Author | Ken Follett |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Publisher | Pan Macmillan |
Publication date | 2000 |
Media type | Print (paperback and hardcover) |
Pages | 384 |
ISBN | 0-333-78076-0 |
OCLC | 46332093 |
Code to Zero is a novel by the British author Ken Follett, published by Pan Macmillan. The story follows Luke, an amnesic who spends the duration of the book learning of his life, and slowly uncovering secrets of a conspiracy to hold the United States back in the space race. [1]
It is set out in both chapters and parts. There are six parts to the book, and an unspecified number of chapters which are titled by the time of day they are set, rather than the more common numbering system.
In America 1958, a man wakes up in a railway station public toilet with no recollection of his past. His clothing, associates and surroundings suggest to him that he is an alcoholic derelict, however his behaviour, intelligence, morals and instinct lead him to investigate and research his past. He establishes (by the simple method of going into a library and pulling books off shelves until he finds one that he understands) that he is in fact Dr Lucas - a rocket scientist, and well known in his field. He further establishes that he is directly responsible for the design of a rocket due to be launched by America in an attempt to match the Soviet Sputnik, and bolster America's entry into what would become the Space Race.
Several people from his past both help and hinder his progress, and the implication is made that he himself was a Soviet spy, and had his memory erased instead of being killed - although this theory is made suspect when his old college friend reveals that he himself was once a Soviet spy and subsequently turned (but not entirely forgiven) by Lucas.
The actual spies (and saboteur) are revealed to be both his wife and another close friend, who plan on using the rocket's self-destruct mechanism to destroy the rocket as it is launched, either removing America from the Space Race, or putting their progress back so far that the Soviets will be hard to catch.
The plot is foiled with seconds to spare, and his wife apparently commits suicide rather than being caught by driving her car into the sea. The second saboteur is shot and killed in a gun battle prior to Lucas' wife's suicide.
In July 2000, producer Douglas Wick bought the film rights for the novel. [2]
In October 2015, Tandem Productions announced that a TV miniseries for Code to Zero is in the works. [3] StudioCanal bought Tandem in 2020 and production on this miniseries is seemingly halted. [4]
Tandem Productions had previously adapted two more of Follet’s novels: The Pillars of the Earth, and World Without End. [3]
Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure, the thriller and the politico-military thriller.
Kenneth Martin Follett, is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works.
Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World War II in Europe, between 1945–59. Some were former members and leaders of the Nazi Party.
Storm of the Century, alternatively known as Stephen King's Storm of the Century, is a 1999 American horror television miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other television adaptations of King's work, Storm of the Century was not based on a novel but was an original screenplay written by the author and directly produced for television. King described the screenplay as a "novel for television." The screenplay was published as a mass-market book in February 1999 prior to the TV broadcast of the mini-series.
Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel written by Welsh author Ken Follett. It was originally published in 1978 by the Penguin Group under the title Storm Island. This novel was Follett's first successful, best-selling effort as a novelist, and it earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. The revised title is an allusion to the "eye of a needle" aphorism.
Hornet Flight is a Second World War-based spy thriller written by British author Ken Follett. It was published in 2002 by Macmillan in the UK and Dutton in the US.
Woman in the Moon is a German science fiction silent film that premiered 15 October 1929 at the UFA-Palast am Zoo cinema in Berlin to an audience of 2,000. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" science fiction films. It was directed by Fritz Lang, and written by his wife Thea von Harbou, based on her 1928 novel The Rocket to the Moon. It was released in the US as By Rocket to the Moon and in the UK as Girl in the Moon. The basics of rocket travel were presented to a mass audience for the first time by this film, including the use of a multi-stage rocket. The film was shot between October 1928 and June 1929 at the UFA studios in Neubabelsberg near Berlin.
Fireball XL5 is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of Fireball XL5, a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, XL5 defends Earth from interstellar threats while encountering a wide variety of alien civilisations.
Space is a novel by James A. Michener published in 1982. It is a fictionalized history of the United States space program, with a particular emphasis on human spaceflight.
Rose Red is a 2002 American television miniseries scripted by horror novelist Stephen King, directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Nancy Travis, Matt Keeslar, Julian Sands, Kimberly J. Brown, David Dukes, Melanie Lynskey, Matt Ross, Emily Deschanel, Judith Ivey, and Kevin Tighe. It was filmed in Lakewood, Washington. The plot focuses on a reputedly haunted mansion located in Seattle, Washington, named Rose Red. Due to its long history of supernatural events and unexplained tragedies, the house is investigated by parapsychologist Dr. Joyce Reardon and a team of gifted psychics.
The Executioners is the 55th novel in the Nick Carter-Killmaster series of spy novels. Carter is a US secret agent, code-named N-3, with the rank of Killmaster. He works for AXE – a secret arm of the US intelligence services.
"Renegade Rocket" is the seventh episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by Ralph Hart and directed by Brian Burgess, it was first broadcast on 19 January 1968 on ATV Midlands.
Space is a 1985 American television miniseries starring James Garner as Sen. Norman Grant. It is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by James A. Michener that aired on CBS. Like the novel, the miniseries is a fictionalised history of the United States space program.
The Key to Rebecca is a novel by the British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980 by Pan Books (ISBN 0792715381), it was a best-seller that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The code mentioned in the title is an intended throwback from Follett to Daphne du Maurier's famed suspense novel Rebecca.
Winter Hawk is a 1987 thriller novel written by Craig Thomas. It is a novel set within a larger continuum linking many of Thomas's other books, including some characters last seen in Firefox Down, itself a sequel to Thomas's Firefox. Though the featured character is Mitchell Gant, the plot is composed of several running subplots surrounding the imminent launch of the Soviets' Space Shuttle and the planned signing of an historic arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
The Pillars of the Earth is an eight-part 2010 television miniseries, adapted from Ken Follett's 1989 novel of the same name. It debuted in the U.S. on Starz and in Canada on The Movie Network/Movie Central on 23 July 2010. Its UK premiere was on Channel 4 in October 2010. The series was nominated for three awards at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Miniseries or Television Film, while Ian McShane and Hayley Atwell received acting nominations.
World Without End is an eight-episode 2012 television miniseries based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Ken Follett. It is a sequel to the 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, also based on a Follett novel. World Without End is set 150 years after The Pillars of the Earth and chronicles the experiences of the English town of Kingsbridge during the start of the Hundred Years' War and the outbreak of the Black Death. The cast is led by Cynthia Nixon, Miranda Richardson, Ben Chaplin, Peter Firth, Charlotte Riley and Tom Weston-Jones. The miniseries differs significantly from the novel in both the plot and characterizations.
David A. Rosemont is an American producer. He has been nominated for five Emmy Awards and four Golden Globes. Rosemont has won the Peabody award, two Critics Choice Awards, The Media Access Award, The Celebration of Diversity Award, The American Film Institute Award of Excellence, the Christopher Award, and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for the critically acclaimed Door to Door.
Edge of Eternity is a historical and family saga novel by Welsh-born author Ken Follett, published in 2014. It is the third book in the Century Trilogy, after Fall of Giants and Winter of the World.
Operation Moon Rocket is the 32nd novel in the long-running Nick Carter-Killmaster series of spy novels. Carter is a US secret agent, code-named N-3, with the rank of Killmaster. He works for AXE – a secret arm of the US intelligence services.
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