ZERO-SUM GAME

by Alessandro Abate

Boston, Massachusetts. Professor Blaski’s tech start-up is working on the development of an environmentally friendly project that could dramatically affect global energy supply-chains. Its technology, however, can also be used for military purposes, with potentially catastrophic consequences.
When wannabe-writer Zak, prone to PTSD blackouts and caught between hallucinations of his past life and visions of a dystopian future, begins to collaborate on the development of the prototype, things change.
The start-up’s technological breakthrough leads to a surging pre-IPO valuation, which attracts the interests not only of financial groups but also the greed of authoritarian regimes for the control of its know-how.
This triggers a sophisticated but fatal elimination game in a battle for economic survival and geopolitical dominance.

Will Zak come to terms with both a past that haunts him and a future that worries him before all hope is destroyed?

ZERO-SUM GAME is a thought-provoking and entertaining thriller inspired by the ancient Greek philosophy, that catapults us into the future. Rich in politics, finance, and technology, it paints a precise picture of today’s world and raises innumerable questions about what our future may hold.

290 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2024

About the author

Dear Goodreads members,
I wasn't born an artist. I became a writer by sheer coincidence, when I eventually managed to constructively channel my negative energy. It was the 18th of March, 1996.
'ZERO-SUM GAME' (October 2024) is a contemporary, thought-provoking, and entertaining thriller inspired by the ancient Greek philosophy, that catapults us into the future. Rich in politics, finance, and technology, it paints a precise picture of today’s world and raises innumerable questions about what our future may hold.
'MORNING CALL) (October 2024) is a contemporary drama/thriller with a financial background (I have been a respected financial analyst in the City of London and Wall Street).
The completion of 'BLUE' (2018) and 'I, Destiny' (2012) took me a very long time with a lot of sleepless nights and weekends spent behind a laptop, because during the day I was busy working at the office.
'Fairy Tales and Fables in the Lockdown' (2021), is a tribute to my father and his amazing fairy tale that he used to tell me when I was little (I am sure that he would be proud of me:).
'L'impero di Cartax' (2021 - only the Italian edition, for now) is the funniest thing that I have ever conceived in my writer's life: a parody of the corporate world, which was something I wanted to write about for a very long time. It will take a while to finetune the English edition, due to the many idiomatic expressions that I have used. But I'll get there:)
Writing and photography (www.streetglimpses.com) are the things that I love the most and I owe them my balance and my joy.
If you happen to read any of my literary works, I would appreciate if you could post a review. Thanks for visiting my author page.

Reviews

[Arabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What immediately becomes clear is that this book is an analysis of what's happening in the world right now. A few pages here and there among the chapters, were not easy to digest for me, mostly those related to technology and finance, but they were few and far between. The work the author has put into this book is remarkable, with a sophisticated, complex, and well-structured plot.

[Noemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ambition is something the author is not short of. I haven't seen or heard anyone putting together fragments of reality and flashes of imagination, apparently so disconnected from one another, in such a masterful way. The story flows, the plot is captivating, and the conspiracy angle, almost whispered, has perfect timing.