The Zero Game

The Zero Game is the latest and without question best offering from political-suspense author Brad Meltzer, a relative newcomer whose first real breakthrough came in 2002 with The Millionaires. In The Zero Game, Meltzer takes a close look at what can go wrong in the back halls of power when the truly powerful turn a blind eye to the ambitions of those who desire power at any cost. The book is well written, fast paced, and insightful, with no major problems and very few minor ones.

Harris Sandler is a Congressional aide working for one of the most powerful senators in Washington. He's not a true power broker, but he's a guy who can get things done. He's well liked, not overly ambitious, and just cynical enough about his job to recognize a good opportunity when he sees one. In short, he's a player in the highest-level game in the world--the game of politics in the capital of the United States.

But he's also a player in a different game, one not nearly so well publicized, one that has never been discussed by pundits or examined by the media. This game is played in secret by an unknown number of anonymous participants. The only rule is that no player may ever reveal the secrets of the game to anyone. The players in this game are betting on the outcome of Congressional votes, and the stakes can be deadly.

In an age when many, if not most, people's view of the political process in Washington falls somewhere between skepticism and cynicism, the notion that somewhere behind the scenes a small group of otherwise insignificant people are really calling the shots is appealing--and almost believable. Secret power and hidden ambition at the highest level are hardly novel concepts for a political thriller. Yet Meltzer manages to put a new twist to these familiar themes. With the addition of a seemingly invincible antagonist, a 16-year-old heroinne, and a daring cat-and-mouse chase that takes readers from the bowels of the earth, 8,000 feet deep in a South Dakota gold mine, to the bowels of the U.S. Capitol, Meltzer's transformation from a mediocre fiction writer to a top-notch political novelist is complete.

Meltzer's latest novels are unsurprisingly drawing comparisons to John Grisham and David Baldacci by many critics, and The Zero Game indicates that such observations are not without merit. Meltzer's development as an author even since his previous novel, The First Counsel (2001) is immediately apparent in The Zero Game. The dialog is crisp and believable; the action is cinematically fast paced; the suspense is tight without ever going too far over the line toward melodrama. His portrayal of the House and Senate--particularly the members of each--is deferentially humorous while at the same time almost certainly accurate. He has left no crucial element of his writing untended, and his efforts pay off in the reader's experience.

Meltzer draws upon his own experience as an intern on Capitol Hill to walk a fine and for the most part satisfyhing line when writing about Congress. He is knowledgeable enough about the political process not to be awestruck by our nation's lawmakers; yet he retains just enough idealism not to be jaded by the corruption that inevitably lurks behind any number of Washington's closed doors. And he allows his readers to view the whole Congressional system through the eyes of interns and aides, the seemingly powerless minions who write the speeches, who conduct the low-level meetings where major policy issues initially get shaped, and who in reality know more about politics than any lawmaker. One theme that comes across especially well is the relationship between Congressmen and Senators and their staffs. In one telling exchange, Viv, the 16-year-old intern who gets caught up with Harris in the corruption surrounding the game, asks another aide, Dinah, for some project books containing sensitive information. When Dinah hesitates, Meltzer writes, "Harris had warned her this might happen. That was why he gave her the ultimate comback. `The congressman wants them,' Viv insisted. There was a short pause on the other line. `I'll get them ready,' Dinah eventually said."

There are some negatives in the book as well. At times the writing seems slightly careless, as if portions were never researched and certain facts never checked. In one instance, Meltzor describes an aide walking past "the hearing room where Nixon was impeached during Watergate" (Nixon was never impeached; he resigned before the House of Representatives had a chance to vote on the articles of impeachment drawn up by the Judiciary Committee). In another, the two houses of Congress are referred to as the two branches of government. Minor offenses, but they do distract the reader from the story.

A more serious authorial offense is Meltzor's fickleness when it comes to narrative point of view. In an apparent effort to keep the reader locked into the story, Meltzer switches back and forth between the standard third-person narrative and a more unusual first-person account written in the present tense. Designed to make reading more experiencial, like watching a movie, this writing style is difficult to do well and easy to botch. By switching back and forth, Meltzer manages to land somewhere in between; it's a little distracting but not quite frustrating enough to dwell on. The real difference between Melter's technique and that of, say, John Grisham, who used first-person present-tense narration to great effect in The Rainmaker, is that Grisham is smooth enough to make you forget the unfamiliar and rather awkward construction after a few chapters, while Meltzer draws attention to it by killing off his narrator. This is a dirty trick, catching the reader off-guard, again in an attempt to make the reading experience more vivid.

The unexpected death of a character assumed to be a major protagonist is not uncommon and helps keep readers on their toes. But the unexpected death of a narrator seems cheap and frankly a little strange. Even so, Meltzer manages to pull it off without leaving the reader feeling cheated--too cheated, anyway. There's no question that there's some bait-and-switch advertising going on somewhere between the flap copy and the actual story, but the writing is otherwise good enough that the trick almost works.

The Zero Game is a fast, entertaining read, Meltzer's best to date. His harrowing plot lines and unconventional characters, coupled with intriguing story developments (when's the last time you read a political thriller with a major scene taking place 8,000 feet underground?) conspire to make Meltzer one of the best of his genre. If he can keep it up, his readers will undoubtedly continue to reward him as he continues to reward them for a long time to come.

***SPOILER***

...but the little errors like "Nixon's impeachment" and "two branches of the government" mentioned by another reviewer bothered me. What bothered me MUCH more was that the cover blurb did not match the book. On the cover blurb, Matthew is with Harris throughout the story. In the book, that is NOT what happens. His death in the very early part of the book was so jarring that I had to re-read several pages to be sure I was understanding it right. Then I went back and read the cover. I kept doing that throughout the book, trying to make sense of it. It just ruined the entire book for me.

Saw this book in a bargain hopper at the grocery store. I have a rule about buying books, regardless of price, without taking a look at a review first. I made a note to check out some Amazon reviews when home. The reviews turned out to be positive, so I picked it up at a Walgreen's a few months later.

I'm amazed by what a great novel this was. Gripping suspense, believable fight scenes, great geography, realistic dialogue, this was fun. While there were some slow spots and a couple curious areas in the plot (made easier by going back and re-reading a few key paragraphs), I truly enjoyed the story.

While I may not become a Meltzer devotee overnight, I would certainly find myself picking up another novel by him at a used book sale in the future.

I have noticed from quite a few other reviews that a lot of us fell for the same thing with this novel. The cover description doesn't match what happens in the book. I have read about half of this very long book and I believe that I have had enough. I really don't care how it turns out. The main characters are so poorly developed that I don't care about them in the least.

The book has had several truly unbelievable things from what I have read thus far. The person telling the story for the first 50 pages suddenly gets killed. This alone should have made me pitch the book in the nearest trashcan. After all, how could he be telling his part of the story if he is dead?

The story is then mostly told by a guy named Harris who is a friend to the first dead guy. At one point we are told that Harris is older than Matthew, the first and dead narrator. Another time we are told that Harris is younger. Silly and bad editing.We don't care one thing about Harris. He is a totally unsympathetic character.

Harris starts getting pursued by a professional killer whome he bests and outsmarts several times as he just barely keeps ahead of the bad guy. Silly and unbelievable.

Harris enlists the help of a 17 year old girl. He figures she is the only one he can trust. Silly and dumb. The dialogue between Harris and the girl is inane. I couldn't figure out what they are talking about most of the time.
More unbeleivable things: No one ever calls the freaking police, Harris hitches a ride on a FedEx plane with the underage girl and no one ever questions either of them, the killer is always able to figure out where Harris and the girl are no matter where they go, silly fight scenes where Harris always gets the better of the trained killer, Harris runs out on a meeting with his boss a US Senator and is never questioned about it by the boss, the deputy attorney general of the US is threatened and intimidated by a thug, the author described the mine in South Dakota and I absolutely could not figure out what he was saying the description was so poor. I could go on and on.

It is enough to say that I feel conned by this author and publisher into buying something that didn't even resemble its billing.

The good about it is that the general plot is sound and the concept of the game is interesting. A good writer might have done something with it. For that alone I give it two stars.

I see Zero Meltzer in my future.

Plot: A game played among the staffers at congress to lighten the mood by trying to pull off obscure pranks and put innocuous extras in legislation turns deadly when a staffer is killed after inserting a relatively innocent looking piece of text into a legislative spending bill. Now a friend of the deceased staffer who also is involved in the game must try and stay alive as well and find out who killed his friend.

Meltzer's use of a battery powered killing taser is highly unlikely or unfeasible with respect to the average individual. There's just too many other variables to consider to make it a guaranteed kill device. If nothing else, think of how they arrange the paddles when trying to start a heart, one on each side of the heart. An inch and a half between prongs won't let sufficient current go through the heart (if any) to sufficiently disrupt things, and you'll have a hard time getting that much current out of regular AA batteries. I'm picking on this because I've seen several of these in recent novels, all of them not credibly feasible.

That said, everything else seems to be well researched, including the gold mine which is actually named "Homestake" (you can look it up on Wikipedia). Everything in the story flowed together well and there was almost no drag in the story. I'm somewhat limited in giving examples without disclosing too much plot. This is perhaps not the most exciting plot ever devised for a story, and maybe that's what other reviewers are really complaining about. However, it flows well, it doesn't really stall or drag, nearly all the details (apart from the taser) appear feasible, and credible outcomes and consequences happen as the result of characters actions. I found the characters engaging, and not stiff at all.

My view: I think most readers will find this enjoyable. I've seen much worse pieces of fiction get higher reviews on Amazon, and I'm not sure why the average on this one isn't a good half to full star higher.

I just finished The Zero Game by Meltzer. My third book by this author and it was another blockbuster!!!! 2000% better than Dan Brown!! This book grabs you from page one and never lets go!!!! I couldn't put it down!!!! A must read!!!!!!

I had to make myself finish reading it because I had paid for the thing. Wasted my time and my money!

The book arrived in great condition. It is evident it is a used book due to the lines in the spine, but the rest of the book is in great shape.

Took about 60 pages to actually get into it but it was a good read from then on. Detailed enough that you could picture the scene, not over detailed so that you felt weighed down by it. Nicely written.

Don't recall putting down a book after reading half before, but this one I did. The role and dialogue of a 17 year old was absurd. The whole book was so far fetched it simply wasn't enjoyable. The plot had potential for a good book but Martini let his imagination get the better of him. Needs to look at how many sentences end with "said". If it was better written we would have known who said what more often.
My first Martini book. My last Martini book.