Codex - by Lev Grossman (Paperback)

About the Book

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, the young man's indignation turns to intrigue as he realizes that there may be a unique medieval codex hidden among the volumes.

Book Synopsis

About to depart on his first vacation in years, Edward Wozny, a hotshot young investment banker, is sent to help one of his firm's most important and mysterious clients. His task is to search their library stacks for a precious medieval codex, a treasure kept sealed away for many years and for many reasons. Enlisting the help of passionate medievalist Margaret Napier, Edward is determined to solve the mystery of the codex-to understand its significance to his wealthy clients, and to decipher the seeming parallels between the legend of the codex and an obsessive role-playing computer game that has absorbed him in the dark hours of the night.

The chilling resolution brings together the medieval and the modern aspects of the plot in a twist worthy of earning comparisons to novels by William Gibson and Dan Brown, not to mention those by A. S. Byatt and Umberto Eco. Lev Grossman's Codex is a thriller of the highest order.

From the Back Cover

A National Bestseller
"A genuine treat with its sneaky plot and richly textured storytelling." -San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Wozny, a hotshot young banker, is about to leave for vacation when he is sent to help an important yet mysterious client. His task: search the family library for a precious, centuries-old codex that may not even exist. Enlisting the expertise of medievalist Margaret Napier, Edward is determined to solve the mystery of the codex and to decipher the parallels between the codex legend and a computer game that absorbs him in the dark hours of the night.
Weaving the medieval and the modern aspects of its plot in a chilling twist, Codex is a thriller of the highest order.
"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."--The New York Times Book Review
"This puzzle of 'nested secrets within secrets' is tailor-made for fans of The Name of the Rose and The Club Dumas." --Detroit Free-Press

[Author photo]
LEV GROSSMAN is Time magazine's book critic. He has written for the New York Times, Salon, Entertainment Weekly, and Time Out New York. He lives in Brooklyn.

Review Quotes

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR CODEX

"As surely as his hero, Edward, falls under the spell of a mysterious

manuscript so does the reader fall under the spell of Lev Grossman's

intricate plot and vivid characters.Codex is a rare treat for readers

and bibliophiles."

--MARGOT L I V E S E Y, a u t h o r o f EVA MOVES THE FURNITURE

"Codex makes the game of writing not just engaging but seductive.

How delightful that Lev Grossman, in a novel about the mysteries of

narrative, has created a page-turner."

--GLEN DAVID GOLD, a u t h o r o f CARTER BEAT S THE DEVIL

About the Author

LEV GROSSMAN is Time magazine's book critic. He has written articles for the New York Times, Salon, Entertainment Weekly, Time Out New York, and the Village Voice. He lives in Brooklyn.