Book
The book of fate / Brad Meltzer.
Summary:
Record details
- ISBN: 044658018X
- ISBN: 0446530999
- ISBN: 9780446530996
- ISBN: 9780446612128 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 044661212X (pbk.)
- Physical Description: ix, 510 p. ; 24 cm. : ill.
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Warner Books, 2006.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 > Cipher > Fiction.
Presidents > Assassination attempts > Fiction.
Conspiracies > Fiction.
Assassination > Fiction.
Freemasonry > Fiction.
Washington (D.C.) > Fiction.
Palm Beach (Fla.) > Fiction. - Genre:
- Code and cipher stories.
Political thrillers.
Political fiction.
Suspense fiction.
Available copies
- 8 of 8 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Valemount Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 8 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valemount Public Library | f mel (Text) | 35194001350271 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2006 July #1
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. ((Reviewed July 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2006 August #1
Trying his hand at a star-spangled version of The Da Vinci Code, Meltzer produces his biggest, dumbest book.Former presidential aide Wes Holloway still rues the day eight years ago when he allowed deputy chief of staff Ron Boyle to ride in President Leland Manning's limo to a NASCAR race. On their arrival at the track, crazy Nico Hadrian, presumably shooting at Manning, killed Boyle and left the right side of Wes's face paralyzed. Now Wes, still attached to ex-President Manning's much-diminished entourage, spots a man who's unmistakably Boyle and unmistakably alive at a conference in Malaysia. Stung by the likelihood that's he's been castigating himself in vain all these years, Wes determines to dig up the story behind Boyle's resurrection. The trail of revelations will pit him, his roommate Rogo, his predecessor Gavin "Dreidel" Jeffer and bulldog Palm Beach Post gossip columnist Lisbeth Dodson against a Masonic conspiracy stretching from the founding of the Republic to a nefarious contemporary plot involving a venal anti-terrorist tipster dubbed The Roman, a power-mad cabal calling themselves The Three and a possible Number Four of even more dastardly hue. Assiduously following the Dan Brown playbook, Meltzer (The Zero Game, 2004, etc.) salts his potboiler with secret codes, research in underground archives, cliffhanger endings, paranoid historical fantasies, cackling megalomaniacs and gunmen willing to shoot anything that moves, as several of them demonstrate in a kitchen-sink finale. Every ingredient is perfect except for clear plotting, credible threats and characters (and a conspiracy) worth caring about.How successful will Meltzer's fumbling knockoff be? If the Masons sell half as well as Mary Magdalene and Opus Dei, expect follow-ups starring the ACLU, the Rotarians and the Mickey Mouse Club. Copyright Kirkus 2006 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2006 August #1
Presidential aide Wes Holloway has what he considers the perfect life until the fateful day that an assassin strikes. His friend Ron Boyle dies, and a ricocheting bullet hits Wes in the face. Eight years later, with a bullet scar on his cheek and limited use of his facial muscles, he continues to relive the painful memories of that day. Still aide to the now former president, Wes stumbles into a terrifying conspiracy when he discovers that Ron is still alive. Somehow, the fate of Wes and everyone he knows ties in to the secret history of the Freemasons. With rich characters, a puzzling mystery, and a compelling narrative, Meltzer (The Zero Game ) has written his best thriller yet. Though the jacket flap is somewhat misleading in describing how much freemasonry history is uncovered, that is a minor quibble in the grand scheme. Don't let this book of fate pass you by. [See Q&A with Meltzer, p. 74. Ed.] Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
[Page 72]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2006 July #4
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.)
[Page 35]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.