At Cape Canaveral, a countdown has begun in January 1958. On launch pad 26B sits Explorer 1, America's best hope to match the Soviet Sputnik and regain the lead in the race for the skies above. In the meanwhile, a man wakes to find himself lying on the ground in a railway station. And until he remembers who he is, he may be left powerless to save the launch of Explorer--and with it, America's future.
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

Customer Rating:
Summary: Not bad -- five stars for writing style, three for plot and storyline
Comment: This one is a page turner, no doubt of that. However, the way the storyline turns out is completely unconvincing. I do not want to write a "spoiler" review, so I cannot be too specific. Suffice to say, the actions of Elspeth and Anthony make no sense whatsoever--none, nada. The story feels like Follett decided to begin with the mystery of Luke losing his memory, and then, after about 100+ pages, decides how to tie all of the facts together. But the way he accomplishes this conclusion is, quite literally, nuts, at least in my opinion.

I purchased the Kindle edition (yay, Kindle!) and the book was well-formatted for the Kindle and a joy to read using this medium. (Now let's get the rest of Follett's works on the Kindle!)

I liked the book, but the conclusion just did not ring true. Not at all. Still, Follett fans, among whom I number myself, will like this one. Three stars to an author who is capable of a five-star novel.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Great Follett Story
Comment: I love Ken Follett, he is probably my favorite author. This one doesn't disappoint in any way. It kept me wanting to keep reading! Keep writing Ken...we love your books!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Engaging!
Comment: Great story and characters. And it is so well written that I forget I am reading. Ken Follett's writing in general has that quality...meaning, his words don't get in the way. I can get lost in these things. I loved it.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: When nice girls were virgins, gentlemen wore hats and Hudsons were not relics
Comment: This review is for the New American Library (Division of Penguin) softcover edition, December 2005, 372 pages. CODE TO ZERO was on the USA Today's Top 150 Best-Selling books list for twenty-two weeks achieving the peak position to fifteen. Ken Follett has ten novels on this best-seller list, which has tracked book sales since October 1993. Follett had other best sellers before then.

Around five in the morning, on January 29, 1958, a man wakes up in the men's room at Union Station, Washington D.C. He cries out in shock at his reflection in the mirror. He sees an unshaven hobo in filthy rags, and he has no recollection, none whatsoever. He shouts, "Who am I." Another bundle of rags on the floor replies, "You're a bum, Luke."

The reader learns that a woman in a motel near Cape Canaveral is worried about Luke, and that she met him during a panty raid at Radcliff in 1941. On page 31, Luke, penniless, wandering around D.C. with global amnesia, realizes two men are shadowing him. He does not know that someone in the CIA thinks he's the most dangerous man in America.

And so this espionage thriller continues, with Luke sleuthing out who he is, and the reader knowing not much more than he does. The story is suspenseful, fast paced, and true to the time when nice girls were virgins, gentlemen wore hats and Hudson automobiles were not relics.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Now you know why this wasn't made into a HOLLYWOOD movie!
Comment: The story is about 5 people from Harvard University and their relationships with the governments of the two super powers. And it is also about the love triangle between the protagonist(Luke), Elspeth, and Billie.

Negative points about the story:
1. Elspeth used to work for the CIA, she gets angry over the actions of the CIA on Guatemala. She comes to a decision that she should deceive the US government, which I assume, in this case, is the CIA. But she works for the KGB(Russian spy agency) as Colonel and plans to destroy the AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM, Explorer, and finally go to MOSCOW and live there forever. (Remember, she had never been to MOSCOW before)
Also, after joining the KGB, she agrees with the RUSSIANS to get her TUBES TIED so as to not have babies anymore in her life(LoL). She seduces Luke(10 years after their break up at Harvard University) at a wedding and marries him so that she could spy on him and destroy the SPACE PROGRAM. Luke is the Rocket Scientist, the big shot at Cape Canaveral.

My question: Why would anyone who's angry over the CIA's actions, work for the RUSSIANS, get her tubes tied, spy on the man she loved the most, help to erase his memory just to stop the SPACE PROGRAM, EXPLORER, and finally settle in MOSCOW? Seriously, anyone with half a Brain would find that idiotic. I think, her intention in destroying the EXPLORER has no logical relation with the CIA's actions in GUATEMALA, Savvy?

2.And same is the case with Anthony Carrol, an American from Harvard University, LUKE's oldest friend, who also works for the RUSSIANS. He purposely, along with Elspeth, erases Luke's memory so as to blow up the EXPLORER. Yes, Luke finds out about their plan, and would stop Anthony & Elspeth if he tells the Pentagon. So they, without Luke's knowledge of course, erase his memory.

This story is very lame! The only time you felt sad was when Elspeth swims to the ocean and drowns herself after the Explorer launches successfully.

I don't even know how this lame story became an INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER!

3.The Billie Character is a girl who stole LUKE from ELSPETH, and was finally dumped by LUKE HIMSELF after she aborted his baby. Follet should have brought Elspeth in place of Billie. The character Elspeth was the one I liked the most, even though Ken Follet failed to use that Character effectively(May be he never believed in First Love, probably because he never married his first LOVE from College)

I never expected this pathetic, weak, unorganized story from Ken Follet.

Now you know why this wasn't made into a HOLLYWOOD movie, SAVVY?

---