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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 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.
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Summary: A tremendous read.
Review: Max Broadbent is a wacky old guy who made his money robbing tombs and collecting art. Now he has terminal cancer and decides to take a treasure trove of art worth $500 million to the grave with him - literally. Of course, Max does not choose the average plot down the street. Instead he decides to be buried in the White City (a legendary place high in the Central American mountains). If his three sons want to spend their inheritance, they need to find the tomb and raid it for all it is worth. But there are others who have heard about Max's treasure and they want it as well. Thus begins one of the best reads I have had in a while as they cut through the jungle and pole their way across uncharted swamps to adventure, mystery and death. A very good book.
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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.
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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
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Summary: a tad disappointing
Review: As a fan of Preston & Child, since reading The Relic years ago, I have been slowly catching up with all their other books. Recently I was lucky enough to plow through Utopia, Thunderhead and Mount Dragon, all excellent! I couldn't wait to devour The Codex...but now I must say it was a tad disappointing. Though it had the usual strengths these authors display, there was something thin and derivative about this one. Yes, I enjoyed The Codex, but in the end, I felt it could have been even better. It could have been on a par with The Relic, if only the story had been more savage and the ending had not been so "nice and neat."
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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.
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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: 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.
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Summary: Surprise, Surprise and more surprises.....
Review: I wasn't sure I could get into this book after reading the description but once started I was hooked. This book enabled me to feel as though I were experiencing what was happening in the book. Every time something happened which made you think "this is it, they're all going to die" you were surprised to read no one died. I kept thinking if it were me I would have been dead especially when the ticonderoga got one of the brothers in the river. I actually felt like I was drowning! I like to read for entertainment as well as education and I found this book to be very entertaining. I think Mr. Preston did an excellent job.
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