Codex

Bookish Lev Grossman's Codex shows that Lev has a solid background in books (I don't know if you call it library science or bibliohistory), but for those who share this interest, Codex is a fun read. It's not half bad for the rest of us, either. Not a great read, but certainly better than the current god-awful pulp from Dan Brown. I wouldn't lump them together, but the work of both authors shares the themes of lost treasure and ancient secrets. Grossman is an infinitely better writer than Brown; Grossman's a real writer. As book critic for Time magazine, Grossman has clearly done his homework and it shows.

In Codex, we meet Edward Wozny, a 25-year old investment banker in NYC, on the eve of his departure for a new banking job in London. Edward is a wiz kid at investment banking but it comes too easily to him, and Edward doesn't know who he is or what he wants. Edward just goes with the flow. He can work like a dog so he does, and it pays well.

When Edward is offered the opportunity to do a bit of book sleuthing, he's somewhat intrigued once he gets past his pride. Don't these people know who he is? "Dammit, Jim, I'm a banker, not a librarian!" But it's his 2-week vacation between jobs and he doesn't have a clue what to do with himself anyway, so why not? Suddenly as aimless as most other twentysomethings, he takes the bait.

What follows is a cohesive story of chase, intrigue, romance and computer obsession. Edward's computer geek buddy Zech turns Edward onto MOMUS, a terribly realistic computer game that seems to parallel Edward's search for the lost codex. Eventually, Edward can't even remember what it was like to be a yuppified workaholic in lower Manhattan. Between MOMUS, searching for the codex, and sleeping in, Edward practically becomes a slacker, dedicated to nothing but his current obsessive interests.

Grossman can write and he's well read, no doubt about it. But he's crowding too much into one book. MOMUS could be another story altogether, and it doesn't come up in Codex often enough or integrally enough to be a good fit. Once Edward hooks up with bookish female protagonist Margaret Napier, the story takes greater shape and the hunt for the lost codex is on in earnest. Still, MOMUS doesn't quite fit.

The motives of the codex benefactors remain a mystery, and it's my guess that they want the codex found because it will reveal that these supposedly rich-beyond-measure eccentrics are actually flat broke! Read it for yourself and find out.

Codex is a decent literary mystery, peppered with medieval book history and anecdotes about writers from that time. For booklovers and fans of the ancient secrets, this book is not to be missed. I give it a solid 3.5 stars.

This books starts off with some great stuff that gets you hooked - and then goes nowhere with it. I finished this book, checked three times to be sure that I had really just read the last page, and then threw it down in disgust. After staying up three nights in a row very, very late and getting totally engrossed in the mystery that was developing, I was bitterly disappointed in the ending chapter. Nothing was resolved at all.
On a positive note, the author's attention to detail is fascinating. He recounts vivid little things such as "trying to mate a pad of stickies together" rather than just saying he was "fiddling" with them. Or bothering to explain the exact soda he was drinking "Code Red Mountain Dew" rather than "soda". And the lovely descriptions of all the old books he and the love interest were cataloging were very nicely detailed.
But it is not hard to tell this was a first novel. The story is clumsy in spots and I could almost hear the author thinking "what do they do next?" in some places. His attempts to weave the computer game together with the real-life mystery of the codex were comical. For example, his choice to bring a socially inept midget spirit guide into the story to tie it all together is laughable. And the end is unforgivable - what a letdown!
The bio says this author is the book critic for Time magazine. I think he should stick to criticism and leave the writing to writers.

Ok. The book had its good points. The author managed to include enough interesting plot threads to keep my interest and to keep me in suspense about how the plot was going to be resolved. But the resolution was far less than satisfying. I gave the writer three stars as an average. The first 80% of the book would probably get four stars if the ending were not so disappointing.

The author clearly realizes that he hasn't been able to pull it all together and write a satisfactory closing. It becomes obvious when a main character comments near the conclusion that in real life, as opposed to fiction, you don't always get to go home. (Or perhaps have a satisfactory ending?) I can understand not being able to tie up all the loose ends in a novel or to write a satisfactory closing, but please don't try to justify your shortcomings.

Of course I'd be satisfied if the author just explained how the final switch of codex for money is supposed to have taken place.

This was an excellent book up until the end which, without giving anything away for those who haven't read it, was absolutely absurd. Nothing was resolved and the final twist didn't in anyway fit in with what was going on and basically contradicted information from the previous chapter. I thought the book up until the end was well written and clever. I loved the use of the various libraries, well duh, it was about a missing book, so where else would you set it? Anyway, the ending was so disappointing and completely leaves the reader hanging. As I said before the story is never resolved. The computer game was a pretty original and really fascinating subplot and he managed to connect it pretty well very late in the book, though it really could have been implented better I think.

This book is satisfying on every level, from start to finish. The main character is propelled through many adventures in real life and cyberspace, with continual lyrical overlaps. On one level the book is a historical mystery, and on another it is a modern suspense and romance. On a deeper level - which it seems many viewers did not perceive - it is an allegory of the hero's journey as only Grossman can tell it.

Those who assert that the finish is in any way unsatisfactory simply fail to comprehend the message. While it's true that the reader who is looking for a straightforward whodunnit is going to be disappointed, those readers can certainly find the lighter fare they seek in another section of the bookstore. The end of the book - like the beginning and the middle - was absolutely perfect. There were none of the "loose ends" others mention - only conclusions that were not carved up and served to the reader on a silver platter.

I have read Grossman's other works, which are very good. But The Codex is the best of the lot, by far. It is a book for the intelligent, educated reader. Others will be disappointed.

The critics always compare this type of 'literary detective novel' to The Name of the Rose, but 9 times out of 10 they fail to deliver the goods and this one is no exception.

Unresearched, uninteresting, and with a spectacularly unfulfilling ending. Reading this book, it would seem that the author's last real experience with Medieval literature was reading the Canterbury Tales in highschool, and you get the feeling he'd have been better off stopping there rather than writing this monstrosity of a novel.

Also a good of example why you should take cover blurbs with a (or perhaps several) grains of salt. Mine said "Mezmerizing from start to finish... A fabulous double helix of a novel." Setting aside for moment the inapt DNA metaphor, the only way this book could be considered mezmerizing is in the literal sense of 'causing incontinent fits of sleeping and or convulsions'.

I really can't recommend this book to anyone other than those with a severe masochistic streak.

I got this book because the store had linked it with Neal Stephenson's The Confusion. The two books are nothing a like but subject matter of both was an interest to me and most reviewers seemed to liked it so I go it too. Overall, the book just never lived up to its potential. I would have liked to have given 2.5 stars because it certainly does grab you in the beginning, but you can't here. Nonethess I rounded down because the story never turns into anything interesting. I felt I was reading a high school student trying to write like Eco. The ending is laughable. However, I would suggest that an aspiring writer should read this and something like Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Club Dumas; Club being an example of a well made literary mystery.

I love books about books. "Codex" is an intriguing story combining old and rare books with modern computer games. This appears to be the only book that Lev Grossman has written, if so, I whole heartily encourage him to write more, as "Codex" is a very good book.

Edward Wozny is a 25 year old New York investment banker who has just made a client some major money. He has worked four years in a row and, before he starts his new position in London, is looking forward to a well deserved two week vacation.

Before he starts his vacation in earnest, Edward visits an old New York building where he is to meet with Laura Crowlyk at the behest of his employer. There he finds out, much to his chagrin, that he has been asked to sort through crates and crates of old books that had been shipped to the U.S. before World War II. And he is too keep an eye out for one particular book by "Gervase of Langford". The house and the books, by the way, are owned by the Duke and Duchess of Bowmry (UK), Mr. and Mrs. Went.

Not really happy with this assignment, Edward dutifully follows Laura upstairs and commences his task (knowing he will get out of it tomorrow). Much to his surprise, he becomes enthralled with the process and is finding out that he is enjoying seeing, smelling, touching, reading, sorting and cataloging all these books, some of which are very very old and are not "books" at all but "codex" and "manuscripts".

Meeting up with his friends, Zeph and Caroline, Edward meets "the Artiste" a gnome like fellow with a genius IQ who happens to hang out at Zeph's house, and receives a copy of a computer game called "MOMUS". Playing the game at home, Edward finds it very well done: an amazing graphical virtual world that is very realistic and very addictive.

The next day, Edward visits the Chenoweth Rare Book and Manuscript Repository to try to find more about Gervase of Langford. Once there he finds out that the book he is seeking has been loaned out. Waiting for several hours he finally decides to figure out who in the room has it and meets Margaret Napier, a scholar specializing in medieval literature. She happens to be interested, and very knowledgeable about, Gervase of Langford, and has the book Edward wanted to see.

Cutting to the chase......Margaret and Edward agree to partner up to find the missing book. However, it is nowhere to be found, at least at the house in NY. They ultimately find out that a 12th crate of books (they have 11 in NY) was given to the Chenoweth Library and may be stored in Upstate New York.

Upon arriving at the storage facility, Edward finds a striking similarity between this location and the starting location of the game MOMUS. In fact, it is one and the same. But no book.

Where can it be? Is it real or just a figment of someone's imagination? Did they miss something? Is it hidden?

The intrigue and wonder increase culminating in an unusual, but, satisfying ending. The characters are well developed and surprises await the reader. I will not ruin the book by stating that Margaret is more than she appears, and that the Artiste is the author of the computer game with ties to the Duke and Duchess. Very interesting.

"Codex" is a very good book, and I recommend picking up a copy.

By TracyReaderDad

Taut, fascinating literary thriller. Highlight is the detailed and exceptionally interesting discussion of book-making and literary archiving. The prose was always good and sometimes soared with power; I liked the phrase "sinuously smiling vermilion salamander" for example.

The overall plot I found quite interesting and the resolution was clever and thematic. I had four minor complaints, however.

First, at times there was too much dialog, the book reading a bit like a screenplay. Grossman is so good at narrative that the overuse of dialog stood out all the more.

Second, the character of Margaret was not too compelling to me. She seemed so implausible as a graduate student that by the end I thought she would have been the Duke's plant the whole way. I never got a consistent read on her. She reminded me of Alice in Magicians (whom I also did not find very well drawn) but much less consistent.

Third, I felt like Edward was too insecure for his job, which seemed more high-powered to me. Sometimes he seemed extremely self-confident, almost like someone from an Ellis book, and sometimes he seemed tentative, like the Magicians protagonist.

Fourth, as in The Magicians, Grossman seemed at times overeager to show off profanity: all his characters, for no particular reason, would intermittently spew reams of profanity across the page in ways that were both irritating to read and out of tempo with the narrative besides.

Despite this, the book was fun to read, essentially impossible to put down, and overall very exciting. Also, I think this is a good companion to The Magicians, it has a similar kind of outlook on the world (and explains the golden bees from Magicians).

You first reaction on reading this books blurbs is probably going to be to expect another Da Vinci Code or Foucault's Pendulum. But Lev Grossman pulls a fast one and, on the skeleton of a 'secret document' story, manages to tell a story which more about a man who loses his anchor in the world of high finance and finds himself drifting on the edges where reality and fantasy crisscross. Often to the embarrassment of the main character - Edward Wozny.

Wozny, having successfully complete a large monetary transaction is asked by his clients, the Wents, to unpack their library here in the US, and look for one particular volume, written by the mysterious Gervase of Langford. Wozny resents this abuse of his skills, but goes along with it and gradually becomes enmeshed in a tangled quest that seems to have Lord pitted against Lady and even involves an attractive medievalist, Margaret Napier.

While this is going on in one part of Napier's life, a parallel story has him gradually becoming fascinated by a very large scale adventure game, one that has a large following among the glitterati of the geeks. Wozny, mostly due to a complete lack of talent at this sort of thing, manages to fall into an Easter egg (hidden piece of the code) that not even the writer of the program completely understands.

The purpose of the codex, the mystery of the game, and the actualities of Wozny's life are three different but parallel investigations into the failure first of reality, and then of unreality. All this and well written as well. This is the type of story that I usually read in fits and starts, but this time I found myself giving it my full attention. It's a bit heady, but less so than Eco's efforts in the same vein.

I tried to like this book. I really really did. Especially since it was a book in the genre of novels that I enjoy so much. Namely a book that has some fact mixed in with a bit of fiction. But if this is a novel which by all rights I should have liked, then why not a higher rating?
Simply put, the writing style in this novel was very difficult to get through. Unlike other novels which focus on blurring the line between truth and fiction, there was no flow to the way the author went about the story. Are we trying to feel sorry or relate to the major protagonist in this story? Or are we to focus instead on his quest to find the Codex? Will he abandon his 'life plan', or won't he? I found all of these questions to be a big distraction from the books main plan - find the Codex.
Overall though the book was fairly enjoyable, and for anyone who enjoys a good truth or fiction novel, then this book is for you. Just don't expect a big page turner.

I thought the book sounded interesting (medieval studies, manuscripts, old books, libraries, etc), and was thoroughly disappointed. There actually is a decent book in this mess somewhere, it's just that Grossman didn't know how to let it out. The whole computer game thing that runs parallel with the search for the codex is contrived, distracting, and ruins the pace of the novel. I'm sure Grossman feels the ending (more open-ended, without Edward and Margaret being together in happiness, or Edward hanging out with the Duchess) is more realistic, it's just that he builds up all of this relationship between them and doesn't even give the readers a sense of closure (either through conflict+separation or through reconciliation+togetherness). We're left feeling like we just wasted hours and hours reading this mess for nothing. The characters could be so much more interesting if Grossman hadn't spent so much time describing mundane details that contributed little to setting the scene or moving the plot along. The book read like something written by a first-time author without the help of an editor to tell him to tighten up the plot. Overall: a big disappointment and I'll be sure not to read anything else from Grossman again (including his book reviews).

After reading the first few pages, the book captured me and I couldn't put it down. It is extremely well written with believable, interesting characters (especially Edward and Margaret) and an out of the ordinary setting involving British royalty, ancient books, video games and investment banking. I will admit that the climax was a bit disappointing but I can't help but think that it's because I missed some important detail somewhere that kept me from really "getting" the ending. I spent some time rereading the last few chapters and I think I may have gotten it but I'd love the opportunity to talk to the author about it. The ambiguous ending aside, the book is a real page turner and sign of greater books to come by Lev Grossman. The book contains a much higher level of prose then your average thriller writer like Dan Brown or John Grisham and that's what really sets it apart. I wish there were more thrillers like this by authors that really knew how to write high quality prose. The book could have been longer, fleshing out a little better the various subplots and loose ends, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.

Some have characterized this as the worst book that they've ever read. I would not quite put this book in that catagory. For me that catagory includes the
painfully bad "Ordinary Horror" by David Searcy or any book by Clive Cussler.

"Codex" is simply a weak novel. The characters are wooden, the plot is uninspired. It is interesting to compare "Codex" with the excellent "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In both novels, mysterious books play a central part. But the characters in Zafon's book have depth and feeling. This is entirely lacking in "Codex".

I purchased this book because it was well reviewed in several places. I have to speculate that this is because the author of "Codex" is a book reviewer himself. Perhaps those who reviewed "Codex" worried that a harsh review would be returned by Mr. Grossman when he reviewed their book. So they puffed
the review up.

For my part, I recommend saving your money, or, if you must read this book check it out of the library. I've sending mine off to the used book store.

As a previous reviewer pointed out, when it comes to books and mystery, in addition to "Shadow of the Wind" I highly recommend Arturo Perez-Reverte's "Club Dumas".

Okay, here are the issues:
The lead character, Edward Wozny, has the depth of a gum wrapper. There is barely a character there at all. We are told he has made more money than God, but he seems devoid of understanding even the simplest human responses.
The premise, that life is imitating a computer game, is intriguing, but can't sustain any dramatic tension. There's a point near the end where the energy virtually hisses out of the novel -- and the ending reminds me of the worst of John Grisham. You know, the "all books have to end, and here's as good a place as any" ending.
The biggest issue is that it reads self-consciously like a screenplay. Grossman evidently sees a movie in this, and it is episodically visual. But like bad movies, there are points where you simply can't ask for too much logic -- the plot can't offer it. You find yourself asking again and again, "But, why...?" And then finally you realize there is no why. I can see this becoming a movie -- what I can't picture is it becoming a successful movie.
So, is the book a film-wanna-be? A computer game gone madly awry? Revenge of the Computer Geeks? Or slacker on the brink of self-revelation? Sorry, it succeeds at none of these. The best that can be said is that it is not-particularly-strenuous beach reading.

Warning potential spoilers here.
I really enjoyed the first three-fourths of this novel. Perhaps this explains why the final portion was such a let-down. The author creates an interesting three-level mystery: a literary puzzle involving a mysterious medieval text, a strange interactive computer game, and an enigmatic British aristocratic couple.
There are evidently connections between the three parts, and I was looking forward to finding out what they were. Some links were obliquely revealed, but most were not, so we are left with three chunks of a story that didn't really fit together. Also, perhaps most annoyingly, the final motivations of most of the main characters were left unstated, as if their reasons for doing what they did were irrelevant. This had the effect trivializing everything that happened before.
The book ends on a certain note and I was left wondering "Who? What? Where? Why? Especially, Why? Is this a the first of a new sub-genre in the mystery-thriller category in which nothing really gets resolved and characters act with no apparent motivation?

Although Mr. Grossman seems to start out with a winner here, as you progress furthur you will find a book that is not well laid out, fleshed out, or finished well. It seems that the author wants to let the reader flesh out too much in their own mind that should actually be provided in the book itself.

It seems Mr. Grossman is in the habit of touching only briefly items and characters that should be much better explained in order to be properly placed in the stories his books are trying to tell.

I have also read a few of his articles he has written for magazines and find he does not care to research his topics too well in his non-fiction work either.

I believe I'll read other authors works in the future, to me it is preferable to know the reasons and direction a story is taking rather than to try to guess and fill in as I go along.

Like the vast majority of the other reviewers here, I found myself horribly frustrated and disappointed by the ending of this otherwise engaging and well-written novel. I actually came to the the store reviews to see if perhaps there was something I may have missed in those last few chapters.

And in fact, several people here have mentioned the intriguing, if underdeveloped, parallels between Edward's relatively non-special life and that of Gervase of Langford's. Both men seem to be destined for some kind of greatness early in life, and both end up in disappointingly unspectacular positions - serving the super-rich and jealously eyeing their power and privilege from afar. Both men develop distant, fantasy-laden attachments to the noblewomen they serve. Both are derailed from their expected life-paths by bizarre, all-consuming literary obsessions. Both of their lives, presumably, end in obscurity and relative insignificance....they fail to "win" the game, and they stay trapped in the respectable but boring cul-de-sacs of their own making.

So..... maybe the ending, then, is *supposed* to be a major letdown? I'm sure I'm giving this novel far more credit than it actually deserves, but I did spend several hours of my life getting through it, and I'd like to find some way to convince myself that they weren't totally wasted. Some evidence in support of this theory: in a strange, "stenatogram" kind of way, there are lots of allusions to the drudgery of work: that strange Dutch Rennaissance painting of the field workers that receives far more descriptive attention than it deserves; one character (I forget which) says at one point, "Work is God's curse on mankind"; Zeph makes a condescending observation about the lives of "cubicle drones" during the LAN party; then there's Edward's general avoidance of the "real world" of work throughout the story, apparently rooted in his childhood fascination with the mysterious school-stopping power of snow storms. Add to all this the author's central concern with reading (and computer games) as a form of escape...a way to live an idealized, heroic, action-packed life that most of us will never even come close to experiencing. According to Margaret (who, as Edward somewhat jealously observes, seems to live "only for work"), Gervase's literary historical importance derives not from any great talent, but from his having practically invented "escapist" literature. Maybe, like the Artiste, he didn't even really have that affair with the Duchess after all, but just imagined the whole thing in the private confines of his own stunted and pathetic fantasy-world.

If this is the case, and what Grossman is really trying to do is offer a sort of tortured meta-commentary on the genre of escapist literature, then it begins to make sense why Edward's character should be so thinly and unappealingly drawn....Grossman doesn't really have much respect for Edward, nor, by extension, for his readers. If we expect some kind of "real" satisfaction from these intricate literary mysteries, then we, like Edward, Grossman seems to be saying, will not only be bitterly disappointed, but we'll deserve the big letdown since, after all, it's "just an escape" from everything that's "real."

Yes, I've gone to a lot of trouble here to try and "decipher" what Grossman's message might have been in those appallingly disappointing final chapters. What I've come up with, however, doesn't really redeem the novel at all, in my mind, but just turns it into a clever insult hurled at its readership. OF COURSE we read literary thrillers as a form of escape...we all know that perfectly well. It's not the mark of a "more intelligent" thriller that we have those desires for closure and resolution thrown back in our faces in the form of some allegorical critique of escapism itself. The satisfying irony, I think, is this: that because Grossman refuses to give us the traditional satisfactions that the genre demands, he will remain, like Gervase of Langford, a minor, easily forgotten figure in literary history.

After reading The Da Vinci Code, a thoroughly engrossing commercial screenplay of a book, I was drawn to Lev Grossman's Codex for the obvious reason that it was the obvious follow up book in the same genre. Not one for this kind of immediately entertaining and ultimately unbrilliant literature but curious as hell about history and all the webs and knots it has produced - religious, artistic, political, literary, whatever - Codex hooked me in the same way that Da Vinci did but I was able to put down Codex whereas Da Vinci had me sitting in sleazy diners at 10 in the morning, escaping my kids so I could read another couple of chapters in silent rapture. I will say that the characters in Codex, for the most part, are far more realistically drawn and hip than the ridiculously old fashioned flatly drawn hero and villain Harrison Fordesque garbage that Dan Brown expects us to fly with in Da VInci. The young protaganist, Edward Strozny (what's the surname saying?) is a well thought out character; consistant and flawed and fortified with that indomitable nature of clever motivated twenty something yuppies, but betrayed by it too. He is at once humane and ruthless, whiley and stupid. Young. Grossman was clever to make him so young. Were he the typical 40 something mystery hero, one would not forgive him so much naiivity.
The major problems with Codex lie in unrealized ideas and thoughts that fizzle out.
When one is set up with the premise of a mystery where everyone is odd and possibly suspicious on any number of levels, then one's expectations lie in that framework for the entire book. therefor, when the ideas shift for the author, he must be very clever about making the context clear for the reader. I got the feeling at times that Grossman needed to infuse some face value stuff but was unable to really distinguish between feels. It left me feeling frustrated and annoyed. Ultimately the book's ending is rather abrupt and unsatisfying: loose ends seem untied and ideas unresolved. But (and its a big but) I like that Grossman has attempted to blend three (or so ) worlds and fashion them into a book that may appeal to a wider audience than if he had concentrated solely on one.
I would recommend this in a new york minute to those looking for a fun, involving, intelligent tale to read by the pool or on a deathly long plane ride...

I love books, own several thousand of them, and have been known to spend serious quality time in libraries. But you'd have to be some kind of hardcore biblio-fetishist to get any "thrills" out of a plot that centers around unpacking boxes of books. But wait, there's also some no-holds-barred SHELVING. And even some explicit scenes of uncensored CATALOGUING! Yikes, what if "Codex" falls into the hands of innocent children?

Seriously, this warmed-over Dan Brown wouldn't be worth a look if it weren't for Lev Grossman's obvious talent. Unlike the clowns who hacked out "Rule of Four," Grossman can actually write. Ironically, "Codex" only comes alive when the action stops--there's a great coming-of-age novel in here that some clueless agent/editor destroyed by trying to hitch a ride on the "DaVinci Code" gravy train.

I was losing patience after about the 10th "action" scene set in the stacks, then almost gave up after a big climax set in -- you guessed it-- another freaking library! Dude, even Sterling after closing time wasn't that exciting. Another misstep is a silly subplot about a computer game: Writing about computer games is like talking about onanism--it's a lot more fun (and easier) to do than describe. I was also a little grossed out by Grossman's obsession with the heroine's clearly prepubescent physique.

But I truly hope Grossman gets a new agent and writes the great novel that he's capable of at some point. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a follow-up to "Davinci," go back the the future with something by Trevanian--now that man knows how to write, plot AND generate some thrills.

In spite of the pedestrian prose, wooden characterization, and unimaginative narrative construction, I finished the book, drawn by the ingenuity of the two narratives within the narrative: the computer game and the medieval romance fragments which make up the "quest" element of this book are imaginatively conceived, even brilliant, and it's puzzling to understand how a writer original enough to develop such fine story lines could have wrapped them in such a perfunctory frame narrative.

Rare books, a codex, a computer game that becomes an obsession! Wow, this book is awesome. Edward Wozny, an investment banker, who is taking a new job in England from New York, becomes enmeshed in a quest to find a rare book by Gervase of Langford...a codex that may cause upheaval in the house of the Duke and Duchess Went of Bowmry. We never know if the codex is a fake or reality. He enlists the help of a young graduate student, Margaret, who may be with him or against him. He plays a computer game, MOMUS, that takes him to sites that are scarily related to events in his life. Only at the very end will you find out the answers to all these mind-boggling questions. A
most entertaining book, especially for lovers of rare books.
PS...two books in one week with the title CODEX...also read
"The Codex" by Douglas Preston...another awesome read!!!

Contrived--one word perfectly sums up this novel. Why do the characters do anything? I don't know. Sometimes the author tries to give them some motivation, but it never holds water (the big secret is that 600 years ago there was a bastard in an aristocratic English family--wow! talk about front page headlines). We are told time and again that the actions described MATTER, but it is never backed up. I've given it two stars because the writing is competent, but there is nothing here that is important.

I actually looked up these reviews to see if someone could explain the ending - or lack of one - to me. I actually thought for a minute that perhaps some of the pages had fallen out of my copy, but I'm sad to see after reading these reviews that I'm not alone in that thinking.

This book is what I like to call an "airplane book": a paperback, generally a mystery novel of some kind, that keeps you occupied while flying on an airplane.

Since "airplane books" don't aspire to be great literature, I was willing to overlook the completely unlikely idea that a banker would randomly decide to unpack all those books - since otherwise the events in the book would never even happen - and also to overlook that fact that the computer game subplot was simultaneously unnecessary and (with today's technology) unrealistic, and also to overlook that the 6 train doesn't go to Brooklyn, or that someone who is more than able to afford it is somehow able to live without air conditioning in New York City in the summer time.

Also, I gave the author a pass when I ran across this sentence on page 205: "The morning sun shone down through the pollen-dusted air...." And then page 215 he says, "The air was rich with biological stuff, pollen and insects and fluffy motes, and Margaret sneezed quaintly."

Perhaps the author really likes talking about pollen, and after all, there are no synonyms for pollen, other than, perhaps, motes, and he was already using that word, too.

But the ending isn't really explained properly, and is completely and utterly unsatisfying, which made me go back and reconsider the positive opinion I held for this book right up until about page 352. The protagonist has extremely flimsy motivation to carry out the plot, and since the ending also sucks I really think you should avoid this novel. If you want something interesting to read on an airplane, I'd suggest something by Patricia Cornwell.

I came across this book much in the way protagonist Edward Woszny stumbled into his quest for the (possibly apocryphal) Gervase Codex; that is, through a strange combination of circumstances. I won't bore you with my story, however, the book turned out to be tailor made for me. This book was everything "The Da Vinci Code" wasn't: truly scholarly, educational, interesting, and believable.

The reader never comes across a car chase, knife or gun fight, explosion or dastardly ally. The strangest happenings in "Codex" revolve around the vintage computer game "Adventure" to which our protagonist becomes addicted during his prolonged vacation. Even the game's strange trajectory has a believable explanation. This could be you on summer vacation, finding an avocation that becomes an obsession. Will it truly change your life, or will you go back to work/school only the wiser? The admirable protagonist, Woszny, has the wisdom to question his obsessions / avocations and to accept their eventual fallout without undue personal upheaval. The action of this book is more about the mind than the body; but however low key the action was, I found I could not pull myself away from it until I had finished it. When I finished, as with all the really good books I have read, I felt like I had lost a friend.

Being a student of books, libraries and printing, I appreciated Grossman's accurate and interesting explanations of terms such as "incunabula", "codex", "palimpsest", and "vellum" as well as the practical reason why a codex required a wooden cover.

Young New York banker Edward Wozny has his first vacation in years before him and has no idea how to spend his time. Leaving for a new job in London in two weeks, he doesn't mind too much when his financial firm asks him to drop by on a wealthy client to help out on a project. He is disappointed to find out that it is a clerical project but is still intrigued; he is asked to catalog an antique and mysterious collection of books. Between this task and the computer game, MOMUS, lent to him by a friend, Edward figures the time until his departure is sufficiently filled.
With that seemingly innocent premise Lev Grossman begins his novel CODEX, a thriller about books, coincidences, deception and very old secrets. It seems the library, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Bowmry, may contain a book invaluable to the aristocratic family. And as much as the Duke wants it to remain hidden, the Duchess wants it found. Soon, Edward also wants to find the book, as he is pulled deeper into the search. He enlists the help of an eccentric young scholar, Margaret Napier, to help him catalog the books and understand the importance of this particular one.
Edward and Margaret spend hours sorting and cataloging books in the library looking for the work by Gervase of Langford, a medieval author of a bizarre and legendary tale. Margaret insists that the existence of the book is a myth, but she works even harder than Edward to find it. Meanwhile, Edward is becoming more and more obsessed with the computer game. The game, seemingly nonsensical, is still addictive to Edward, especially when the setting of the game suddenly becomes disturbingly familiar.
What is the connection between the Gervase of Langford book and MOMUS? Does the Langford text even exist? Why does the Duke want it hidden and the Duchess want it found? And what is Edward's role in all of this? As his departure for London approaches, the coincidences grow and Edward finds himself in the center of a strange situation surrounded by mysterious characters who somehow may all be connected.
Perhaps comparisons with THE DA VINCI CODE are inevitable. But CODEX has a different feel, although fans of Brown's bestseller will appreciate Grossman's novel. In CODEX there are no murders and there isn't the immediate sense of danger found in Brown's novel. Edward is not running from anyone or even trying to save someone; he is caught in a strange situation that he finds irresistible. CODEX is about books and their power to hold truths, sustain lies and raise hopes. Bookworms will find Edward and Margaret's bookish task intriguing.
Grossman's thriller is a fun and interesting read. His blending of medieval texts and high-tech computer games as devices to move the plot and occupy the characters works surprisingly well. Edward is not a character we fall in love with or even cheer for, but we are along with him every step of the way for the exciting ride. We understand Edward's growing need to know what secrets are kept in the Langford text and the computer game, and we wonder with him if they are somehow connected.
Grossman's narrative is sometimes pragmatic and sometimes dreamlike, but always enjoyable. CODEX is a thought-provoking tale from a promising novelist.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

(...) 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 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:
(...)

Currently, the Middle Ages is in vogue with college courses on the subject attracting students who are not history majors and medieval re-enactment societies enjoy wide popularity. Codex is a novel that although set in the present time, is closely linked to the Middle Ages.
Codex is a novel in which the reader will learn a great deal about medieval literature and also about the coded messages that were sometimes encrypted in such works. The hero, Edward, is a medieval literature specialist who also plays computer games. One of Edward's tasks is attempting to track down a rumored work by 14th Century poet Geoffrey Chaucer.
This may sound like a dull plot, but Codex is actually a compulsive page turner. It is historically accurate and is blessed with rich characterization. No cardboard characters here.
Codex is an incredible novel.

This book is like a Sopapilla. It looks wonderful on the outside, but when you bite in, you realize that it is just hot air. Simply put, the ending of the book sucked. I can see why Mr. Grossman ended it the way that he did, but I felt completely unsatisifed at the end. Furthermore, the so-called secret of the book has been dealt with by the wonderful Arturo Perez-Reverte in his book the Club Dumas (which I recommend), and I figured it out pretty early on. While I felt that the book was good, I join my fellow reviewers in saying "it could have been so much more."

Much more clever (and better written) than the DaVinci Code but not as dense as Umberto Eco, Codex weaves Edward Wozny's search for a missing book together with his obsession with an interactive computer game. I liked the slightly snarky characters and anti-climatic ending, which I found refreshingly realistic. It's nice to read something that doesn't tie up every loose end neatly. The only part I thought was weak enough to detract from the plot--and it's a pretty big detraction, IMO--was the precipitating event that was driving the frantic search for the manuscript...as if it would really matter in modern day society.

This is the kind of book, with the kind of flaws, that makes me hopeful that Grossman's next novel will be a 5 star read.

I always get angry at myself when I finish reading as bad a book as this, to completion....as I did with the DVC. This book is not as bad as the DVC for 2 reasons:
1) its not as long
2) it does not promise as much (it dellivers just as little)

Other than that, here are a few of the problems with this book:

- The characters are poorly drawn, caricatures at best, not fully fleshed,not credible, not likeable or loathsome, and, worst of all, NOT INTERESTING.

- The story is simply not credible; a succesful NYC financier does not suddenly, in this day and age, discover and become hooked by Dungeons and Dragons games. If he did not get hooked as a kid, he is immune.

- Get your technical details straight. You do not get a game of this maganitude and complexity to run, magically, on ancient PCs. You dont get anything to run on old PCs any more, much less Gigabyte eating graphics and Gigaflop consuming processes.

- The ending is literary coitus interruptus..there are more loose ends left dangling than an old sweater. Nothing is really resolved except, that, after several hundred pages of farkling around with literary/intellectual pursuits, the hero suddenly just decides that a briefcase full of cash is better, and that is that.

When I stared reading, I found myself comparing this book to the DaVinci Code and liking it better. But then the characters started to grate on me. By the time I reached the disappointing end I was totally uninterested in the plot. In fact it doesn't really end, it sort of fizzles out. The parts of the story dealing with the study of old books made very worthwhile reading. Without them this book might have gotten one star.

With promising reviews and an intriguing plot summary, I started "Codex" with high hopes of a delicious summer page turner. Within the first few chapters I had lowered my expectations. Grossman successfully managed to craft an intriguing storyline, but his prose is filled with awkward dialog and conspicuous exposition that prevented it from absorbing me completely.

But the real disappointment isn't the writing, it's the ending. Having devoted the last few chapters tying off the mysteries of the Codex, Grossman more or less abandons his characters with no resolution, no development and no sense of closure.

Given The Codex's flaws, and judging from the most recent reader reviews, I'm not alone in this opion, I'm at a loss to explain the glowing review quotes that fill the first few pages of the softcover edition. Seeing as to how Mr. Grossman is Time magazine's book credit, perhaps these reviewers are hoping for a free pass from him when their novels hit the shelves.

I bought an used autographed copy of this book and was glad to get it at a used bookstore. I was surprised there were so many copies autographed and at that low price. I read the book and enjoyed most of it. The problem develops when you get to the end. It was a travesty of an ending. The main reason I picked up a copy was because I liked The Magicians: A Noveland was hopeful Codex could have a similar appeal. I have read a number of stories with an old book being the reason for a quest. A favorite of mine is The Club Dumas (Paperback). Perez-Reverte did a masterful job in his book and Roman Polanski did a great job making the movie The Ninth Gate although it differs from the book. Anyway I digress. The point is Codex is just not a mature work of fiction. If you like books about books then maybe you should give this a shot but plan on being underwhelmed at the end. I really do wish the author well on his upcoming novel The Magician King: A Novel out August 9th. I am hopeful a full series is in the making.

I was really looking forward to "Codex" because of all the advance praise I read. I read reviews that claimed this was an intellectual thriller on a par with Eco and Iain Pears' later novels.

Oh well. Grossman has a garbled plot that leaves the reader holding a bit of twine at the end, wondering where the story disappeared to. The characters are flat, but even worse, the story leads nowhere with nary a red-herring to get in the way. Caveat emptor!

At the opening of the novel, Edward Wozny, the hero of Lev Grossman's story, is riding a rocket ship to success. He has scrambled to the top of the financial world from his humble origins and has won a coveted promotion to move from the Wall Street offices of his employer to the dizzying world of international finance in London. All is right in his tightly confined world.

He has been granted a two week vacation in order to make arrangements for his move to London and is in uncharted waters, not knowing how to handle the enforced idleness that his `vacation' brings. But he has been given a task by his superiors. He is to visit with a client for whom he has conducted his financial magic at their lavish midtown apartment in New York City. Edward assumes that it is for the purposes of them expressing their gratitude for the accessions to their fortune that he has produced. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, he has been selected to conduct an inventory of a large number of crated, immensely valuable, antique books which were sent to New York during World War Two for safe keeping and have languished unopened all these many years. At first, Edward is chagrined that someone would think that he was appropriate for such a lowly task. The first day, he works on the books without protest, intending to slough the job off on one of the firm's underlings the next day. But there is something that begins to fascinate him about them. He had no firm plans for what to do with his unaccustomed free time so he decides to go along with it for the time being.

He is advised by the personal assistant for the owners of the books, Lady and Baron Wendt, that there is a special book that he is to look out for. It is a book, or codex to use the more precise term, from medieval England. Slowly, but surely, the quest for the book becomes a sort of hunt for the holy grail as it's great importance to the Wendt's becomes evident. Somehow, it has become a potential weapon between the vastly wealthy couple and its contents have been described as being threatening the Baron's vast wealth and exalted position. Edward allies himself with the enigmatic Lady Wendt. He hires a graduate school student who he meets in the course of his search to help find the book. She initially decries it as mythic, but as they go along becomes more and more excited at the possibility that the book is real. As the search progresses, he begins to become romantically entangled with her experiencing for the first time a passion for something other than financial success.

It becomes clear at the beginning of the book that Edward is totally bereft of a personal life. He has devoted all of his energy and time to making money and professional advancement. The nearest thing he has to a friend is a hippie type drop out who has become an adept in the world of computers and electronics. He introduces Edward to an adventure like game called MOMUS. Edward's mania spreads to playing the game, a substitute for personal experience and a type of mirror for his search for the book. His life begins to fall apart, threatening his new position. His desperate search for the codex causes him to cross the lines of propriety if not legality, endangering his very career.

The novel deals with issues of betrayal, honor and essential humanity. Edward has been plunged deeply into the sea of life and he is exhilarated and stupefied at the same time. Grossman creates scenes of high tension while developing Edward's character and relating the search for the mysterious book. What is known about its contents is scanty, but it is believed to describe a quest by a medieval knight as full of portent and mystery as the search for the book itself. By the bittersweet end, Edward is a different man, changed by his quest.

I recommend the book for its clever and interesting weaving of themes and tension. It is well written and holds the reader's interest to the last.

I was sorely disappointed in this book. The premise and title held so much potential when my uncle gave it to me promising many hours of intrigue. I tolerantly forgave the author's seemingly unresearched stereotypical description of "gamers" and their ilk, hoping more plot would unfold and make up for the failing. As the story continued the characters sporatically bounced in and out of... well, character - no other way to put it. Edward was insightful then suddenly moronic or passionate and then withdrawn and selfish. We never get enough storyline to explain the change - it always feels rushed and incomplete. Ms. Makarski said it best above when she called it a "howler". I found myself slamming the book shut at the end of many a chapter with rather forceful explatives, determined to never pick it up again. But the premise and core plot line were such a fantastic idea that I had to see where the author would take it, so I stuck it out much to my disappointment. Save yourself the time - this is not the next great book. I wonder what the heck the reviewers from NYT, Salon, Village Voice, actually read. I haven't seen a book so highly reviewed by such sources suck so bad. Grossman had a great idea, perhaps he just needed his editors and close confidants to be more honest with him and have him return to the drawing board waaay more often.

This had the potential to really amount to something. Good premise, but the author either ran out of steam or couldn't figure out how to link the computer game story line into the codex story line. What was the purpose? It was really a distraction rather than an enhancement. Has to be one of the worst endings I ever read. I went back and reread the last pages trying to figure out if I missed something or if there were pages missing. It wasn't just a "twist", it was a letdown at best and a non-ending at the worst. Do not waste your time ...

This could have been a fantastic novel but the story completely fell apart at the end. The author drops several plot lines and the book ends very abruptly. I was really into the story and couldn't wait to get to the end but the ending was terrible and left too many hanging questions. If this book had had a great ending, it would be right up there with anything by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

This novel is "not fabulously entertaining", not MESMERIZING from start to finish, despite words to that effect on the cover. It is unfathomable. From the age of 5 to 13, "Edward" was a child chess genius. Then his incredible chess talent suddenly disappeared. So, unfortunately, did the author's latent talent for writing interesting novels. I am an attorney, a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. I have read novels for over 60 years. Some good, some bad. But this author left me behind right from the start; way "bad"; a story that includes a LAN game whose purpose in the novel completely eludes me. Despite our "hero", a 20s something investment banker, being successful in finding the "CODEX", I have absolutely no idea what purpose finding it served. Frankly, I struggled to get to the ending .... but there was no ending, truly. The story just tailed off as if the author had written enough pages, so ...he said ... "END"

It starts as a promise of an exceedingly clever literary thriller only to tumble over by the midpoint and to ultimately fall sadly short of the plot's great potential. The initial plot idea is great - an old medieval codex, the existence of which is not certain, is pursuit by two young people in modern times. There is so much expectation, but unfortunately as the novel unfolds there are too many inconsistencies (e.g. in terms of time frame) and logical errors (e.g. Why exactly Duke would be destroyed if Codex became public?) to enjoy it. I won't argue that the book is intelligent, but the plot twists were absolutely nonsensical. Not believable characters did not believable things that were so far-fetched that makes you wonder how Lev Grossman couldn't have seen it himself.

Frankly, I thought that Codex was a fine effort. Yeah, the ending was a little muffled but the book was well written. I think this guy has some promise. Many respected authors have early works that don't exactly click. I'm giving the guy an extra star based on promise.

The author had me when his bored yuppie protagonist managed to take a vacation--in fact, this book could have been called How Edward Spent His Vacation. The story moved at a good clip and although it seems to have annoyed a few folks, I thought that we were reading entertainment here. Grossman isn't claiming to be Shakespeare or Chaucer--he's writing a thriller.

I got my money's worth and enjoyed the read.

I went through this book in nothing flat, mostly because I couldn't stop reading! The mystery here is set up well, and the writing is superb. I knew the game in this story was tied to the search for the codex and was pleasantly surprised to find out how. I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to read it yourself to find out how. You definitely won't be disappointed in this one.

This book would have hugely benefited from a sword-wielding editor (as no doubt my own review would), but perhaps this lack is one of the many pitfalls of a book written by a critic -- who from any publishing house wants to piss him off?

I generally like this genre, which I call trash for smart people. And it's not too hard to pull off if you're a decent writer -- not so much in the pure language sense, he's actually decent at that -- but in the basic plot structure sense. This book fails miserably. He's trying to cram so many unconnected gimmicks and little beacons of the genre into this book that you are constantly made to swallow completely improbable assertions (plot twists, character motivations, historical shenanigans, a totally pointless computer game subplot, references to characters' pasts that are never followed up on even though they're made out to be significant upon first reference, etc., etc.), and if you just don't connect with them (because there is absolutely no support for them), the rest of the dominos just don't fall. He desperately needs an editor who can say, "Dude, how about just 5 or 10 gimmicky plot components and quirky characters rather than 50?" Absolutely nothing hangs together, and the plot twists get sillier and thinner as you go -- until at the end, there is no support for any character's motivation whatsoever, and the book goes out with a sad sad fizzle. It honestly feels like he put a bunch of random, generic plot developments up on a dartboard and let the darts fly -- and then afterwards figured out how to string them together, perhaps while drunk.

This is a not uncommon affliction of this particular genre. (Are you smart? Did you go to a good college? Do you have long-repressed literary ambitions? Were you an English major? Do you miss those collegiate glory days and the A's on your papers? Do your friends always say to you, You should write a book! Step right up and bust out a delightfully arcane, sexily musty, modern-yet-erudite, show-em-you've-still-got-it, screenplay-ready piece of schlock! For only $19.95 we'll give you your own Write by Numbers kit, the Name of the Rose edition -- now updated for the post-Da Vinci Code world! We'll throw in a pack of Marlboros and an i-Book.)

This book is kind of a how-to in the worst of the genre, and I'm sorry to say, he lays himself open to more criticism b/c he's a critic himself -- he really should know better. He needs to find the meanest, smartest person he knows, make them read his next manuscript with a big red Sharpie in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, and take it from there. He's not hopeless, just a long way from palatable yet.

And I have to agree with the reviewer who said No, she couldn't do any better, but on the other hand she's self-aware enough not to try. Reader beware.

This is a terrible book pretending to be "complex," "cerebral," and words dreamed up the critics. The critics compare it to the Name of the Rose, etc. The critics are wrong (or is it they want to praise one of their own). Everything about this book rings false: the Wall Street whiz, the computer game, the characterizations, the plot, ... I should have listened to my instincts, and quite after a chapter or two - instead I read the entire @#&(^ book.

After finishing Codex last night I found myself still waiting for the plot to kick in. Lev Grossman has a talent for character creation - and the characters in Codex are interesting with good internal conflict - but I think he should have spent a little more time developing a better plot line.

Even though I can't recommend Codex, I will give his next novel a read.

Have I missed something?

What a let down. The books cover reviews should be against the trades descriptions act. The basic idea of a 14th century mystery and even some supernatural connection with a virtual reality game could have yielded a great novel. But it didn't. There are no explanations of a lot of the key plot twists. Maybe I missed the hidden message. I admit I couldn't put it down, but only in the hope it was about to improve. I felt very let down by the end, which as others have said seamed to have been written because the author ran out of pages.

If you are considering buying this book don't. Go to the Library (you may see the key characters!) first. If you intend reading the book don't read on.

[...]

I was left wondering if I took the second word of each page and jumbled them up, maybe I would find an hidden meaning in Lev's own CODEX.

SPOILER ALERT

I thought the biggest flaw in this book is that it never answered the question why, if this book is so dangerous to the Duke's family, didn't they simply destroy this book centuries ago.

My second biggest grip with the book is that the reader never finds out whether Margaret was working for the Duke from Day One, or whether she somehow suddenly switched sides. If we take Margaret's character as a scholar seriously, her natural ally would be the Duchess, rather than the Duke, because the Duchess wants the manuscript to be published and become well known, while the Duke wants to suppress it.

I actually liked most of the book, it just needed a better ending.

Codex is a gripping story, hard to put down, interesting story line.. At the same time, the author seems to assume that the reader isn't thinking ahead to figure out the plot twists, so he has the main character explain, which is annoying. (If I explain this more specifically, it will spoIl the story.) Good weekend read.

After reading some of the earlier reviews, I bought Codex in the hope of reading a fascinating mystery! Tough luck! Not only is the book poorly written (some sections are so boring and lifeless, I actually had to skip them), but also the plot is paper thin. At the beginning, the recovery of the Codex seems to be essential for some obscure reason. When the real motive came to light, I was still hoping that the end of the book would add something more exciting to the boring facts! Nothing of the sort! Adding the computer game looked like a good idea. But the author was not able to use it as an interesting plot device: the game does not hold together, and could be forgotten all together. In a nutshell, do not spend any time or money on this book!

I forced myself to keep reading this book, thinking/hoping that it would improve and make some kind of sense.

The characters are at best wooden with few interesting or redeeming qualities.

The book comes to an abrupt and sudden conclusion with no real resolution.

One of the most disappointing books I've read in a long while.

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.