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Code to Zero
A man wakes up to find himself lying on the ground in a railway station, his mind stripped bare of all recollection. He has no idea how he got there; he does not even know his own name. Convinced he is a drunken down and out, it isn’t until a newspaper report about a satellite launch catches his eye that he suspects all is not what it seems…
The year is 1958, and America is about to launch its first satellite in a desperate attempt to match the Soviet Sputnik and regain the lead in the space race. As Luke Lucas gradually unravels the mystery of his amnesia, he realizes that his fate is bound up with that of the rocket that stands ready on launch pad 26B at Cape Canaveral.
And as he relearns the story of his life, he uncovers long-kept secrets about his wife, his best friend and the woman he once loved more than life itself…
Code to Zero deals with one of the most ruthlessly contested arenas of the Cold War. Deceit and betrayal, love and trust interweave at the most political and personal levels, while the spectre of mind-control hovers constantly above. Each second brings destruction closer…
The year is 1958, and America is about to launch its first satellite in a desperate attempt to match the Soviet Sputnik and regain the lead in the space race. As Luke Lucas gradually unravels the mystery of his amnesia, he realizes that his fate is bound up with that of the rocket that stands ready on launch pad 26B at Cape Canaveral.
And as he relearns the story of his life, he uncovers long-kept secrets about his wife, his best friend and the woman he once loved more than life itself…
Code to Zero deals with one of the most ruthlessly contested arenas of the Cold War. Deceit and betrayal, love and trust interweave at the most political and personal levels, while the spectre of mind-control hovers constantly above. Each second brings destruction closer…
384 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
About the author
Ken Follett
530 books61k followersKen Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 170 million copies of the 36 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages.
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.
He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.
Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.
In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.
Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.
Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.
Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.
He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.
Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.
In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.
Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.
Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.
Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 18, 2023
4,5 Ken Follett chiar are o imaginație bogată. Combinația dintre lansarea primarului satelit spațial american și un experiment CAI din 1947 are ca rezultat un roman plin de secrete, suspans, tradari și răsturnări neașteptate. Războiul rece a fost "vânătoarea de vrăjitoare" a secolului XX, astfel că orice roman bazat pe acest subiect este unul reușit.
March 25, 2022
Un inceput destul de greoi, pana intri in ritm, cu foarte mult info dump pe backstory (in prima parte a cartii), dar odata ce intri in poveste, nu mai o scapi din mana.
Puncte slabe: info dump, teleportari, pov omniscient pe alocuri confuz, telling destul de mult, stil de scris destul de precipitat.
Puncte forte: conceptul de poveste atractiv, documentarea din spate, structurarea de 5 stele, twisturile, managementul de informatie foarte bine lucrat.
Puncte slabe: info dump, teleportari, pov omniscient pe alocuri confuz, telling destul de mult, stil de scris destul de precipitat.
Puncte forte: conceptul de poveste atractiv, documentarea din spate, structurarea de 5 stele, twisturile, managementul de informatie foarte bine lucrat.
November 6, 2021
Un thriller foarte captivant și interesant. O recomand celor interesați de rachetele spațiale și ce ține de adrenalina urmăririlor 😊.
January 27, 2020
Luke se trezește cu o puternică amnezie în toaleta unei stații de tren, anul este 1958 iar Statele Unite se pregătesc de lansarea pe orbită a primului satelit american. Astfel începe acest thriller de spionaj, plasat în perioada Războiului Rece - Luke încercând să-și descopere fosta viața, punând cap la cap diverse bucăți și informații și aflând care este legătura între el și programul spațial american.
Un autor prolific, deja faimos datorită romanelor anterioare, Ken Follett furnizează stilul facil și familiar atât de apreciat de cititorii săi. Cu toate acestea, Codul este destul de departe, calitativ vorbind, de cele mai bune opere ale sale, chiar dacă prezintă epoca anilor '50 cu aplomb, subliniind subtil rasismul și cvasi-misoginismul specific american. Jargonul tehnic necesar unui tehno thriller despre sateliți și programe spațiale este prezent, dar la un nivel mediu, autorul nedorind probabil să-și năucească prea mult fanbase-ul cu termeni greoi. De asemenea, cred că s-ar fi putut evita câteva clișee atât de prevalente în narativele cu spioni din Războiul Rece, gen "tentaculele" CIA-ului și opresiva Uniune Sovietică. Deci, roman ok, marca Ken Follett, cu spioni și sateliți. Perfect pentru fani.
Un autor prolific, deja faimos datorită romanelor anterioare, Ken Follett furnizează stilul facil și familiar atât de apreciat de cititorii săi. Cu toate acestea, Codul este destul de departe, calitativ vorbind, de cele mai bune opere ale sale, chiar dacă prezintă epoca anilor '50 cu aplomb, subliniind subtil rasismul și cvasi-misoginismul specific american. Jargonul tehnic necesar unui tehno thriller despre sateliți și programe spațiale este prezent, dar la un nivel mediu, autorul nedorind probabil să-și năucească prea mult fanbase-ul cu termeni greoi. De asemenea, cred că s-ar fi putut evita câteva clișee atât de prevalente în narativele cu spioni din Războiul Rece, gen "tentaculele" CIA-ului și opresiva Uniune Sovietică. Deci, roman ok, marca Ken Follett, cu spioni și sateliți. Perfect pentru fani.
July 6, 2024
O carte care mi-a plăcut mult, cu multa acțiune. La început nu te prinzi despre ce e vorba, dar pe parcurs devine din ce în ce mai interesantă. Îl avem pe Luke, el se trezește lângă un alt boschetar într-o dimineață și habar nu are cine este. Stie sa citeasca, sa conduca, știe mai multe limbi străine dar toate memoriile despre viata lui au dispărut. După aceea începe o întreaga nebunie sa afle cine este. În acelasi timp, NASA se pregătește sa lanseze satelitul Explorer I. O mulțime de cercetători își fac treaba în Cape Carneveral pentru a avea o lansare fără probleme. Ce legătura exista între Luke și satelitul rămâne sa aflam în carte.
July 21, 2018
Încă de la primele paragrafe, cartea stârnește interesul cititorului și îl menține viu pe parcursul lecturii. Un bărbat se trezește cu o stare ca de mahmureală, nu își amintește cine este și cum a ajuns în toaleta publică în care s-a trezit. Nu este singur, iar de la celălalt vagabond află că se numește Luke, dar nu știe mai multe detalii. Din câte se pare, este doar un vagabond bețiv. Însă un sentiment straniu îl macină, și anume acela că nu asta ar fi realitatea în ceea ce-l privește.
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April 16, 2025O carte captivanta care descrie intr-o alta versiune:ce ai face daca ai avea o a doua sansa? Dar, de data asta pleci cu un mare dezavantaj: nu ai idee cine esti si in cine sa ai incredere. Ai fi multumit de viata pe care ai trait-o sau ai schimba ceva la ea?
August 23, 2022
Început greoi, relatările în scris italic nu știu cât de mult interesa neaparat lumea, dar povestea per total este una solidă pe care nu o mai puteai lăsa din mână.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews