Rating: 
Summary: Wow- this is what the Da Vinci Code SHOULD have been!
Review: What a great story-- the writer suffuses his modern page-turner with an historical mystery. Not only could I not put this book down, I enjoyed the layperson's education of historical bookmaking. The characterizations were very satisfying as well.
I was most impressed by the effortless writing style that Lev Grossman uses. The voice is not at all self-conscious or rushed. His writing is cliche-free and a pleasure to read. His use of device has a very light touch-- for example, the image of a serpent devouring its tail is used to describe a medieval, rambling text. A few chapters later the main character is briefly reminded of the same serpent image by a cNBC ticker tape of stock prices. Never are these devices cloying or overdone. The reader never stops to notice "I'm reading LITERARY FICTION." Its simply a good book, easy to swallow, impossible to put down.
I'd recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Intersting idea that doesnt fully come to life
Review: I wanted to like the book having gotten a favorable review from a friend whose tastes I am sympathetic with and the fact that it was based in Manhattan and Brooklyn. It appeals too quickly to set pieces that are supposed to evoke the ambiance, then goes on to describe what has already been evoked, e.g., the 25 year old financial company whizkid, the nerd etc. But having said that it held my interest in terms of the intersection of old and new ideas and mysteries. I would have liked something more Borges-esque or Auster-esque, but in the end it was a quick airplane read, similar to Da Vinci Code but without the bigness of idea.
Rating:
Summary: Totally cool book
Review: I found this book completely fascinating. What Lev Grossman has done--comparing the rise of gaming culture to the evolution of reading for pleasure--is thoroughly insightful and entertaining. I've never read a smarter, cooler book. And I thought the ending was totally perfect. I think it may be the kind of ending that people resent because they don't see it coming. I'm no expert, but maybe all the readers who have been complaining about the ending just didn't get the book? Maybe they should have read a bit closer? I can't wait for this author's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable reading
Review: This book is fun. Far better than the best selling DaVinci Code (see my review), it is exciting and fast paced. It is full of unexpected twists and turns and it is not nearly as predictable as most books of this genre. The only reason it did not get 5 stars (I would give it 4 1/2) is because it does not quite measure up to Stephenson's Quicksilver or Pynchon's Mason and Dixon which I have read recently. You cannot go wrong with this very enjoyable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I bought this book based on the several 5 star reviews it received on this site combined with my interest in antiquarian books. However, I was utterly disappointed. The writing is terrible, the story is dull and has little substance, and the ending is pathetic. This is one of the worst books I've ever read. A huge waste of time and money.
Rating:
Summary: It could only end that way!
Review: (...) really enjoyed this book, from beginning to end. Like Edward, I wanted him to "get to go home" in the end, but that is the neat and orderly way, the Hollywood ending. Had the book ended like that it would have been a useless read. I could understand his character being "hurt and baffled." Edward was true to form throughout the book, and it could not have ended differently. I particularly enjoyed the author's "double-look" at Edward, with the character himself seeing his situation unfold in a book or screenplay. This has been used before but rarely in such an effective manner. The whole story was a great read - dare I say compelling!?!
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[[ The earth was cold and dead. Nothing was going to change that. Maybe it was too late after all. A creeping fear stole through him. Had he won the game, or had he lost it? ]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------The use of the computer game was phenom! The dramatic contrast between the dusty archives and the cutting edge technology was key. And the parallel worlds ~ great touch!
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And finally:
[[ It was funny to think that they were still expecting him at the office tomorrow morning, he thought. ... It was even funnier to think that he would probably be there. ]](...)
Rating:
Summary: A huge disappointment
Review: I bought this after reading a glowing review that mentioned Paul Auster, whom I like. Unfortunately, this is a somewhat entertaining story marred throughout by bad writing. A character in "Codex" references "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco (both books share a similar theme at one point) which only serves to remind you the reader of how "Codex" pales in comparison to a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: But what about the "ending"
Review: To some extent, I would agree with all the other reviews. But...as an author, it's simply bad writing to build up the expectations of the reader, only to then offer up a flimsy ending and leave the reader feeling cheated. This book is not Eco, Gaddis, or Borges...if you write this kind of book, then finish the damn thing. Grossman obviously did not know how to end it, so just tacked on a few pages. Disappointing in the same way that "Ex Libris" by Ross King was...interesting read but lousy ending. Reviewers so far (New York Times, I'm looking chiefly at you) have given Grossman a pass on the "ending" (read their convuluted excuse this coming Sunday) likely because he writes book reviews for Time magazine. I should hope he'd have higher expectations for books he reviews than those he placed on himself with not bothering to actually finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: Smart Thrills
Review: Codex left me feeling the way the Knicks of the late nineties did: delivering thrills and chills just when you thought it was all over. Like a Larry Johnson four-point play, this one kept me jumping out of my seat until the final buzzer, or, in the book's case, the final page. Grossman's book is a brief history of both bookmaking and medieval literary technique cleverly hidden within the covers of a thriller (or the other way around) that knows that smarts is only half the game. Unlike some other bibliomaniac thrillers, this one knows just when to call off class for a beautiful spring day, or, a pulse-quickening chase down the streets of Brooklyn. The author's hand is sure, but that doesn't keep him from concealing a few tricks up his sleeve. How many other writers out there could thread together a medieval manuscript with a weirdly addictive video game, showing that all those late nights with PlayStation 2 aren't so different from the kinds of pleasures we associate with reading? At last, an author who can give me my literary and video game thrills all in one.
Rating:
Summary: Not just anotha vanilla thrilla
Review: I gotta say, this is a rippin good yarn. Well worth your investment, both time- and wallet-wise. I can't speak to conceits of narratological telekinesis or whatever else some folks will get into (not that there's anything wrong with that), but this book rewards readers with both an enjoyable plot and some thinkin about different ways we experience plots (and I've never met a commentary I didn't like). First off, Grossman performs the miracle of presentin us with a sympathetic investment banker, and boy-howdy is he ever sympathetic. It's not that Ed Wozny's stupid (somethin I often found myself thinkin about those so-called intellectuals who populate The DaVinci Code), but he is believably naïve, and his blindspots endear him to us. Even the brain who turns out to maybe be behind it all has some big-time impediments, though they push us away rather than draw us in. And finally, the superbrain who turns out to maybe really be pulling the strings has flaws, not least being the question of whether or not he exists. Then there's the game-always afoot, and the yardstick used to find reality lacking. When I was a tyke, computer games featured frogs and centipedes and castles and spaceships all rendered in blocky pixelizations, and it's nice to see that the nature of the medium hasn't changed all that much, even if the edges have smoothed out somewhat. Grossman's characters evince a poignant nostalgia for the games of yore (when Sir Atari was the knight supreme) that will reverberate with many in Generations X and Y. Grossman also exhibits a genius for rendering visual detail, whether it's the super-real images in the game, the detailing of a medieval manuscript, the minutiae in a print of an Old Master, or the fall of a leaf on an urban sidewalk. As for whether or not this is a thriller-well, the answer's yes and no. Monet used a cathedral to study the effects of light. . .or was it to show us how pushing paint around on a canvas is about pushing paint around on a canvas? But still-and-all, the resulting work both is and is not a cathedral. Grossman has his thriller and treats it to an array of literary play that enriches the adventure of reading without destroying the thrill of reading the adventure. No mean feat.
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