shadowofadoubt89's review
5.0
Maybe not quiet a second good as the first one but still really good and an interesting take on magic and books. The characters continue to get better and become more compelling.
ulrikedg's review
4.0
I had a really hard time getting into Codex Born, which surprised me because I thoroughly enjoyed Libriomancer. The dual perspectives thing was just threw me off at the beginning of every single chapter. It took me a couple of weeks to slog through the first third. I finally just gave in and read all of the Lena perspective stuff straight through (this does NOT spoil the book in any way), and then I was able to skip those excerpts and read the main Isaac-perspective plot straight through. I finished the remaining 2/3 within a day or two!
Good story. Great characters. The format didn't work for me. If it doesn't work for you, try reading the italicized chapter intros first, then the rest of the book.
Good story. Great characters. The format didn't work for me. If it doesn't work for you, try reading the italicized chapter intros first, then the rest of the book.
alliebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Not nearly as good as the first one. Still interesting to see what the characters are up to, but not as fun.
kblincoln's review
4.0
No matter what the star-designation, this is the kind of fantasy I wished I had read when I was an impressionable elementary school student instead of the all that Piers Anthony.
Don't get me wrong. Piers Anthony books are fun. But Hines created an incredibly deliciously fun concept of magic based around books in Libriomancer, and here in Codex Born he continues that fun.
And on top of that, his women are of varying physical types, not treated solely as sex objects (despite having one of the main characters, Lena, be created solely for that purpose) and celebrates the beauty of diversity.
Here's the money shot, after Lena's POV takes us through various lovers she's had, talking about their unique characteristics:
"The more we narrow the definition of beauty, the more beauty we shut out of our lives."
Kudos to him just for that. The icing on this urban fantasy cookie, though, is the mayhem (even Harry Dresden would approve) this book takes you through as mechanical bugs, were-wendigos, giant flaming spider, various weapons from fantasy/sci fi books, and Lena-the-spear-stabbing-and-then-make-spear-grow-through-your-foot dryad creates as they battle both a grief-crazed father and the ghost army his plans unwittingly unleash.
Also a bit sparse in male-character oriented urban fantasy, Isaac truly mourns the collateral damage that occurs when his little U.P. Michigan town is attacked, making the "urban" in urban fantasy feel a bit more like the real world.
I gave Libromancer 5 stars, and this one only 4. Why? Because I felt the middle of this book got a little too cluttered with hypothesizing about different plans the villains had and running around here and there. I also am having a hard time with the gargantuan task Hines has set himself with allowing magic to take things out of books. He has some great rules in place (some books are locked, you have to have read the book, you can't use magic too much,etc) but in every fight scene I found myself asking "why don't they just use X from X story to fight?"
Still, as I said above, for fun, frolic, and mayhem with the kind of portrayal of women and beauty I can get behind, this is the fantasy book for you.
Also if you like Princess Bride and Pratchett references :)
This Book's Snack Rating: Cheddar Kettle Chips for the creamy-smooth loveliness of the characters with fun crunch of magic mayhem
Don't get me wrong. Piers Anthony books are fun. But Hines created an incredibly deliciously fun concept of magic based around books in Libriomancer, and here in Codex Born he continues that fun.
And on top of that, his women are of varying physical types, not treated solely as sex objects (despite having one of the main characters, Lena, be created solely for that purpose) and celebrates the beauty of diversity.
Here's the money shot, after Lena's POV takes us through various lovers she's had, talking about their unique characteristics:
"The more we narrow the definition of beauty, the more beauty we shut out of our lives."
Kudos to him just for that. The icing on this urban fantasy cookie, though, is the mayhem (even Harry Dresden would approve) this book takes you through as mechanical bugs, were-wendigos, giant flaming spider, various weapons from fantasy/sci fi books, and Lena-the-spear-stabbing-and-then-make-spear-grow-through-your-foot dryad creates as they battle both a grief-crazed father and the ghost army his plans unwittingly unleash.
Also a bit sparse in male-character oriented urban fantasy, Isaac truly mourns the collateral damage that occurs when his little U.P. Michigan town is attacked, making the "urban" in urban fantasy feel a bit more like the real world.
I gave Libromancer 5 stars, and this one only 4. Why? Because I felt the middle of this book got a little too cluttered with hypothesizing about different plans the villains had and running around here and there. I also am having a hard time with the gargantuan task Hines has set himself with allowing magic to take things out of books. He has some great rules in place (some books are locked, you have to have read the book, you can't use magic too much,etc) but in every fight scene I found myself asking "why don't they just use X from X story to fight?"
Still, as I said above, for fun, frolic, and mayhem with the kind of portrayal of women and beauty I can get behind, this is the fantasy book for you.
Also if you like Princess Bride and Pratchett references :)
This Book's Snack Rating: Cheddar Kettle Chips for the creamy-smooth loveliness of the characters with fun crunch of magic mayhem
jonmhansen's review
5.0
"What happens if one person reads the same book thousands of times?"
"I imagine they'd get extremely bored."
"Depends on the book. Remind me to give you a copy of Good Omens when we get home."
"I imagine they'd get extremely bored."
"Depends on the book. Remind me to give you a copy of Good Omens when we get home."
iffer's review
3.0
While still a fun and entertaining read with quirky jokes, I didn't enjoy Codex Born as much as the first volume of this series. For whatever reason, I wasn't as engaged in the story. I also didn't enjoy how every chapter of the book started with the thoughts of Lena, the main character's dryad girlfriend. While I like the character of Lena, and I enjoyed learning more about her background and feelings, mediocre genre fiction writing, while great for a fun adventure fantasy, isn't the best choice when trying to portray a complex female character, especially when the author is male and there's a decent amount of fan service (bad love scenes and girl-girl), albeit tongue-in-cheek/self-deprecating fan service.
P.S. I don't want to be mean to the cover artists of these books, but I really dislike them. They scream Terrible Fantasy Genre Book. This one is particularly bad because the girl on the cover is supposed to be a short overweight girl of (South) Indian appearance and coloring...guess that wouldn't sell as many books since it doesn't fit the currently socially-coveted ideal of beauty.
P.S. I don't want to be mean to the cover artists of these books, but I really dislike them. They scream Terrible Fantasy Genre Book. This one is particularly bad because the girl on the cover is supposed to be a short overweight girl of (South) Indian appearance and coloring...guess that wouldn't sell as many books since it doesn't fit the currently socially-coveted ideal of beauty.
fitzyfitz88's review
4.0
This follow up didn't sink its hooks into me nearly as much as it's predecessor. It is probably due more to my knowledge of what to expect than anything. With that being said, this is by no means a boring book, and it's full of geeky fun that book nerds will delight in.
Hines does a great job at keeping the book moving along at a fast pace, so fast that I finished it in 4 days. I will say that the main threat didn't bring a lot of the weight to the drama for me. It was a cool idea, but I didn't feel much danger when they were on the page. Personal opinion, of course, and I am sure some people will disagree.
Other than that the writing is solid. Honestly, if you're looking for a fun, quick read that will make you laugh out loud, and squeal with delight with its sheer number of geek references, you won't find anything better.
Hines does a great job at keeping the book moving along at a fast pace, so fast that I finished it in 4 days. I will say that the main threat didn't bring a lot of the weight to the drama for me. It was a cool idea, but I didn't feel much danger when they were on the page. Personal opinion, of course, and I am sure some people will disagree.
Other than that the writing is solid. Honestly, if you're looking for a fun, quick read that will make you laugh out loud, and squeal with delight with its sheer number of geek references, you won't find anything better.
cwgk85's review against another edition
2.0
Not as good as the first book. Parts of it felt too much like fan service for my liking and the ending seemed a bit too deus ex machina-ish.