reporter and a publishing executive after studying philosophy at University College, London. He has since written ten equally successful novels and the non-fiction bestseller, On Wings of Eagles. Ken Follett lives with his family in London and Stevenage. Visit the Ken Follett website at http://www.ken-follett.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0141802731
• ISBN 13: 9780141802732
• Binding: Audio Cassette