Codex: A Novel

This is a hard one to review, because although I liked the experience of reading this book, I'm no longer sure that I liked the book itself: Codex hooked me from the beginning, then ultimately threw me back in the water regretting having been hooked at all.

Throughout, the tension set my expectations high, and I found the book's dual focus on medieval literature and video games intriguing (although neither seems to be the author's particular wheelhouse). I was looking forward to seeing these pieces converge in a satisfying way, which didn't happen. I kept thinking there might be some supernatural element, and there wasn't. I wasn't sure why I was meant to care about the characters, let alone the drama between the distant Duke and Duchess, which made the ending all the more unsatisfying ... and that's saying something; this book has the biggest nothing of an ending since “It was all a dream!”

If the mark of a good book were its ability to make one think “Oh, that's clever” to oneself every now and then, this book would be very good indeed. It's a shame its cleverness does nothing of substance.