Rating: 
Summary: Codex
Review: A decent adventure novel set in the jungles of South America. The plot is interesting, a couple of the minor characters are very entertaining, but the moral is somewhat heavy handed. If you want to read truly spectacular thriller fiction pick up Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities and Still Life with Crows, by Douglas Preston and his long time partner Lincoln Childs. Codex is allright, but not in a League with the other books I mentioned.
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Summary: Treasure Hunt
Review: A lot of fun, if you don't take it too seriously. Like 'The DaVinci Code,' this book pretends to be more complex and mysterious than it really is. Still, it's quite a fun read - Sort of 'King Lear' meets 'Congo.' The writing is not as polished as I would expect from half of a bestselling writing team, but it doesn't get in the way.
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Summary: Fun and Fast-Paced!!!
Review: A quick, fast-paced read! Entertaining, but with no real surprises. I read it in one day and really enjoyed it. I give 4 out of 5 stars for this book.
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Summary: An adventure in search of treasure leads to a different kind
Review: A wealthy man, Maxwell Broadbent, who acquired his riches by robbing ancient tombs, learns that he is dying of cancer. He considers his three sons to be failures, so he arranges to have himself entombed with all of his portable worldly goods. In this way, he hopes to challenge them to perform one great feat of accomplishment along the lines of what he did in his life. Since the art and other treasures that he took with him are valued at over 500 million dollars, there is a lot of room for greed.
The brothers are admonished to cooperate, but it does not start out that way. Philip Broadbent goes to a former partner of Maxwell who is now a private investigator. They immediately discover that Maxwell and his material went to the jungles of Central America. Vernon Broadbent, who is a member of a religious colony, joins forces with his teacher, a guru-like figure, and they separately follow the same trail. Unfortunately, his teacher is as incapable as he is to survive in the jungle. The third brother, Tom Broadbent, has no interest in the treasure hunt, but is the one most equipped to carry it out. He finally agrees to search for the tomb after being told that the collection includes a book describing all of the medicinal plants known to the ancient Indians. The book is called the Codex, hence the title of the book. Being a veterinarian, Tom can appreciate the value of the medical knowledge in the book, which may make it the most valuable item in the tomb.
After many trials in moving through a swamp, the brothers join forces and are guided to an ancient city by a fourth brother who has an Indian mother and still lives in the jungle. After a battle and discovering that their father is not yet dead, they emerge triumphant. They are also reconciled with their father, who realizes that each of his sons is successful in his own way.
This is an exciting tale of adventure, challenge and triumph, but it is also a tale of finding yourself and learning more about who you truly are. Each of the brothers learns the meaning of family and their father finally learns to understand and appreciate his children. I listened to it in my car, often finding excuses to stay in it just a little bit longer in order to get to the end of a climactic point.
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Summary: Saved from boredom!
Review: After a business meeting ended earlier than expected and not finding any earlier flights out of Dallas, I was facing an eight-hour wait in the airport. I spent some time eating in one of the restaurants there, but after that there wasn't much else to do. Luckily I had this book with me! Time flew by while I was immersed in the story that took me through the jungle in Honduras. Maxwell Broadbent summons his three sons to his house to talk about their inheritance because he is a dying victim of cancer and has a collection of art and jewels worth half a billion dollars. When Phil, Tom and Vernon get there they find no sign of their father or of the valuable collection. What they do find is a video in which Max explains that he has done a bad job as a father and that as a result his kids have no goals other than wait for their inheritance. Therefore, he has sealed himself in a tomb somewhere in the world with his collection and his sons will have to find him if they want their inheritance. This is supposed to teach them independence, the value of work, self-reliance and how to take care of each other. From this point on, a race that involves the brothers, the police officers that were in the house investigating the "theft" and Maxwell's previous partner in treasure hunting. The participants in the quest soon find out that one of the items in the collection is a Mayan Codex that contains the secrets resulting from centuries of experimenting with plants and animals found in the jungle. The value of this work is priceless, especially for pharmaceutical companies, which spend millions in research and development. The situation starts getting more and more dangerous as all these elements come into play and the fast-paced action will grab you and not let go until the end. This story has it almost all, action, suspense, love, dismay, hope, betrayal and even humor! The only weak point I found is that the author was careless in some Spanish expressions he used throughout the book. For example he uses "Veinte cuatros" instead of "Veinticuatros" or "Buenos tardes" instead of "Buenas tardes". Anyway, this is a very minor issue and the book is really great. The reason why I gave the book four stars instead of five is that the story line is not very original. However, if I were you I would not hesitate to give this book a try!
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Summary: Great solo novel from one half of an awesome team
Review: After Lincoln Child's very good "Utopia" the other half of the esteemed Preston-Child team has written another solo novel entitled "The Codex". After a rather drawn out last collaboration with Lincoln Child in "Still life with crows" this finds Douglas Preston back in excellent form with an interesting premise (don't want to spoil it more than the book review), decent characters and some typical humour that fans of the pair will appreciate. They've never written anything "unreadable" together and their recent solo efforts, including this one, maintain their high-standards. Thoroughly recommended!!
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Summary: Welcome to the Jungle...Again
Review: After reading a glowing review in Entertainment Weekly magazine, I was really looking forward to Preston's new book. I've been a fan of he and Child for a long time, although I've been disapointed with their last few books. Although not disappointed with "Codex," I found it to be so-so. It suffers from a predictable plot and characters. You know the two leads, thrust together into a high intensity situation, are going to fall for each other. You know that they will find what they are looking for. You know the bad guy is going to meet his doom in the end. An enjoyable read but nothing special. It distresses me a bit to think that all the writers that work in the thriller genre (Preston/Child, Matthew Reilly, Steve Alten, James Rollins) are all copying each other. "Codex" seems to have elements in common with "Temple," "Amazonia," and "Domain." They all harken back to "Congo" by the original thriller writer, Crichton. I hope they can all break their wave of familiarity and come up with some fresh ideas soon. I'm aching for a great story.
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Summary: Adventure...I couldn't stop reading!
Review: An true classic adventure book that keeps you coming back for more until you finish. From extreme luxury of the rich to the jungles of Honduras your catapulted through lives, challanges, defeats and successes. A great and worthy read.
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Summary: Jungle treasure hunt
Review: As a team, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have produced some great thrillers. And it turns out that their solo efforts are every bit as fast-paced and exciting. Max Broadbent, who is dying of cancer, leaves a videotape to his three sons announcing that he has buried himself and his half-billion dollar art and antiquities collection in a tomb in an undisclosed location. If the sons want their inheritance, they must track down the tomb. This begins a long treasure hunt through the jungles and rain forests of Honduras. The title refers to a codex, a Mayan compendium of plant pharmacology that becomes the most hotly contested object of the treasure hunt. The story line switches between the separate treasure hunting parties and the pharmaceutical company executive who desperately needs the codex to keep his company from going bankrupt. The action converges in a final showdown over the treasure. This story has vivid descriptions of the jungle and its dangers. There are so many exotic natives, battles between man and beast, chases, narrow escapes, and ancient ruins that it resembles an Indiana Jones film. In fact, the story is perfectly suited to become a movie. The premise of this story might be far-fetched, but stay with it and you will be rewarded with a grand adventure, full of danger, treachery and surprises. I recommend this novel for those who enjoy pure escapism and armchair travel to exotic places. Eileen Rieback
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Summary: A deadly inheritance
Review: Being a huge Preston & Child fan. it's obvious to me that novels derived from that union are superior to their individual efforts. The Codex, while being fascinating on many levels lacks the excitement level of other P&C novels. The plot surrounds the summoning of the three sons of reclusive multimillionaire Maxwell Broadbent to his New Mexico mansion. Broadbent is an obsessive collector of fine art and priceless archeologic artifacts, is considered a glorified grave robber. Upon arrival to the palatial Broadbent estate, the sons Tom, Vernon and Phillip discover the their father's collection, valued at 500 million dollars has apparently been stolen. They learn that the collection, their inheritance, has been spirited away with Broadbent who is dying of cancer, to be interred in tomb somewhere in the world. To claim their inheritance they must find the tomb to prove themselves worthy of its acquisition. Vernon, Tom and Phillip set off independently of each other to claim the fortune. Vernon, an aimless free spirit sets off with his money hungry spiritual guru. Tom, a dedicated yet poor veterinarian is coaxed by the blonde and beautiful Sally Colorado, an ethnopharmacologist to pursue the collection. Sally, a studier of indigenous medicines, has learned that the collection includes a Mayan codex. The codex written in about 800 A.D. contains thousands of medical prescriptions and preparations derived from plants, animals, insects and minerals native to the rainforest. Such a discovery would be a priceless boon to the pharmaceutical industry. Phillip, an art history professor had the brilliant idea to recruit Marcus Hauser, successful private investigator and former partner of his father. Little did he know that the partnership dissolved prior to Broadbent making his initial lucrative discovery. As a result Hauser secretly abhored Broadbent and was desperate to even the score. They all embark on a tortuous trek through the disease infested jungles of central Honduras to where they suspect Maxwell Broadbent is entombed. What follows is a harrowing adventure tale with the various parties aided by local minions as they overcome numerous hardships while treking to a remote mythical location. Although, a cut below the usual Preston & Child quality, The Codex is still a worthwhile read.
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