The Radix [Mass Market Paperback]

Brett King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2010

For five centuries adventurers, researchers and believers have searched for the Radix, the sacred relic thought to possess amazing powers to heal—or destroy. John Brynstone doesn’t have centuries. The president has ordered him to find the Radix now. But he’s not alone in his quest. The modern-day descendents of the infamous Borgia family will stop at nothing to wield the power of the Radix. At the same time, a secret religious organization wants the Radix for their own ends—and they’ve sent a nameless assassin to kill Brynstone before he can steal their prize. Across continents and through ancient codes and mysteries, Brynstone will have to unravel riddles no one has been able to solve for hundreds of years…while racing for his life. 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A thrilling blend of historical mystery and modern intrigue.” —James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Doomsday Key

“The Radix is a relentless, plot-twisting, labyrinthine quest to decipher the medieval mystery of the Voynich Manuscript—a very real tome that still conceals an arcane code that no secret service agency has been able to crack in the past five-hundred-years."—Katherine Neville, New York Times bestselling author of The Eight and The Fire

“The Radix brims with rich detail, in a story fraught with action, suspense and intrigue.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Charlemagne Pursuit

“A pulse-pounding thrill ride of a book.”—Jason Pinter, Bestselling author of The Fury

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

 

Brett King has a Ph.D. in general-experimental psychology and has researched everything from forensic psychology to sport psychology to the history of psychology. He is a psychologist and historian of science as well as an award-winning professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 353 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (May 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843963824
• ISBN-13: 978-0843963823
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #981,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hey, it's great to have you visit my Amazon Author Page! My debut novel, THE RADIX, tells the story of paleopathologist John Brynstone's quest to find a legendary relic, lost for centuries and thought to possess powers to heal--or kill. Jeffery Deaver calls it, "A topnotch thriller! Part DA VINCI CODE, part 24, THE RADIX is roller-coaster storytelling at its best" (see more praise below). Look for THE FALSE DOOR, the sequel to THE RADIX, to appear in April 2011 as a Kindle edition with the trade paperback release to follow later in the year.

Want a little background? Here it goes. I'm a psychologist with research interests in forensic psychology and the history of science. Along the way, I published two nonfiction books on psychology. I have won numerous teaching awards at the University of Colorado at Boulder and, after only four years on campus, was named CU Boulder's best professor. In 2010, I was voted Professor of the Year in a student survey. More than 1700 students take my courses each year in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. In fact, several of my students, along with my wife, first encouraged me to take a stab at fiction.

When I'm not writing, teaching, or touring my imagination, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. My wife is also a psychologist and we have three wonderful children (despite being raised by two psychologists, our kids all turned out normal!). I've lived my entire life in Colorado and I love exploring the state's scenic riches, both above and below ground. I love visiting with fellow readers and getting to know people who read my books. I've even named characters after a few readers. Please visit me online (see below) at my website, on Facebook, or on Twitter. Maybe someday we can chat in person at one of my book signings. Thanks for taking time to check out my novels!

Website: www.authorbrettking.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Brett-King/108276185860937
Twitter: @theWriteKing

"Brett King's THE RADIX is a gem of a novel, a thrilling blend of historical mystery and modern intrigue. Lightning paced and expertly told, here is a debut not to be missed!" --James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of THE DOOMSDAY KEY

"THE RADIX brims with rich detail, in a story fraught with action, suspense, and intrigue. The reader is in highly capable hands with Brett King--a fresh, exciting voice in the international suspense genre. Settle back, enjoy the ride, and savor this debut." --Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of THE PARIS VENDETTA

"Brett King has spun a hair-raising adventure that propels us from the ski slopes of Aspen, Colorado to the secret turrets, hovering high above Paris, of the ancient Notre Dame cathedral. THE RADIX is a relentless, plot-twisting, labyrinthine quest to decipher the medieval mystery of the 'Voynich Manuscript'--a very real tome that still conceals an arcane code that no secret service agency--including the CIA and KGB--has been able to crack in the past five-hundred-years." --Katherine Neville, New York Times bestselling author of THE EIGHT

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC FAST PACED THRILLER FROM A FIRST TIME AUTHOR!!!, April 19, 2010

By 

Travis Deputy "TheInsatiableBookReader" (Padukee, Keentukee) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Radix (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm lament to say it, since I'm a huge horror fan, but I'm getting to the point where the action-adventure thriller genre is becoming my favorite. That reason is because of books like The Radix by new author Brett King. You can throw Andy McDermott, Scott Mariani, James Rollins, David Wood and J.G. Sandom on that list as well. I was very impressed for the most part with this high octane thriller. It's very intriguiing and informational. There's plenty of action and once the book gets going there are some really nice plot twists and it doesn't let up til the end. There's a substantial betrayal about a third of the way through that you probably won't see coming. The characters are fairly well drawn. I just wish the main protagonist, John Brynstone, had been better described. Basically, all we learn in the book, as far as his appearance goes, is that he's tall, dark haired, and got broad shoulders. There may have been one other thing I forgot.

It took til about page 100 or so before the book really started picking up steam. I couldn't hardly get into it until then. Thank goodness because it ended up being a fantastic book. Major gripes I have is, The Radix, seems to be lacking in mystery. This novel has been touted as being a historical mystery, among other things. There was some mystery, as far as what The Radix was and all of the secret coding. Also, I think the whole Carl Jung(he was a real life psychologist) thing kind of detracted from the overall plot and made it more convoluted than it needed to be(read it and you may see what I mean...it seemed to make it more confusing than necessary). The ending was rather good and I like it that the author didn't pull any punches as some do. Aside from a few minor complaints I thought this was an excellent first novel.

As I mentioned earlier, the book is really informative. Do you know where the Rx symbol for drugs came from? What about why we where a wedding ring on the "ring finger"? Read the book and find out. I don't know how much of the book is fact, but it seemed to be factual to me. What is the Radix you ask? Well, let's just say it's similar to the Holy Grail, in a way. Oh, and as you may already know, many people in the book are after it. Very intriguing premise!

I can't say for sure if I would ever reread this book, but it was more than worth my time to read through it once. As stated before, it's got a little bit of everything. Action, adventure, plot twists, betrayals, secrets, fast pace, mostly well developed characters, plenty of suspense, and a nice story to back it all up. I definitely recommend you pick this up if you're a fan of James Rollins/Clive Cussler type books. I give it 4.25 stars out of 5 or an 8.5 out of 10.

What's really cool is this is the first book in the series! Definitely looking forward to the next one...

If you'd like a synopsis of the book click on the book cover amazon has listed where it says "look inside" then click on back cover and zoom and you're there!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Thriller - fantastic research, May 25, 2010

By 

Denis J. Winsness (Anderson, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Radix (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a rather avid reader and started a list of books read so I don't purchase the same ones twice (getting older!). This is book 143 on the list chronologically however I put it at the top of all books as it is one of those special books that you better not start unless you have time to keep reading to the fantastic finish. I can't imagine the research it took the author to find and tie so many places and events in history together in this incredible thriller. I could hardly resist heading to the Internet to dig into some of the people, places, and historical information that keeps coming up but I could not stop reading! I absolutely can't wait for his next book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reading, April 23, 2010

By 

Aaron Clay - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Radix (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not much into historical mysteries, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Lots of plot twists and fun facts thrown in. It moved fast and was fun to the end.