 |
||
 |
||
|
|
||
Critic's Corner
|
|
In his previous bestsellers, "The Tenth Justice" and "The First Counsel," attorney-turned-author Brad Meltzer aimed a white-hot spotlight at some of Washington DC's darkest and most secret corners. Today, timing could not be better for a good, hard look at behind-the-scenes activities in our nation's capital. Now, Meltzer delivers the goods with his latest tale of a seemingly harmless game that turns deadly. "The Zero Game" gives us a relentlessly suspenseful look into an area of our government too few have seen in operation. We've all heard about how attachments are made to certain bills presented for vote in the House of Representatives and Senate, but the methods used to enter these "attachments" and how appropriations are made to fund them is an almost clandestine process. You'll wonder no more once you've read Meltzer's "The Zero Game." Sandler Harris and his friend Matthew Mercer are Congressional staffers
and they are players in a curious game involving wagers. Harris, the more
experienced, brings Mercer into the Zero game. It is Mercer's job as a
Staffer for the Appropriations Committee to get a simple item attached to
a bill. The Appropriations Committee's whole purpose is to write the
checks for all discretionary money spent by the government Mercer and Harris are playing a mysterious game. It's a game almost no one knows about—not their friends, not their coworkers, and certainly not their bosses, who are some of the most powerful Senators and Congressmen on Capitol Hill. It's a betting game. You know, once you're invited to play this game, you've become a true power broker in Washington. The game has everything: risk, reward, and mystery. The delivery system for these wagers involves pages—teenaged runners in blue blazers who deliver mail throughout the Capitol. Sounds simple enough, just a game, nothing too serious. Yet, when the stakes become something other than a simple vote or a question, what begins as fun turns into a life and death situation when a simple wager ends with one player paying with his life. Suddenly Harris is targeted as murder victim number two, and with nowhere to run he turns to the one unlikely person he can trust—seventeen year old Senate page Viv Parker. These two unlikely partners delve deep into the kind of political dirt that can get you buried fast. When the mystery man—Janos, enters the picture the body count climbs and the chances of surviving this game become less and less likely. Meltzer consulted an insider for information about the way things work in Washington—his wife, a lawyer for the House Judiciary Committee, who led him to current staffers and former pages who, in turn, revealed to him the inner workings of the United States Congress. As the author continued his in depth research, he came up with an interesting and controversial theory based on the government's attempt last year to turn an abandoned gold mine into an underground lab that would study subatomic particles known as neutrino. Yes, the book is fiction, but as Meltzer researched neutrinos and interviewed scientists, one of his best sources stopped returning his calls. It seems the book got too real when Meltzer asked about the subatomic connection between neutrinos and plutonium. So real that one highly regarded source asked Meltzer to remove his name from the author's acknowledgments. As always, this author uses a fast pace, fleshes out his characters to
the point you have to wonder if they are based on real people, and
researches (two years on this book) each detail of the Movie rights to "The Zero Game" have been purchased by powerhouse producer Kathleen Kennedy (E.T., Schindler's List, The Sixth Sense), with Seabiscuit director Gary Ross attached to the project. "The Zero Game" sends readers into a white-knuckled ride through the hallowed—if shadowy—halls of the Capitol. A ride you will not soon forget. Save Up to 30% on this book at Amazon.com Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
|
|
The
Zero Game
