After making a splash with a string of bestselling political thrillers like THE ZERO GAME, Brad Meltzer was able to moonlight, securing a scripting gig with DC Comics that has included IDENTITY CRISIS and the relaunch of the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA.
His latest novel is THE BOOK OF FATE. I suggest he stick to comics.
At a first glance of FATE, one might think, “DA VINCI CODE ripoff.” But Meltzer goes out of his way to distance himself from that niche genre, even having characters make fun of it and its giant leaps of logic.
But given what we’re left with, I wish FATE had been more like DA VINCI CODE. Its hero is Wes Holloway, a young Presidential aide whose face is permanently disfigured when some nut named Nico goes postal at a NASCAR event and tries to assassinate the president. Instead, he ruins Wes’ mug and kills Boyle, the deputy chief of staff.
Eight years later, however, Wes comes face-to-face (no pun intended) with a very-much-alive Boyle, backstage at the former prez’s appearance in Malaysia. Such a thing can’t be good, of course, but it’s only the start of Wes’ problems. For example, Nico’s escaped from the loony bin and on the hunt for him, believing him to be a Satanic creature.
Wes enlists the help of a couple of friends and – only because he’s left with no other choice – a redheaded gossip reporter to figure out how Boyle pulled the ol’ switcheroo, why the FBI thinks Wes is involved and what it all has to do with an old crossword puzzle of the ex-Commander in Chief.
As the front and back covers make clear, it all has to do with the Freemasons. Nico is obsessed with crosses and finding Masonic symbols embedded in maps of the Washington, D.C. Meltzer’s book comes complete with images of street layouts and chicken-scratched crosswords to help make the narrative come alive, but it’s not enough.
Halfway through this 500-pager, I came to the stark realization that FATE had yet to hook me, even with all its chess pieces in place. Then I understood why: I despised the characters that are supposed to carry us through. Even for the few pages before his life-altering accident, Wes is a mamby-pamby and histrionic; I quickly grew tired of the woe-is-me whining and constant reminders of his injury. Unless Meltzer planned on hiding an ancient code within Wes’ facial scars, I didn’t see a need for the ever-present references. Worse, his friends include the loudmouthed fat guy and the philandering politico. I don’t like these types in real life, so I cannot root for them on the page.
Meltzer’s dialogue contributes to this, coming off as trite and also unrealistic, with attempts at humor that result in groans and intended sober passages that made me cringe. Strange things is, this kind of stuff works in the comics, which is why I believe that medium – though less lucrative to the checking account – is Meltzer’s calling.
FATE is well-researched, offering eye-opening details about the daily ins and outs of a presidency (right down to the early-morning CIA debriefing that arrives via handcuffed briefcase). But when a thriller educates me more than it excites me, I have to say it didn’t do its job. –Rod Lott
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