Meh... It was far too long for the plot.

There’s probably a good 80-100 pages that can be trimmed off that would make this book a more exciting read. The middle portion felt endless, and I could only take so many descriptions of jungles, plants, forests, swamps, lakes, etc. before my eyes glazed over. I felt that the built up confrontation between the villain and our characters was rushed & underwhelming. There are also certain subplots/characters that just feel abandoned and end very abruptly.

Overall, I enjoyed this concept, but felt that another edit/pass through of this manuscript was needed!

I really liked the idea of this book. But then, new characters kept getting added in with each subsequent chapter. I really only liked Tom and the 1/2 native brother. I certainly loved that twist. I honestly did think he was just speaking on general terms at first. Sally was also interesting.

The action heavy, or trek though the jungle heavy in this case, Preston books are my least favorite. I don't care about diseases, illnesses, jaguars, or whatever else the jungle has to offer, I wanted tombs and codex information, but this is not that type of novel.

I picked this up for pocket change at Goodwill, and it was far better than I expected. Action-adventure story about the heirs to a fortune seeking the tomb where their father interred himself with their inheritance. Not badly written, for what it is.

Here's hoping this Preston novel is as fantastic as the last. I'm only on page 7 so far, but I've got high hopes!

So I finished The Codex in record time, but not for the reason I would hope. See, I was sick for a few days so I pretty much did nothing but sit and read and cough and blow my nose and read some more.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book, but I've kind of developed a Douglas Preston addiction of late and the book kind of felt a touch anti-climatic to me. Maybe it's just a matter of being a hair too long. The ending felt predictable when it finally came, even though now that I'm looking back on it, it was full of really great moments. So maybe Preston just needed to apply the old red grease pencil a little more liberally and cut it down to 350 taut pages instead of 404 pages with a few extra pounds on them.

All in all, though, I still recommend The Codex as a good read on a rainy day. And I hope someone makes a movie of it at some point. It seems photogenic to me.

Very fun! No high-brow literature here, but a good romp for a few hours.

Too boring and predictable and hackneyed even to listen to as an audiobook.