Reviews

The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin

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highlanderajax's review against another edition

2.0

Oof. Man, did I want to like this book. Man, did I not really. Almost DNF'd this. Pushed myself to read it.

This is always going to be a book that focuses on the fighting, and you don't need to be Tolkien to get the desired effect. Fine. However, something about the way this is written is...cold. It's blunt and prosaic, and not in a self-aware, straightforward Robert Parker sort of a way. It just feels unimaginative. The author wrote this book to have an excuse to write about people doing MMA, and while that's totally fine I feel like if you're going to write a book just because it's one you want to read, you need to be able to communicate clearly to others WHY you wanted to read it. This just doesn't. In Combat Codes, Darwin has told me in fairly workmanlike terms about an activity I already know well, and has put it in a frankly cliched sci-fi setting.

The problem is, fundamentally, Darwin is trying to mesh together two things that just do not fit - realistic fight scenes, and a book centred on fighting. You can take two main approaches. If you're going to write a book about fights with plot shoehorned in, the fights have to be inspiring, they have to be jaw-dropping. You need to have the fights be a spectacle in and of themselves. If you're going to have realistic fight scenes, they need to serve a purpose beyond the fight itself, because actual fighting is often incredibly boring, especially in text form.

In movie terms, you can have Kickboxer or any other classic kung fu movie, where people do backflips and jumping split spin kicks and focus their chi to deliver death blows, and everyone is there to watch JCVD spin kick a man's head off...or you can have Warrior, where people grapple and punch and grit things out, all in service of a bigger story about fathers and sons, economic hardship, pride and pain. Nobody wants to see Bruce Lee carefully jab someone in the face 200 times to a lopsided decision victory, and nobody needs to see Tom Hardy backflip flaming punch someone's heart out, because seeing him refuse to tap to his brother and finally forgive the years of emotional pain doesn't need the sugar on top.

Darwin wants to write the former. He wants to write a book about fighting, in a world with gladiatorial one-on-one fights, where fighting is a sport and war and a business and everything. Unfortunately, he is also a martial artist, and knows how fights actually work, and he wants to inject that knowledge into the world he's created. He does so; he describes the strikes and grapples as exactly what they are, and honestly he does that very well indeed. I understand exactly what's happening, and can map that all to experience. Unfortunately, strikes and grapples, without seeing them live in front of you, with the blood and sweat and energy...are very fucking boring things indeed. What he's therefore created, to me, is a world full of very boring, realistic violence, described in fairly dull, dry terms.

The academy/accumulation style story is one I like a lot, but Darwin's specific style just made it impossible for me to get through the book properly. The violence feels clean and neat, even when it's supposed to be brutal and horrifying. People get beaten to death and it feels like the narrative barely notices, there's that little impact on the reader.

Maybe part of it is because I am quite familiar with, and accustomed to, martial arts and fighting. I know how punches and kicks and chokes work, so I don't need them explained to me in the very pedestrian terms Darwin seems to prefer. Maybe this book sounds better if you don't have any fighting experience, I can't say.

What I can say is that I did not want to keep reading. I pushed myself to do so, and credit where it's due, the book finishes better than it starts. Unfortunately, the narrative never really rises far enough to overcome the core problems, and late-stage efforts to add some intrigue fail to land properly due to a deficit of emotional investment thanks to the weak start. Standard-issue first-book cliffhanger is fine, but it feels mild and amateurish, doesn't hook me properly.

NOTE: I read the two sequels, to make sure I wasn't being unfair in my review. I'm not. The same problems from this review plague the other novels separately AND the series as a whole.

TL;DR: Dry, technical descriptions of violence need a compelling world or interesting protagonist to avoid being boring, and Combat Codes has neither. A paint-by-numbers sci-fi story with too much of its identity wrapped up in accurate fight scenes fails to enthrall, horrify or particularly entertain. Would not recommend.

telamcgrupp's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this in two nights during downtime at work. That is how good it was for me, I couldn't stop picking this back up between doing my job and not even after getting home at 6am from my 12 hour shift - I had to know more, delve deeper into this world.

Who knew reading such detailed descriptions of Ju-Jitsu moves would be so incredibly thoughtful, immersive, and leave you wanting more fights? Not me, that's for sure. This Sci-Fi with touches of the fantastical and a whole lot of...dare I say...heart, pulled me in and didn't let go until the final pages. Set in a world with no more wars where those below you fight for you. "We fight so they don't have to" is a reoccurring theme and mantra of those they call the Grievars. Who is They? Why do the Grievars really fight? What is happening? Who is Cego, really? Why is Murray so invested? You find out, sort of. It leaves you wanting more, it makes you want to take a deep dive and find the truths beneath it all, into the psyche of those who built this world to be the way it is. The Combat Codes was an interesting experience, and that is all I can really call it - an experience. Different. Imaginative. Brutal. Progressive. Thoughtful. Exciting.

A wonderful 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 because I want to keep reading more from this author and keep learning about the other characters, their motivations, and the rest of the world.

chromatick's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars

This was an entertaining read, and quite well written for a self published novel.

You've seen a lot of this stuff before: Different casts, dystopian future, kids training together, etc. There were parts of this book that felt like the Hunger Games, parts that felt like Harry Potter (complete with a Hermione character), and parts that felt like Red Rising.

Where this book offers it's unique hook is that it's all centered around MMA. Society has reached a point where no one fights wars anymore. Everything is decided by one v one MMA style fighting inside special rings. That part was pretty cool.

There weren't a ton of surprises in this one, but I enjoyed my time with the book and it went by quickly. I'll be checking out the other two books in the trilogy to see how it all ends.

ryan_reads_fantasy's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a really solid debut novel, I had a great time reading this book. A dark and gritty underdog story that does not shy away from the gruesome training of a Grievar or the dismal Underground rings. The characters were really great to read; seeing how their relationships and dynamics changed throughout the course of the book, and how different events would catalyze those shifts. I’m really interested in seeing where this story goes in the next edition of the Combat Codes saga!