The Codex [Mass Market Paperback]

Douglas Preston (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 24, 2005

"Greetings from the dead," declares Maxwell Broadbent on the videotape he left behind after his mysterious disappearance. A notorious treasure hunter and tomb robber, Broadbent accumulated over a half a billion dollars' worth of priceless art, gems, and artifacts before vanishing---along with his entire collection---from his mansion in New Mexico.

At first, robbery is suspected, but the truth proves far stranger: As a final challenge to his three sons, Broadbent has buried himself and his treasure somewhere in the world, hidden away like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. If the sons wish to claim their fabulous inheritance, they must find their father's carefully concealed tomb.

The race is on, but the three brothers are not the only ones competing for the treasure. This secret is so astounding it cannot be kept quiet for long. With half a billion dollars at stake, as well as an ancient Mayan codex that may hold a cure for cancer and other deadly diseases, others soon join the hunt---and some of them will stop at nothing to claim the grave goods.
The bestselling coauthor of such page-turning thrillers as Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities, Douglas Preston now spins an unforgettable tale of greed, adventure, and betrayal.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Half of the writing team responsible for Relic, The Cabinet of Curiosities and other adventure bestsellers takes a solo flight, as Preston's writing partner, Lincoln Child, did in last year's Utopia. Like Child, Preston flies high and fast, turning in a briskly involving science-based thriller. The titular book is a Mayan artifact containing the sum of that people's knowledge about the medical applications of indigenous plants. The information is worth billions to any pharmaceutical company, but the Codex, along with numerous other priceless objects, was taken deep into the Honduran jungle by dying legendary tomb robber Maxwell Broadbent, to be buried along with him in a secret crypt. Max left instructions to his three grown sons that the only way to get their inheritance will be for them to track him and find the tomb. Max, who viewed his progeny as "quasi-failures," reasoned that by accomplishing this daunting task, the three-a veterinarian, a hippie spiritual seeker and a second-rate professor-will have proven themselves as men. What follows is rip-roaring jungle adventure, outfitted with a nasty villain (a sadistic PI who's also after the treasures), a beautiful blonde (partner to the vet), two memorable Indian characters, hosts of wild animals, terrific atmosphere and cliffhangers galore. The novel's main weakness is its lack of a strong central protagonist-the characters work more as an ensemble cast-such as Preston/Child have presented in their wonderful series detective, Special Agent Pendergast. Yet as always, Preston delivers the goods in a first-rate beach novel that most readers will be enjoying-at least in hardcover-while looking at snow rather than sand.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Amazing Race! A fast-paced, clever adventure."--Entertainment Weekly (A-) on The Codex

"Preston keeps the adventure high, springing plenty of nifty surprises along the way."---People (3 ½ Stars) on The Codex

"Fascinating characters, exotic jungle scenery, and surprising twists make this nonstop thrill ride well worth deciphering. For all fiction collections."--Library Journal on The Codex

"A fun dig with just a touch of Indiana Jones."--Kirkus Reviews on The Codex

"Preston flies high and fast . . . a briskly involving science-based thriller. Rip-roaring jungle adventure, outfitted with a nasty villain, a beautiful blonde, two memorable Indian characters, hosts of wild animals, terrific atmosphere, and cliffhangers galore. Preston delivers the goods."--Publishers Weekly on The Codex

"Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Amazing Race! A fast-paced, clever adventure."

(Entertainment Weekly (A-) )

"Preston keeps the adventure high, springing plenty of nifty surprises along the way."

(People (3 ½ Stars) )

"Fascinating characters, exotic jungle scenery, and surprising twists make this nonstop thrill ride well worth deciphering. For all fiction collections."

(Library Journal )

"A fun dig with just a touch of Indiana Jones."

(Kirkus Reviews )

"Rip-roaring jungle adventure, outfitted with a nasty villain, a beautiful blonde, two memorable Indian characters, hosts of wild animals, terrific atmosphere, and cliffhangers galore. Preston delivers the goods." (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Tor (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076534629X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765346292
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Preston, who worked for several years in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, is the author of the acclaimed nonfiction works Dinosaurs in the Attic and Cities of Gold, and the novel, Jennie. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#50 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#64 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#72 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#73 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#91 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

#50 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#64 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#72 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#73 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#91 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Jungle treasure hunt March 4, 2004

By Eileen Rieback

Format:Hardcover

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

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Saved from boredom! February 8, 2004

By Sebastian Fernandez VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

After a business meeting ended earlier than expected and not finding any earlier flights out of Dallas, I was facing an eight-hour wait in the airport. I spent some time eating in one of the restaurants there, but after that there wasn't much else to do. Luckily I had this book with me! Time flew by while I was immersed in the story that took me through the jungle in Honduras.

Maxwell Broadbent summons his three sons to his house to talk about their inheritance because he is a dying victim of cancer and has a collection of art and jewels worth half a billion dollars. When Phil, Tom and Vernon get there they find no sign of their father or of the valuable collection. What they do find is a video in which Max explains that he has done a bad job as a father and that as a result his kids have no goals other than wait for their inheritance. Therefore, he has sealed himself in a tomb somewhere in the world with his collection and his sons will have to find him if they want their inheritance. This is supposed to teach them independence, the value of work, self-reliance and how to take care of each other. From this point on, a race that involves the brothers, the police officers that were in the house investigating the "theft" and Maxwell's previous partner in treasure hunting.

The participants in the quest soon find out that one of the items in the collection is a Mayan Codex that contains the secrets resulting from centuries of experimenting with plants and animals found in the jungle. The value of this work is priceless, especially for pharmaceutical companies, which spend millions in research and development. The situation starts getting more and more dangerous as all these elements come into play and the fast-paced action will grab you and not let go until the end. This story has it almost all, action, suspense, love, dismay, hope, betrayal and even humor!

The only weak point I found is that the author was careless in some Spanish expressions he used throughout the book. For example he uses "Veinte cuatros" instead of "Veinticuatros" or "Buenos tardes" instead of "Buenas tardes". Anyway, this is a very minor issue and the book is really great. The reason why I gave the book four stars instead of five is that the story line is not very original. However, if I were you I would not hesitate to give this book a try!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Preston's Bungle in the Jungle March 8, 2004

By Gary Griffiths TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a big Preston/Childs fan. But after successive reads of Lincoln Child's "Utopia", and Douglas Preston's "The Codex", it's becoming clear that these two do much better as a team than when going solo. While "Utopia" had its moments (and even gets a cameo in "Codex"!), Preston's implausible "Codex" falls short on virtually all counts.

In a nutshell, "Codex" is the story of an eccentric father, who, dying of cancer, decides to bury with him a fortune in rare art he has collected over a lifetime. The catch is that his choice of a burial spot in his secret, leaving it to his three insufferable sons to locate and claim their inheritance. It goes downhill from there. The brothers are chronically whining about the injustice of "father's" scheme, while reminding the reader every page or so what a rotten childhood they had. About the time this banal sibling chatter becomes unbearable, Preston subjects the reader to a steady stream pidgin English from one of the natives in the jungle in which the boys inevitably end up ("Thankee, brother. We talkee later". I'm not making this up). Preston throws in the standard love interest - blond, brainy, handy with a horse and rifle, and initially while hard to get, there are no surprises to where this "Laura Croft" will end up. Stashed away with "father's" treasure is the lost Mayan Codex, the document that will unlock the mysteries behind all diseases human. Right. So while the boys and girl are running around the Central American jungles looking for the lost tomb and its Codex, the stereotypical evil CEO - in the case from a pharmaceutical giant - has his even more evil henchman chasing them through the swamps. In summary, a silly plot, cardboard characters that still manage to annoy, and lame dialogue, and a predictable ending add up to a pretty disappointing read. Skip this one, and save your time and money for (hopefully) a rebound when Preston and Childs team up again for this summer's "Brimstone".