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Title: The Codex by Douglas J. Preston, Scott Sowers ISBN: 1-59397-361-6 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 17 January, 2004 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.65 (34 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: mildly entertaining, but still disappointing
Comment: I really like Preston's collaborations with Lincoln Child. Their stories are relatively original and have an intriguing blend of history and the supernatural. However, it seems whenever these authors venture out on their own, the result is lackluster at best. Lincoln Child's solo work titled "Utopia" was also very disappointing to me. In this effort, Preston fails to constuct an original or entertaining plot and then compounds this misstep with shallow characters and clumsy dialog. This is a typical jungle treasure hunt story with greedy a CEO, a sadistic mercenary, hapless (and greedy) sons competing with each other, wise old jungle native, and of course the [attractive] female scientist/horse rider/marksman. This story lacks the spark of the supernatural, the historical intrigue, and the polish of the Preston/Child collaborations and sadly fails to rise above the noise level of other similar stories by people like James Patterson. I would try hard to avoid this book and wait for the next effort by Preston and Child.
Rating: 5
Summary: Thrilling, Fast-Paced and Chock Full of Surprises
Comment: Together Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have written --- in my opinion --- some of the best thrillers of our time. Preston's solo effort THE CODEX earns that same praise. And if you are a fan of quest stories, you will enjoy this unique twist on a popular theme.
Aging and ill, Maxwell Broadbent has devised a highly unusual plan for the distribution of his impressive estate. An archaeologist-tomb robber, Broadbent has spent his life amassing an unparalleled collection of art and artifacts. His three grown sons are disappointments to him, but he can change that by sending them on the greatest adventure of their lives.
When the boys arrive at Broadbent's mansion to find it ransacked and virtually emptied out, they think their father has not only been robbed but kidnapped as well --- until they find the tape that begins with Broadbent himself saying, "Greetings from the dead." The eccentric millionaire has taken all his prized possessions and buried them in a crypt in Central America, and left instructions that the son (or sons) who find the treasure will inherit it. Oh, and Broadbent has buried himself with the goods!
The adventure begins. Vernon, the hippie spiritualist in the group, enlists his questionable guru for help. Philip, a professor, tracks down his father's former expedition partner, now a P.I., thinking who better to find Broadbent than the man who knew his past quests best. And Tom, a vet, declines to search until a beautiful young doctor convinces him that amongst the treasures is an item vital to the future of medicine and the future of mankind: the Codex.
The Codex is a Mayan book that contains the medical applications of the indigenous plants of Central America. When a failing pharmaceutical company learns of its existence, the race to feed greed and find Broadbent is on.
Thrilling, fast-paced and chock full of unexpected surprises --- including one Honduran who has claims on the inheritance as well --- THE CODEX is all that and more.
--- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating: 3
Summary: A Fun Ride While It Lasts
Comment: Some books are written to amaze, disturb and puzzle readers. Others are written for the sole purpose of entertainment. The Codex falls in this second category. While the story does offer a lot of thrills - moving very fast through time and offering a lot of action and adventure, everything suited for a no-brainer Hollywood flick - I can't admit that it will ever become a classic adventure tale. Still, I had a great time reading The Codex despite of all its flaws, and I'm sure you will as well.
The Broadbent brothers reunite at their father's home only to be learn a horrible news. It seems that their father, a rich art and artifact collector, has taken his whole fortune and buried it deep within the jungles somewhere in the world. Buried with him is an old Mayan codex that will bring riches to anyone that lays their hands on it. The brothers will have to travel halfway across the world and face unimaginable hardships in order to retrieve their father's treasures and the codex.
The problem is, their father's ex-partner, an evil man named Hauser, learns about the codex and decides to partake in the search of Broadbent's grave in order to sell the document to some big medical corporation. Hauser will let nothing and no one stand in his way.
Written in short chapters and direct, unpretentious prose, The Codex is a perfect beach novel; it's often impossible to put it down. It doesn't matter that all the chracters are cardboard cutouts, beause this story knows how to deliver the goods. Hauser is the kind of evil man we've seen in a million Hollywood flicks. The brothers are differentiated not through dialogue or personality, but by the use of very generic characteristics (the religous one, the rich one who only wants to get richer, and the "perfect" one who usually thinks of others before thinking of himself). I usually hate novels where the characters are this prototypical, but somehow, in Preston's hands, it all works out in the end. The book is filled with so much action and suspense that you tend to forget this major flaw.
The Codex is a far cry from the books Preston has written with his partner Lincoln Child. But I have to admit that I preferred this solo effort than the one Child offered last summer (Utopia). I don't think I'll remember what The Codex was about a year from now. At least I'll remember that I had a great time reading it.
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Title: Still Life With Crows by Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston ISBN: 0446531421 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Ice Hunt by James Rollins ISBN: 0060521562 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly ISBN: 0312289588 Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: 24 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Brimstone by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child ISBN: 044653143X Publisher: Mysterious Press Pub. Date: 03 August, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Death Match : A Novel by LINCOLN CHILD ISBN: 0385506708 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 04 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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