litpick: Codex

Codex - Lev Grossman; Harcourt Books Publishers 2004
The Da Vinci Code sans Dan Brown and...everything in it, I guess. While Brown's book is the GoNuts-DoNuts (as Dodo would put it) of the literary scene, this one is far below the level of, even, Mister Donuts. The one that you'd consider as that sugar-sprinkled concoction found in glass partitions of local bakeries, wishing some famished carcass would liberate them with their few hard-earned currency. Simply put, it is not that would rocket up the list of a National Bookstore nor PowerBooks bestseller list. Nevertheless, I'll personally elevate it there. Lev Grossman, an unknown dude to the majority of the reading public--except for those who consider Time Magazine as part of their daily news intake---wrote this 'perfectly-okay' novel as his contribution to the growing number of rip-offs Dan Brown's book had amassed. However, the turnout is, in my opinion, a lot better. It tells of a yuppie banker Edward Wozny tasked by a uber-wealthy client to catalog their collection of old books and at the same time dig through the dirt-crusted chests of a codex that nobody believed existed. From thereon the plot weaves through the a fictional medeival history of the author, allusions to Chaucer and a subplot on a Myst-like PC game that Edward found himself addicted to. Yep, it's Da Vinci code minus the know-it-all attitude of Langdon (Wozny's failure to grasp history as well as his ephemerality is quite...um, realistic); sans the car-chases; and an antagonist that exists only if you would categorize him/her as one. It's an intelligent thriller. And it'll keep you stuck to your seat for a few hours a day, at least.