Helpful Score: 6
This book is a hunderd pages too long -- I felt like it would never end. The premise is something you would think would be a great book or movie, but man -- didn't feel like it was going anywhere at certain points. Sometimes it felt like every single moment had to be reviewed in painstaking steps, and then towards the end, it got sloppy with so many details that were brought up towards the end, but were never really resolved. Best part of the book -- Nico in the truck. Those who have read it know what I'm talkin' about.
It's a decent book to take with you on a trip, but overall, I would say not one of Meltzer's better stories.
It's a decent book to take with you on a trip, but overall, I would say not one of Meltzer's better stories.
Helpful Score: 2
I like Brad Meltzer; this isn't his best work, but it's a good summer read.
Helpful Score: 2
Good beach read, or the kind of book you could get into on a plane. Interesting plot.
Helpful Score: 2
This was a great read! Fast-paced, excellent characters, well-plotted, really well done thriller -- highly recommended!
Helpful Score: 2
Wes Holloway, a hotshot presidential aide, is wounded in an assassination attempt that kills the president's close friend. Eight years later, the dead man reappears, disfigured but very much alive and apparently stalking the former president. Wes thinks he can figure out what's going on, but to do so he must decipher a two-century-old code and penetrate the secrets of Masonic history.
Helpful Score: 2
not too bad. awful long and drawn out. characters are only so-so. But decent plot. At times when Nico was in full pursuit I felt I was reading DaVinci code again.
Helpful Score: 1
Very boring. I stopped reading about halfway through. The main characters had no personality and were very hard to emphasize with.
Helpful Score: 1
This could have been better - it wasn't but it still was a pretty good read. I hope that Meltzer will keep writing because as he matures his work will too.
Helpful Score: 1
Good book!
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this book. It was an interesting read.
Helpful Score: 1
One of the best books I have read in a long time. Fast paced and well done.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent with a fast-moving plot.
Helpful Score: 1
Honestly, I read this book because I'm a fan of Meltzer's comic book writing. I know, base reading a novel with thousands of words because you like a writer who pens a couple hundred (if that) in a comic book.
The book wasn't bad, although I think my luke warm feeling towards this book is based off of my expectations. I expected a little more "action" out of what I considered a action/adventure genre book... it turns out it was a little more cerebral than that, which is okay.
There were plenty of plot twists and turns, and it definitely kept my interest.
If you like David Baldacci, John Grisham, James Patterson, or Michael Connelly, then you'll probably like this book...
The book wasn't bad, although I think my luke warm feeling towards this book is based off of my expectations. I expected a little more "action" out of what I considered a action/adventure genre book... it turns out it was a little more cerebral than that, which is okay.
There were plenty of plot twists and turns, and it definitely kept my interest.
If you like David Baldacci, John Grisham, James Patterson, or Michael Connelly, then you'll probably like this book...
Helpful Score: 1
This is a good read and has some surprises. If you like Dan Brown you will likely be pleased with this one.
Helpful Score: 1
Set against a backdrop of Oval Office corruption, bestseller Meltzer's overblown thriller opens with a frantic assassination attempt on President Leland Manning, who manages to elude the gunfire. Manning's deputy chief of staff, Ron Boyle, is killed, and his top aide, the cocky, ambitious Wes Holloway, is left facially disfigured. Eight years later, his motivation and confidence drained by his handicap, Holloway still toils away for the out-of-office Manning, fetching refreshments and handling the daily social calendar. On a goodwill junket to Malaysia, however, Holloway spots Boyle, surgically altered, but unmistakably the same man who was supposed to be dead and gone
Helpful Score: 1
NYT Bestseller. A very readable thriller about new revelations about a shooting eight years before that disfigured the protaganist, the President's aid.
Helpful Score: 1
Boring! I've read most of Brad Melzer's books, but this one was the worse. Boring characters, convoluted plot, ridiculous dialogue. Don't waste your time.
Helpful Score: 1
Good political thriller - twists that you never see coming.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this was another good book by Meltzer. I really liked the characters of Wes, Rogo, and Lisbeth. The plot unfolded in a way that was easy to follow and questions were answered throughout instead of all at the end, which I liked. I do wish there would have been more about Freemasonry, but otherwise, I think it was a good read and would recommend it.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is part political thriller, part suspense, part mystery, The book is written in mostly first person following the character of Wes Holloway, a presidential aide. Wes was seriously injured in an assassination attempt while the President's closest friend Ron Boyle was killed. But when Wes spots Boyle he begins to investigate and uncovers a trail of clues that inludes arcane codes written by Thomas Jefferson and Masonic history.
The book can be slow to read because of the involved plot and twists and turns it takes.But Meltzer keeps the chapters short ends them so you want to read on.
The book can be slow to read because of the involved plot and twists and turns it takes.But Meltzer keeps the chapters short ends them so you want to read on.
Helpful Score: 1
From Publishers Weekly
Set against a backdrop of Oval Office corruption, bestseller Meltzer's overblown thriller opens with a frantic assassination attempt on President Leland Manning, who manages to elude the gunfire. Manning's deputy chief of staff, Ron Boyle, is killed, and his top aide, the cocky, ambitious Wes Holloway, is left facially disfigured. Eight years later, his motivation and confidence drained by his handicap, Holloway still toils away for the out-of-office Manning, fetching refreshments and handling the daily social calendar. On a goodwill junket to Malaysia, however, Holloway spots Boyle, surgically altered, but unmistakably the same man who was supposed to be dead and gone. From this turning point, Meltzer (The Zero Game) follows Holloway step by excruciatingly slow step as he tries to find out what really happened eight years earlier. Authentic details about Washington politics and historical mysteries enliven the predictable path. While readers looking for efficient plotting may be disappointed, Meltzer's many fans will enjoy this substantial meal of a book. 15-city author tour. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Wes Holloway, a hotshot presidential aide, is wounded in an assassination attempt that kills the president's close friend. Eight years later, the dead man reappears, disfigured but very much alive and apparently stalking the former president. Wes thinks he can figure out what's going on, but to do so he must decipher a two-century-old code and penetrate the secrets of Masonic history. From his first novel, The Tenth Justice (1997), through his sixth, Identity Crisis (2005), Meltzer has served up exciting thrillers that take readers behind the scenes of American politics. The pattern doesn't change this time. Like the television series The West Wing, Meltzer's novels focus on the political people the public never sees and tells the stories we never hear. He could be accused here of jumping on the Da Vinci Code bandwagon, but that wouldn't really be fair. He's too good a writer to waste his time imitating someone else's work, and this novel is much more skillfully written--and far more plausible--than Dan Brown's tedious best-seller. The characters are genuine human beings--not all that common in the world of high-concept thrillers--and the plot fluidly integrates historical fact and fiction, which is even less common. Fans of thrillers that reach far back into history will be, well, . . . thrilled. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Set against a backdrop of Oval Office corruption, bestseller Meltzer's overblown thriller opens with a frantic assassination attempt on President Leland Manning, who manages to elude the gunfire. Manning's deputy chief of staff, Ron Boyle, is killed, and his top aide, the cocky, ambitious Wes Holloway, is left facially disfigured. Eight years later, his motivation and confidence drained by his handicap, Holloway still toils away for the out-of-office Manning, fetching refreshments and handling the daily social calendar. On a goodwill junket to Malaysia, however, Holloway spots Boyle, surgically altered, but unmistakably the same man who was supposed to be dead and gone. From this turning point, Meltzer (The Zero Game) follows Holloway step by excruciatingly slow step as he tries to find out what really happened eight years earlier. Authentic details about Washington politics and historical mysteries enliven the predictable path. While readers looking for efficient plotting may be disappointed, Meltzer's many fans will enjoy this substantial meal of a book. 15-city author tour. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Wes Holloway, a hotshot presidential aide, is wounded in an assassination attempt that kills the president's close friend. Eight years later, the dead man reappears, disfigured but very much alive and apparently stalking the former president. Wes thinks he can figure out what's going on, but to do so he must decipher a two-century-old code and penetrate the secrets of Masonic history. From his first novel, The Tenth Justice (1997), through his sixth, Identity Crisis (2005), Meltzer has served up exciting thrillers that take readers behind the scenes of American politics. The pattern doesn't change this time. Like the television series The West Wing, Meltzer's novels focus on the political people the public never sees and tells the stories we never hear. He could be accused here of jumping on the Da Vinci Code bandwagon, but that wouldn't really be fair. He's too good a writer to waste his time imitating someone else's work, and this novel is much more skillfully written--and far more plausible--than Dan Brown's tedious best-seller. The characters are genuine human beings--not all that common in the world of high-concept thrillers--and the plot fluidly integrates historical fact and fiction, which is even less common. Fans of thrillers that reach far back into history will be, well, . . . thrilled. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
I thought this book would be a fun read like the Da Vinci Code. Turns out it is the very poor man's version of the Da Vinci Code. I was so bored by page 30 and i skimmed through to the end. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you were really, really bored.
An intricately woven thriller that has you guessing right up to the end.
From back cover: Six minutes from now, one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming. So says Wes Holloway, a once-cocky and ambitious presidential aide, about the day that changed his life forever. On that day, Wes put the president's oldest friend, Ron Boyle, into the presidential limousine. By the time the trip came to an end, Wes was permanently disfigured, and Boyle was dead, the victim of a crazed assassin. Eight years later, Boyle is spotted, alive and well, in Asia.
In that moment, Wes has the chance to undo the worst day of his life. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back to a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, disturbing secrets buried in Masonic history, and a 200-year-old secret code invented by Thomas Jefferson.
But what Wes doesn't realize is that the Book of Fate holds everyone's secrets. Especially the ones worth dying for. The Book of Fate. What does it say about you?
From back cover: Six minutes from now, one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming. So says Wes Holloway, a once-cocky and ambitious presidential aide, about the day that changed his life forever. On that day, Wes put the president's oldest friend, Ron Boyle, into the presidential limousine. By the time the trip came to an end, Wes was permanently disfigured, and Boyle was dead, the victim of a crazed assassin. Eight years later, Boyle is spotted, alive and well, in Asia.
In that moment, Wes has the chance to undo the worst day of his life. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back to a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, disturbing secrets buried in Masonic history, and a 200-year-old secret code invented by Thomas Jefferson.
But what Wes doesn't realize is that the Book of Fate holds everyone's secrets. Especially the ones worth dying for. The Book of Fate. What does it say about you?
Book was slow and unbelievable. I like others kept waiting for this book to get "good" This book came recommended but I will not do the same.
A secret service agent,Wes Halloway, was shot in the face during what looked like an attempt to assassinate the president. Wes survived, but another agent, Boyle, was killed. Eight years later, Wes is still a secret service agent for the now former president and literally runs into a living agent Boyle. After years of blaming himself for the Boyle's death, Wes will do anything to unravel what really went on the day of the shooting, even if it endangers his life and others.
A well-written mystery, it was interesting watching the puzzles come together. Although I think the title is a little misleading; the Book of Fate is only mentioned about twice, and I thought there was going to be maybe a little something paranormal about the book. Turns out there is no real Book of Fate. It's just something a crazy person mentions. So I was a little bit of disappointed, but it was a somewhat entertaining book.
A well-written mystery, it was interesting watching the puzzles come together. Although I think the title is a little misleading; the Book of Fate is only mentioned about twice, and I thought there was going to be maybe a little something paranormal about the book. Turns out there is no real Book of Fate. It's just something a crazy person mentions. So I was a little bit of disappointed, but it was a somewhat entertaining book.
Interesting plot, but I kept waiting for the book to get "good". Somehow I kept thinking I was reading something geared toward a junior high audience.
If you love thrillers, this one's a winner.
I must admit, I liked the Millionares and Zero Game a lot better. Still, it was a fun and worthwhile read.
Even though this wasn't one of Brad Meltzer's better books, I still found myself engrossed in it and had to finish it. Definitely worth checking out if you like thrillers.
Another good one from Meltzer.
Awesome book.....if you like John Grisham stories, you will love this.....Kept me glued to the story the whole time....
I have a hard time reading this guy, but I know others love him, so take it off my hands!!!
IT WAS OK I GUESS. NOT REALLY THE KIND OF BOOKS I LIKE. I LIKE TO READ FOR ENJOYMENT AND THIS BOOK YOU HAD TO PAY ATTENTION TO KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING.
GREAT STORY A REAL PAGE TURNER
This well-researched book is a scary scenario of what happened when corrupt, power hungry members of three of the nation's major security agencies hatched a devious scheme to achieve great wealth at the taxpayers' expense. For their plan to work, it required complicity that reached the nation's highest office. Lots of complex characters and nail-biting action.
Okay. Fairly entertaining but stretching it a bit.
In 6 minutes one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming.
So says Wes Holloway, a once-cocky and ambitious presidential ade, about the day that changed his life forever. On that 4th of July, Wes put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend, into the presidential limousine. By the time the trip came to an end, Wes was permanently disfigured, and Boyle was dead, the victim of a crazed assassin.
Eight years later, Boyle is spotted, alive and well, in Malaysia. In that moment, Wes has the chance to undo the worst day of his life. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back to a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, mysterious facts buried in Masonic history, and a 200 year old code invented by Thomas Jefferson.
But what Wes doesn't realize is that The Book of Fate hold everyone's secrets. Especially the ones worth dying for.
The Book of Fate. What does it say about you?
So says Wes Holloway, a once-cocky and ambitious presidential ade, about the day that changed his life forever. On that 4th of July, Wes put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend, into the presidential limousine. By the time the trip came to an end, Wes was permanently disfigured, and Boyle was dead, the victim of a crazed assassin.
Eight years later, Boyle is spotted, alive and well, in Malaysia. In that moment, Wes has the chance to undo the worst day of his life. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back to a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, mysterious facts buried in Masonic history, and a 200 year old code invented by Thomas Jefferson.
But what Wes doesn't realize is that The Book of Fate hold everyone's secrets. Especially the ones worth dying for.
The Book of Fate. What does it say about you?
i love everything he writes.. such mystery in this book
Vintage Meltzer. Character development and plot finely drawn.
The book has a very long set up. Way too long. It doesnt start to get better by the middle. And then it was just so-so.
Book Description
Brad Meltzer's #1 New York Times bestseller featuring a two-hundred-year-old code devised by Thomas Jefferson and a present-day conspiracy at the highest level of power .
"Six minutes from now, one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming."
So says Wes Holloway, a young presidential aide, about the day he put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend, into the president's limousine. By the trip's end, a crazed assassin would permanently disfigure Wes and kill Boyle. Now, eight years later, Boyle has been spotted alive. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back into disturbing secrets buried in Freemason history, a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, and a two-hundred-year-old code invented by Thomas Jefferson that conceals secrets worth dying for.
My Review
This was my first Brad Meltzer book. All in all, it was a very good read but I was disappointed as I expected a lot more information about Thomas Jefferson and the Masons. There was some tie-in to the story but not as much as I expected. I did enjoy the characters and the plot was very interesting. I had to read slowly at times because things seemed a little confusing and more concentration was needed. There were quite a few twists and turns and a surprise towards the end but the ending was a little drawn out. These complaints will not deter me, however, from reading another of Meltzer's books because I did enjoy his writing. I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading about presidents, FBI, CIA and the secret service.
Brad Meltzer's #1 New York Times bestseller featuring a two-hundred-year-old code devised by Thomas Jefferson and a present-day conspiracy at the highest level of power .
"Six minutes from now, one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming."
So says Wes Holloway, a young presidential aide, about the day he put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend, into the president's limousine. By the trip's end, a crazed assassin would permanently disfigure Wes and kill Boyle. Now, eight years later, Boyle has been spotted alive. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back into disturbing secrets buried in Freemason history, a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, and a two-hundred-year-old code invented by Thomas Jefferson that conceals secrets worth dying for.
My Review
This was my first Brad Meltzer book. All in all, it was a very good read but I was disappointed as I expected a lot more information about Thomas Jefferson and the Masons. There was some tie-in to the story but not as much as I expected. I did enjoy the characters and the plot was very interesting. I had to read slowly at times because things seemed a little confusing and more concentration was needed. There were quite a few twists and turns and a surprise towards the end but the ending was a little drawn out. These complaints will not deter me, however, from reading another of Meltzer's books because I did enjoy his writing. I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading about presidents, FBI, CIA and the secret service.
"Washington DC has a 200 year old secret. '6 minutes from now, one of would be dead. None of us knew it was coming.' So says Wes Holloway, a young Presidential aide, about the day he put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend into the president's limousine. By the trip's end, a crazed assassin would permanently disfigure Wes and kill Boyle. Now, 8 years later, Boyle has been spotted alive. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back into disturbing secrets buried in Freemason history, a decade year old Presidential crossword puzzle, and a 200 year old code invented by Thomas Jefferson tha conceals secrest worth dying for."
In six minutes, one of us would be dead. None of us knew it was coming... So says Wes Holloway, a once-cocky and ambitious presidential aide, about the day that changed his life forever. On that Fourth of July, Wes put Ron Boyle, the chief executive's oldest friend, into the presidential limousine. By the time the trip came to an end, Wes was permanently disfigured, and Boyle was dead, the victim of a crazed assassin. Eight years later, Boyle is spotted, alive and well, in Malaysia. In that moment, Wes has the chance to undo the worst day of his life. Trying to figure out what really happened takes Wes back to a decade-old presidential crossword puzzle, mysterious facts buried in Masonic history, and a two-hundred-year-old code invented by Thomas Jefferson. But what Wes doesn't realize is that The Book of Fate holds everyone's secrets. Especially the ones worth dying for. The Book of Fate. What does it say about you?
