Rating: 
Summary: Gloriously Stupid
Review: So, like, this rich guy's dying of cancer but he still has enough get-up-and-go to schlep $1 billion worth of renaissance art, ancient books, gold and silver, etc to central america, across a vast swamp, up a river guarded by indians with serious anger management issues, to an ancient redoubt deep in the cloudforest. And he's gonna, like, bury himself with all this stuff. And then his three sons (by three different mothers) set out -- individually -- to stop him. And then--Well, I won't give it away. It's an utterly ridiculous story, too silly even for Hollywood (though I'm probably wrong about that). Still, the writing ain't bad, and if your TV's busted, well, this might be a good way to kill a few hours.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fun Ride While It Lasts
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: This novel has it all!
Review: Starting off, this is the best fictional novel I have in some time. Douglas Preston has put together an excellent cast of characters. He also gives us the usual chills and spills like his other books with Lincoln Child. If you like tales of jungle adventure, hidden treasure, and a quest that is never assured of working, you will love this book!
Rating:
Summary: As much fun as eating cardboard.
Review: Take an unconvincing plot, mix it with characters whose depth is fingerscratch deep, add an obligatory sex scene while hero and heroine are facing death and toss in a few cliches and, presto, you have "The Codex."
A recluse billionaire with perhaps three sons keeps a half-billion dollar collection of antiquities and art in his home. He summons his three sons to come at a specific time - and they find dying daddy and the collection gone.
A talented writer could have made something of that. Douglas Preston does not. Instead each of the three sons is a cardboard cutout, patched together of literary Lego blocks: pipes, tweed jackets, cowboy boots and so on.
The adventure tries to be adventurous, but for me reading this attempted thriller reminded me of waiting for a weather-delayed flight. You have to do something, even if its mildly unpleasant and very boring.
Clive Cussler has the remarkable ability to take bizarre circumstancs, characters and plot twists and render them enjoyably exciting. Douglas Preston lacks that talent. You can pass "The Codex" by and miss nothing. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: Passable
Review: The premise behind this book is that a wealthy collector of antiquities bequeaths his collection worth 500 Million to his sons. The only problem is that he has buried his collection along with himself somewhere in the world. The sons' task is to find it.
This had the makings up front of a great book along the lines of The Da Vinci Code where you would be tracking down clues to find the ultimate goal. However, it didn't work out that way. The brothers almost immediately know where their father went and hire some unsrupoulous indivduals to help locate him in some remote Hondurus jungles.
It then slogs along till about 250 pages in the book where it starts to pick up and the last 100 pages are pretty good.
Based on some of the other Preston/Child works I was expecting something a lot better though. The author does plug his partner's book Utopia about halfway through the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story Drowns In Terrible Writing
Review: This book actually had a decent story concept, but none of the actions/motivations were believeable because of appalingly immature charater interactions. I honestly was wondering whether the book was written by a junior high school student. When I learned that it was actually written by a successful author, I was astounded. Obviously there are readers out there who enjoy this kind of writing since Mr. Preston is a NY Times best selling author, but I have to wonder how such a book could appeal to a reader with a fully developed sense of social interaction.
Rating:
Summary: mediocre
Review: This book was interesting and intriguing, but not at all well-written. A good airplane read, but nothing literary or profound here. And the ending was a bit disappointing
Rating:
Summary: Good read - well paced
Review: This was a strong book in terms of pacing and environment. Not a lot of character development, but you do feel the characters grow/change. The romance part was pretty predictable and not real strong, but it was a side detail anyway. I liked the underlying messages from this book and the way that the characters were pulled in and introduced. I also liked the way that they interacted and adapted to each other - something lacking in many books of this genre. I do believe that if you liked the DaVinci code, you will like this book. Not riddles, but same focus on background information and context. Also, same reasonable notion of characters learning to take on their role, rather than being naturals at it.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, Fast-Paced and Chock Full of Surprises
Review: 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:
Summary: More absorbing than watching paint dry ... barely.
Review: Yawn. Well, I guess now we know which one of the Child/Preston writing juggernaut is the talented one: not Douglas Preston. At least, not in this book.
Paper-thin plot peopled by entirely artificial characters. Rugged cowboy? Check. Misfit seeker hippie? Check. Materialistic aesthete? Check. Arrogant, quixotic patriarch? Check. Beautiful, utterly humourless feminist scientist? Check. Wise Man of the Jungle who will teach Important Lessons About Life to the above? Check, and check.
Throw all the above characters into a painfully derivative and frequently baffling story line, mix with a dose of stealth Christian evangelism, bake for 2-3 hours, and voila; one entirely untransported reader. The two stars that I gave it in this review were for Hairy Bugger, the monkey, and the Don Alfonso, the withered Indian guide. It's a pity that these two didn't get to be in a book that was worthy of them.
In summary, don't waste your money, and if you find a petition that would forbid Preston from writing a novel without the help of Lincoln Childs (who proved he could solo with his techno-thriller, Utopia), don't hesitate to sign it.
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