--- product_id: 6929755 title: "Codex: A Novel" brand: "lev grossman" price: "£11.37" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/6929755-codex-a-novel store_origin: GB region: Great Britain --- # Codex: A Novel **Brand:** lev grossman **Price:** £11.37 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Codex: A Novel by lev grossman - **How much does it cost?** £11.37 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/6929755-codex-a-novel) ## Best For - lev grossman enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted lev grossman brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Codex: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81zpYcYSiUL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars Almost mystical tale of bibliolatry *by P***A on Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2018* Lev Grossman’s “Codex” is a tale of a young investment banker drawn into a world of medieval scholarship, British nobility, and international skulduggery.Somewhere admidst an English nobleman’s private library, crated and shipped to the United States for its protection at the advent of the Second World War, may and may not be a hand-scribed book written by one Gervase of Langford in the Fourteenth Century. Now, a generation later, the Duchess wants the codex found. The Duke wants it permanently lost. And a scholar of medieval literature says it never existed in the first place.The young banker, about to be transferred to the London office of his firm from New York, is dropped into the middle.[Meanwhile, he’s invited by friends to play a strange computer game, one which sucks him in ever deeper while making strange connections with his current life.]Lev Grossman has done something strange in the world of this sort of fiction— he has abandoned some of the common tropes, about normal people whose lives are touched by adventure being always able to rise to the occasion, or that their lives, once touched by something so far beyond the scope of the every day, will never be the same.[Spoiler Alert] In Codex, “good guys” can betray the protagonist, the “bad guys” can win in the end, and the life of the protagonist can end up essentially unchanged.While I preferred the “Magicians” trilogy, this is an excellent read, and I’m headed back to Amazon to find out what else Mr. Grossman has written.Recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars Subtle and engaging, but don't expect a traditional ending *by Q***Q on Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2009* I was drawn into this book by the strength of the writing itself: subtle descriptions and subtler echoes between memories, books, events, and the computer game in the story. What kept me interested was the opening of interlocked mysteries and unexpected twists. The central character, Edward, earned my sympathy and my interest and somehow avoided being contemptible despite being painfully passive much of the time, willing to be moved around by most of the other characters in the book, unwilling to take a stand. Yet what I want from these kinds of characters is to see what it means to come out of that passivity, to understand who you are and assert it even if it means things will get much harder for you--the kind of thing I got out of the movie  American Beauty (Widescreen Edition) , or Wally Lamb's book  She's Come Undone . But that's not where author Lev Grossman is coming from, and it's not that kind of book. In a different way, though, it has an exceptional resonance and harmony among all of the elements: Edward's life, the story in the Codex, the game ... they all echo and in some ways contradict each other in delicately-constructed, illuminating, and beautiful ways.Some of the other reviews I've read have been extremely harsh, even making crazy accusations against the author himself. My guess is that these come from people who were enchanted by many of the same elements I found enchanting, but who couldn't reconcile themselves to where Grossman then took them. For some readers, I think this book is wildly disappointing, and if you require pat resolutions and a hero who wins out at all costs, you may be one of them. For readers who are willing to be taken on the ride for its own sake, to disagree with the protagonist and even the world of the story while still being nourished by it, this is a strong book indeed. ### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Editing? Some Spoilers . . . *by D***N on Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2004* I can only think that when author Grossman finished his novel "Codex" and delivered it to his publisher, his publisher called in the editors and a larger, more cohesive novel was whittled down to blockbuster sales size. Yes, I am being kind, but I think that there is definite potential in this fairly short read that revolves around a young career-in doubt investment banker turned private librarian with an after-hours penchant for role-playing computer games. Yet the pages within the pressed board simply leaves out too much information to make the book work in a satisfying way on as many levels as Grossman might have intended.Unfortunately, for the reader, Grossman starts off shakily, asking the unaskable: suspend belief on common sense without any preparation---at least give us a "Once Upon a Time". He isn't really clear about why Edward is lured into the geek world of role-playing when he is scheduled to begin a new and improved level of employment at his firm's London office within weeks. Neither are we told why he decides to roll up his sleeves and begin unwrapping the private book collection of the fabulously wealthy Duke and Duchess instead of just getting on with his 2 week vacation. Grossman does such an enthusiastically entertaining job of characterizing the assortment of counterculture computer nerds who gather around empty pizza boxes and diet Coke cans that I get the sense that the same detail was or should have been afforded to the rest of the narrative. Perhaps in the unedited version of "Codex", Edward's life better parallels the mysterious codex or medieval novel that he is told to find and the sense of time-wasted within the cyberworld better alludes to the sense of redundancy in the land of Cimmeria and the waffling Edward does with his own life goals. If only the reader had been allowed to soak in that dreamy quality and become as addicted to Edward's further discoveries inside and outside reality as Edward is to his gameplaying inside and outside his own reality.Grossman has his moments: the discovery of the actual codex parallels nicely with Edward's growing awareness of the powers-that-be who control the MOMUS game. His characters don't ponder to death the obvious like they do in many of the other popular "let's find the hidden message in the ancient/medieval/Renaissance text" literary offerings of the last few years. Discoveries happen at a fairly believable rate which the reader hardly has time to figure out beforehand. Bravo on this aspect of the novel!The ending, however, left much to be desired. More detail may have made it more understandable. But I would have liked more of a connection paralleling the message secreted by the medieval author and Edward's life--not just its relation to the cyberworld of the game.Bottom line: "Codex" has potential, but it seems more an outline to a much bigger more complicated book that could have been a real cult classic rather than the muddled 300+ page literary thriller that it is marketed as. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/6929755-codex-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/6929755-codex-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Great Britain* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-04-24*