Rating: 
Summary: Great Adventure Story
Review: Douglas Preston has delivered an exciting, engrossing adventure story that will keep you turning pages far into the night. The characters are interesting and there is never a dull moment. A perfect summer read released in the dead of winter. My only question: What happened to Hairy Bugger? Did Tom figure out a way to smuggle him back home?! You will not be disappointed in this book. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Rating:
Summary: A fun, fast paced thriller perfect for the summer
Review: Douglas Preston is one half of the writing team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They have both put out solo efforts this year (Lincoln Child penned DEATH MATCH) and both of them have written entertaining and exciting books perfect for the summer season.
Maxwell Broadbent, a wealthy old archeologist who gained his fortune robbing tombs the world over, has called his three sons back to the house. It appears he is dying and wants to see them. When the sons arrive, they find Maxwell missing with all of the treasures. A videotape explains the situation. Maxwell is taking the treasures to a remote tomb somewhere in the world. He will bury himself and the treasure (worth half a billion dollars). It is up to the sons to locate the tomb and retrieve the treasure. Maxwell's purpose is to get his desperate and estranged sons to work together toward a final goal. They must battle soldiers, archeologists and the elements of the tropical rain forest to obtain their inheritance.
THE CODEX is a fun, fast paced thriller - silly in its premise and silly in its execution. However, given that it is a pulp type of thriller, it works quite well and should be judged as such. Well recommended for the hammock or poolside.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: Every reader MUST include Preston and Childs on their bookshelves - UNDER glass for posterity. These two writers deserve special accolades for research, clarity, incredible story lines and the ability to grab the reader from beginning to end. Please read ALL of their books -- but PLEASE, read them in order with the Codex being the last, but the best.
Rating: 
Summary: The DaVinci code it is not!
Review: First and foremost, please don't believe the reviewer who claimed that this was another "DaVinci Code!" There are absolutely no riddles in this book! I hate to give away any big plot devices, but the great quest to find their father's hidden tomb was solved by just picking up a phone and finding out where he last flew to! That said, this is a mildly entertaining adventure romp through the jungle. It would be fun beach reading (especially on a trip to Central America), but hardly qualifies as one for your permanent colletion.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing.....
Review: I am a big fan of Preston and Child. I thought The Cabinet of Curiosities was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I wasn't expecting much of Still Life with Crows and thought that was excellent as well. So, I was anticipating the Codex with great excitement. Unfortunately, I was let down.
The premise is pretty good, but the story is way too shallow, as are the characters. Most things are fairly unbelievable and the plot just seems get more and more unrealistic as they venture further into the jungle. The love story is completely pathetic. Why even make the love story part of the plot when you are going to devote about 1 full page to developing it, and most of that consists of a sexual encounter in a hut after struggling through the jungle for a week to the point of near exhaustion? I got about 7/8 of the way through the book then decided it was not even worth my time to reach the conclusion.
I'm looking forward to Brimstone.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read, Predictable Plot, Yawn.............
Review: I am a big fan when Preston & Child collaberate (except Still Life with Crows, booooring). However, what's with this Codex book. It has about every thriller cliche out there and just seems like someone's mediocre first novel. Come on Preston we expect great original stuff. Leave this rubbish to the other guys!
Rating:
Summary: Quick Read, Predictable Plot, Yawn.............
Review: I am a big fan when Preston & Child collaberate (except Still Life with Crows, booooring). However, what's with this Codex book. It has about every thriller cliche out there and just seems like someone's mediocre first novel. Come on Preston we expect great original stuff. Leave this rubbish to the other guys!
Rating:
Summary: A fun, fantastic book that takes you deep into the jungle!!!
Review: I am a huge fan of the Preston/Child books, and I enjoyed Utopia (Lincoln Child's first solo effort), so when I picked up The Codex, I was very excited! The Codex does not disappoint! Douglas Preston takes you deep into the jungle with 3 brothers in search of their past, and a valuable book, The Codex. The Broadbent brothers take on a dangerous journey after their eccentric father takes his fortune with him to his tomb. The brothers split up, and each search for the fortune on their own. Douglas Preston has created a great story that transports you to the deep jungle. He has created a great story that I highly recommend to any, not just fans of the Preston/Child books.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding solo effort from Preston, better than Utopia
Review: I am absolutely impressed with Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child as writing partners. They have not once let me down with any of their novels. Some of course are better than others, but ALL of them share one thing in common: they are GOOD. When Lincoln Child released his solo 'Utopia' I was also surprised with a very fun and action-oriented thriller based upon the world's most sophisticated Theme Park just outside of Las Vegas. Then came the latest from both authors, 'Still Life With Crows', which I thought wasn't as good as 'Utopia'. Well I am happy to say that 'The Codex' is even BETTER. I wouldn't go so far as to say that either author are better alone than they are together, especially when they are writing at their best, but you can definitely see that both have natural storytelling talent. The Codex is a Mythological adventure tale based upon the ancient Mayan Codex which is rumored to have hundreds of years worth of medicinal uses for the millions of plants that grow in the wilds of Central & South America. On the surface alone this Codex ought to be priceless for the archaeolgical value alone, but if you delve deeper to see the medical uses that could possibly be found within its pages, you could say that the dollar amount it would be worth could easily pass the several billion mark. An estranged Father who spent the bulk of his adult life plundering ancient tombs and hoarding it away until the value was into the hundreds of millions of dollars, suddenly finds himself facing his life coming to a close -- rapidly. With this knowledge comes his most frightening thought: what should be done with everything he has amassed over the years? Among the thousands of items stolen includes the ONLY remaining full Mayan Codex in existence. He knows he is about to die, and instead of just handing over his treasure to his sons, he makes the decision to hide it all away, and whoever finds it first wins the worlds biggest inheritance. At first none of them seem even interested in making the attempt to find everything, but that slowly changes into an all-out dash to not just find it, but find it first. You see, during the skirmish which happens immediately following the brothers discovery of what their Father has done, a desperate pharmaceutical company finds out about the Codex and makes the fateful decision to try and find it all first in order to save the entire organization from crumbling and the leaders from facing prosecution for a number of major violations. What we have next is quite an adventure. One that will NOT increase your intellect nor make you pause to reflect upon life. No, what you WILL have, however is a story which does exactly as intended: will transport you away from the real world and into a richly detailed and entertaining place which helps us feel as though our money was WELL spent when we purchased the book. Again, not up to par with Preston & Child's better novels, but I CAN say it was better than their most recent release, 'Still Life With Crows'. Maybe you like it less, or agree with me exactly, but either way, chances are if you like these authors together, you will enjoy both of them independently as well. As long as both Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child continue to write, I plan on spending my hard-earned money on what they produce. Neither have let me down. Give The Codex a try, I thought it was a pretty darned good book.
Rating:
Summary: Fun read
Review: I enjoyed this more than I did the recent Preston/Child collobaration 'Still Life with Crows'. In fact, it's the first thriller I've actually finished in recent months. Like another reviewer pointed out earlier, all these authors -- Matt Reilly, James Rollins, Steven Alten, Child/Preston -- are all blending together. If memory serves, the cover of this book and the hardcover of Reilly's 'Temple' are almost identical. I honestly couldn't even finish 'Temple' or Rollin's 'Amazonia' -- those authors always write outlandishly ridiculous stories and stupid characters that yank me out of the book from the very beginning. Preston fares better here. That's not to say this storyline is exactly believeable or the characters dynamite, because they're not. However, it is FUN and I think the central concept is very imaginative and had me hooked. Unlike Rollins or Reilly, Preston doesn't blow a good idea with poor execution and I happily read this way past midnight. I can't imagine fans of Preston/Childs not enjoying this. That said, I do hope this spells the end of Crichtonesque books about adventure in South/Central America chasing some priceless Aztec/Mayan/and or Incan ruin. I'll give kudos to Preston for doing it with more imagination and originality than most, but it's time to find some new terriroty.
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