Status
Genres
Collection
Publication
Description
"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 in The Codex.… (more)
User reviews
now a brief plot summary:
Three men appear at the gates of a grand house in New Mexico, each summoned
The local police are called in, and as the detectives are going over the house, one of them finds a video tape with the words "watch me" on it. He summons the brothers together and they watch it. It turns out to be their father, who has left them a video message, saying that unlike those who say "you can't take it with you," he is doing just that...he is taking all of his valuables and taking them with him to die. He then challenges his sons to team up and find out where he is so that they may claim their inheritance. However, rather than even try to team up, they split apart, going back to their regular lives, disgusted at what their father has done. Philip, who sees himself as lofty and upper class, decides that he will go after the treasure by himself. He enlists the services of a PI who used to be his father's partner a long time ago, and the PI gets wind that Max had taken an airplane to Honduras. So it is in Honduras that Philip begins his search. Vernon is living with some weird cultish types (he is attracted to every kind of "teacher" and religious group) & also decides to go on the hunt for treasure, again on his own, with only his Teacher to accompany him. The teacher, of course, sees only $ signs as is all too thrilled to be going with Vernon. Tom, a vet, who lives in a little town in Colorado, has no desire to do any searching...he realized a long time ago that simple is best and that he is happy with the existence he has. However, that all changes one day when a woman comes looking for him on his horse which she stole. It seems that among the treasures Max has returned to the Honduras (which he stole from tombs there originally) is a Mayan Codex, filled with Mayan knowledge about the healing properties of the plants in the rainforests. Sally convinces Tom to put her in touch with his brothers, but they'd already left on their own expeditions. But something happens to make Tom change his mind: the two policemen who had originally investigated the Broadbent home "break-in" both died mysteriously in a car accident the day before they were planning to leave for a fishing trip in the Honduras. Tom realizes that anyone who could make such accidents happen to two cops could do the same for his brothers...so he and Sally take off to Honduras as well. And it is there that the adventures really start. However, of course there must be some twist, right? And a twist there is...it seems that the Codex is not only wanted by Sally but by others with much more to gain by its possession.
It is a fun story with a lot of suspense & will keep you entertained for hours. It is not meant to be a work of great literature -- it is meant to be a work of fun & entertainment. I truly enjoyed this book & had a quiet day in which to read it nonstop. Now, why was the theme to Indiana Jones running through my head the whole time? Hmmmm.
This little thriller depended hugely on the bizarre and wonderful characters it contained. The
As usual for a novel of this type, there are frequent and numerous brushes with death, which I tend to skim over these days. I found this novel to be much more character driven than most of the novels of this type that I read in 2010 (e.g. Hunt For Atlantis, The Kremlin Device, The Sky is Falling, A Faithful Spy and The Charlemagne Pursuit)
The Codex was very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy this sort of book.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
SPOILER ALERT! Read no further if you want to remain free of any knowledge of the story.
The main disappointment I had with The Codex was with the character of Sally. In an effort to create a character that was combative and strong, Preston made Sally stereotypically feminist beyond what I found believable, given that her character's role as an "ethno-pharmacologist." Through her work, she had to have encountered people of many cultures, and if she had not accepted the differences among them, she certainly would have had to acknowledge them. And yet she acted so insulted when the old man from the jungles of Honduras displayed views of women typical for his traditional culture. His comments were usually made in fun, but she always became terribly insulted. I found it a bit ridiculous. Yes, perhaps at 29, she's still young enough (yes, that's young!) to be a bit idealistic. But it came across more of an ignorance of where the man was coming from. I didn't find her hostility believable.
If you want to feel better about one of your parents, this book is
This is also a book about trust, which turns notions of what I think about people a bit on their heads.
The most interesting part to me was the Codex, a Mayan encyclopedia of all the plants, insects and animals in the rainforest and their medicinal properties. It was so fascinating to me that, while the bad guys wanted the art, money and jewels, the things that everyone really wanted was the Codex.
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.
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.