The cerebral thriller Codex drops up-and-coming investment banker wunderkind Edward Wozny into the musty realm of medieval literature, where he finds an unexpected break from the rat race--a powerful client's commission to uncrate and organize a library. The diversion quickly becomes an obsession after he enlists the help of the quirkily attractive scholar Margaret Napier. Together they discover his employer, the mysterious Duchess of Bowmry, is in a race with her husband to locate an apocryphal codex that could destroy the Bowmry name. Meanwhile, Edward becomes engrossed in an addicting computer game that bears an uncanny similarity to the object of his search and accelerates his transformation from Wall Street wizard into shiftless dreamer.
For the most part, Edward moves through his adventure merely following Margaret's dedicated lead. As each new twist unfolds, he slips further into the comforting daydream of a life that isn't his but is as thrilling as the race for the codex. Codex wrestles with notions of dreams and reality that commingle as Edward finds himself adrift in a sea of passionate scholars and Old World plots. In all, Lev Grossman's novel is excellent entry into the emerging genre of literary history thrillers with an added twist for the technophile. --Jeremy Pugh
From Publishers Weekly
A young investment banker burrows deep into a labyrinthine world of computer games and literary riddles in this captivating thriller by Time book critic Grossman (Warp). On a two-week vacation before he heads for a new post in London, 25-year-old golden boy Edward Wozny volunteers his services to the Wents, the duchess and duke of Bowmry, two of the firm's biggest clients. Since he assumes they require his financial expertise, he is exasperated—and then intrigued—to discover they wish him to catalogue a collection of ancient books in the attic of their New York apartment. Captivated by the library of rare manuscripts, Edward finds himself oddly content in this mystifying world of words. A special request adds extra urgency to the assignment: he is asked to find a possibly mythical codex by 14th-century monk Gervase of Langford, A Viage to the Contree of the Cimmerians. Most scholars believe that the text—which predicts the coming of the apocalypse and may conceal Went family secrets—never existed, and that view is shared by Margaret Napier, a hard-nosed graduate student whom Edward enlists to aid him in his daunting task. Fixated on locating the codex, Edward becomes equally preoccupied with MOMUS, an intricate, frighteningly vivid computer game. Cyberworld and real world are more connected than Edward realizes, and he gradually discovers that the game is intimately related to his literary sleuthing. A trip to England and a well-orchestrated final twist bring this intelligent, enjoyable novel to a fittingly understated conclusion. Author appearances in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Grossman, book critic at Time, adds a new twist to the emerging bibliothriller subgenre by combining rare books with computer gaming (something old, something new). The book at the heart of the mystery is a medieval codex by one Gervase of Langford. Edward Wozny, a fast-track investment banker, is about to leave New York for a new job in London when he is asked for help by one of his firm's important clients, who wants him to catalog a collection of rare books. Edward is aghast: a banker asked to do librarian's work! Inevitably, though, he is drawn into the project and the multiple mysteries it holds, but there is another distraction: his computer-geek friend has hooked Edward on a bizarre, interactive computer game that may be more than it seems. There's a lot going on here, both online and in the library, and most of it is thoroughly fascinating. We never quite believe that banker Edward would so quickly become a biblio-detective-cum-computer-gamer, but we're glad he did. Pair this with Zafon's Shadow of the Wind [BKL Mr 1 04]. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Salon
"Plays around with narrative in classic postmodern fashion."
Review
"A fast-paced, cerebral thriller. Unique. Astonishing." --Katherine Neville, author of The Eight
Entertainment Weekly
"Alluring and meticulous. Replete with a sexy duchess, a jaded academic ... and a shadowy programmer."
Entertainment Weekly
"Alluring and meticulous. Replete with a sexy duchess, a jaded academic ... and a shadowy programmer."
Santa Cruz Sentinel
"Blisteringly hot. If you've ever been seduced by libraries and the dusty histoory of books, put CODEX on your list."
Booklist
"Grossman ... adds a new twist to the emerging bibliothriller subgenre by combinning rare books with computer gaming."
Santa Cruz Sentinel
"Blisteringly hot .... Put Codex on your list."
The New York Times Book Review
"Takes its place on the shelf of bibliophilic page-turners like Name of the Rosee and Possession. Such a good story."
Baltimore Sun
"An exhilarating literary tour de force . mesmerizing from start to finish. A ffabulous double-helix of a novel."
The Village Voice
"Transcends the current vogue for the archaic--linking the 14th and 21st centuriies by considering the powers of parchment and PlayStation."
Book Description
About to depart on his first vacation in years, Edward Wozny, a hot-shot young investment banker, is sent to help one of his firm's most important and mysterious clients. When asked to uncrate and organize a personal library of rare books, Edward's indignation turns to intrigue as he realizes that there may be a unique medieval codex hidden among the volumes, a treasure kept locked away for many years and for many reasons. As friends draw Edward into a peculiar and addictive computer game, his obsession deepens as he discovers surprising parallels between the game's virtual reality and the mystery of the codex. An accomplished and entertaining thriller, Codex explores the mysterious power of books in the medieval and modern ages.
About the Author
LEV GROSSMAN is a writer and book critic for Time. He has written articles for the NewYork Times, Salon, Lingua Franca, EntertainmentWeekly, Time Out NewYork and the VillageVoice. He lives in Brooklyn.
Codex FROM THE PUBLISHER
"About to depart on his first vacation in years, Edward Wozny, a hot-shot young banker, is sent to help one of his firm's most important and mysterious clients. When asked to uncrate and organize a personal library of rare books, Edward's indignation turns to curiosity as he realizes that among the volumes there may be hidden a unique medieval codex, a treasure kept sealed away for many years and for many reasons." Enlisting the help of Margaret Napier, a passionate and brilliant medieval scholar, Edward discovers the strange history of the codex and the dark, intricate tale that lies within its pages. His fascination becomes an obsession that only deepens as friends draw him into a peculiar and addictive game with mystifying parallels between the game's virtual reality and the legend of the medieval codex.
FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
Codex takes its place on the shelf of self-referential, bibliophilic page turners like The Name of the Rose, Possession and A Case of Curiosities, and it's as entertaining as any of them.
— Polly Shulman
Publishers Weekly
A young investment banker burrows deep into a labyrinthine world of computer games and literary riddles in this captivating thriller by Time book critic Grossman (Warp). On a two-week vacation before he heads for a new post in London, 25-year-old golden boy Edward Wozny volunteers his services to the Wents, the duchess and duke of Bowmry, two of the firm's biggest clients. Since he assumes they require his financial expertise, he is exasperated-and then intrigued-to discover they wish him to catalogue a collection of ancient books in the attic of their New York apartment. Captivated by the library of rare manuscripts, Edward finds himself oddly content in this mystifying world of words. A special request adds extra urgency to the assignment: he is asked to find a possibly mythical codex by 14th-century monk Gervase of Langford, A Viage to the Contree of the Cimmerians. Most scholars believe that the text-which predicts the coming of the apocalypse and may conceal Went family secrets-never existed, and that view is shared by Margaret Napier, a hard-nosed graduate student whom Edward enlists to aid him in his daunting task. Fixated on locating the codex, Edward becomes equally preoccupied with MOMUS, an intricate, frighteningly vivid computer game. Cyberworld and real world are more connected than Edward realizes, and he gradually discovers that the game is intimately related to his literary sleuthing. A trip to England and a well-orchestrated final twist bring this intelligent, enjoyable novel to a fittingly understated conclusion. Author appearances in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
During a two-week hiatus between jobs as an investment banker, Edward Wozny finds himself plunging down a rabbit hole when a wealthy British client asks him to sort out a room full of old books. Among them may reside the sole copy of a fabled and vaguely portentous 14th-century romance, A Viage to the Contree of the Cimmerians. Grossman (book critic, Time magazine) echoes Edward's desultory hunt for the manuscript in the picaresque plot of the viage itself-as explicated by ice-queen medievalist and not-quite-love-interest Margaret Napier-and in the strange virtual world of MOMUS, a computer game devouring increasing chunks of our hero's time and mind. As literary thrillers go, this is pretty slim stuff, plotted with a dreamy gamer's logic that lacks the complexity, plausibility, or stakes found in works by Ross King, Iain Pears, Arturo Perez-Reverte, or Umberto Eco. Yet it is hard to resist joining in the quest for such a tasty maguffin. A wealth of diverting book lore and fanciful arcana conveyed in engaging, accessible prose helps to make this an engrossing, if ultimately unsatisfying, read. Recommended for larger public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/03.]-David Wright, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Computer games, medieval texts, a corrupt duchess, and library arcana derail a young investment banker from the fast track. Awfully young meritocratic Yale alum Edward Wozny, having just cleared his New York desk in order to take on a dream assignment in London, accidentally, or perhaps not, encounters the Duke and Duchess of Bowmry as they are decamping from their New York residence. In the weird way of the computer game that follows Edward through his forthcoming adventures, the Bowmrys (family name: Went) are clients of Edward's employers and owners of a fabulous flat at the top of an otherwise tatty building, an apartment Edward comes to know when his employers inform him that he is to do a bibliosearch for their lordly clients who, when their library was shipped to the States to escape the Nazis, lost track of A Viage to the Contree of the Cimmerians, a book that might not actually exist, or, if it does exist, might be a fake. Edward, under whose Hugo Boss suit beats the heart of the juvenile chess prodigy who burned out at puberty, takes on the quest, enlisting the help of Margaret Napier, a quietly sexy and terribly serious medieval scholar he meets in the library where he's gone to research the author of the Viage. In his off-hours, when he should be packing for London, Edward ineptly follows the paths of MOMUS, a computer game full of subtle parallels to Edward's life and the plot of the Viage. Sleep-deprived, confused, but utterly absorbed in his quests, Edward is unwilling to be called off when ordered to quit by the Duke's emissaries. He is, after all, getting conflicting orders from the very sexy and considerably younger duchess. As in cyberfantasy, there are side trips andnarrow escapes and dwarfish types with helpful tips, and if Time book critic Grossman (Warp, 1997) weren't so smooth and dry, one might think about hitting esc. Sophisticated, scholarly fun and games. Agent: Tina Bennett/Janklow & Nesbit
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