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Codex Regius #1
The Search for Gram
Lieutenant Commander Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs has saved Seattle, traveled to the stars and forged new alliances with alien races. With the latest war concluded, he turned his attention to deciphering the strange rod an ancient alien civilization gave him as a test. Was a little “down time" to work on the project too much to hope for?
Yes.
Something or someone is destroying the starships of the alien Aesir race. The elven Aesir are in need of help, and all of the signs point to Calvin as the hero they need. He has already defeated the merciless Drakuls and saved Earth from alien invasion, but is he prepared to face this unknown challenge?
As the Theogony trilogy comes to a close, a new chapter for Calvin is set to begin. "The Search for Gram" initiates the "Codex Regius," a trilogy that will once again take Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. Not even the universe can hold him this time!
Yes.
Something or someone is destroying the starships of the alien Aesir race. The elven Aesir are in need of help, and all of the signs point to Calvin as the hero they need. He has already defeated the merciless Drakuls and saved Earth from alien invasion, but is he prepared to face this unknown challenge?
As the Theogony trilogy comes to a close, a new chapter for Calvin is set to begin. "The Search for Gram" initiates the "Codex Regius," a trilogy that will once again take Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. Not even the universe can hold him this time!
405 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2015
61 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Chris Kennedy
138 books163 followersA Webster Award winner and three-time Dragon Award finalist, Chris Kennedy is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and small-press publisher who has written over 50 books and published more than 400 others. Get his free book, “Shattered Crucible,” at his website, https://chriskennedypublishing.com.
Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”
Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.
Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”
Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 16, 2017
Summary:
First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. Heck, I cribbed this summary from the back and then I add my own twist! I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! This novel carries on after The Theogony Trilogy, and is the first novel in follow-on The Codex Regius Trilogy. Lieutenant Commander Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs has saved Seattle, traveled to the stars and forged new alliances with alien races. With the latest war concluded, he turned his attention to deciphering the strange rod an ancient alien civilization gave him as a test. Was a little “down time” to work on the project too much to hope for? Obviously, because what kind of boring work would that be?
Whelp, no rest for the wicked and something, or someone, is destroying starships from the alien Aesir race. The elven Aesir are in need of help, and all of the signs point to Calvin as the hero they need. He’s tired, sick of being the “hero” everyone seeks but just to stubborn to walk away and retire. Calvin has already defeated the merciless Drakuls and saved Earth from alien invasion, but is he prepared to face this unknown challenge?
As the Theogony trilogy comes to a close, a new chapter for Calvin is set to begin. “The Search for Gram” initiates the “Codex Regius,” a trilogy that will once again take Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. Not even the universe can hold him this time!
Characters:
In this novel, we get more in depth with Shawn Hobbs, with the other characters in the series given secondary status. As many of the original secondary characters die gruesome and bloody deaths, we meet new and interesting people for Chris Kennedy to kill. This novel didn’t lose any of the characters that were awesome in the previous books in this universe, except by natural attrition, nor did Chris Kennedy sacrifice what made Occupied Seattle Duology, The Theogony Trilogy, and now The Codex Regius awesome. Calvin Hobbs was a flushed out, three-dimensional character that I thought was a lot of fun. He’s so flushed out at this point, maybe we should advance him to four-dimensional! I still felt like I could relate to him as a person, and was someone I would want to hang out with. Seriously, this is my sixth book with Calvin and I still want to read more of his adventures! I’m sad to think that they’re only two books left. While we see most of the story through Hobb’s eyes, there was still plenty of red shirts and glorious death! The author, Chris Kennedy, calls them secondary characters but he kills so many of them off that they might as well be red shirts. Here’s a summary of the main character.
Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs: He is a fighter pilot for the US Navy who becomes an instant war herp/celebrity once he got shot down during the opening salvo of the Sino America War. He built on that as he led several successful ground assaults, aerial missions and various other death defying combat roles in the mission of the Republic of Terra. By now, the battles he was involved with during the Sino American War seem like child’s play. He’s fought the blood thirsty Drakul’s who want to eat him and managed not to get killed by flying snakes who wanted to sacrifice him to their gods. In the strange world he finds himself, he must adapt when old allies become enemies and enemies become allies.
Overall, I will give these characters 6 out of 5 Grenades and can’t wait to see where the author takes this character throughout this new series!
Plot:
Like most of the military fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel. The story is set in the post Drakul invasion world where the Republic of Terra barely survived becoming food for predatory aliens. Humanity is again confronted with the fact that most of Earth’s mythologies are actually tales of aliens who visited humanity in its infancy and those who witnessed it and left told the stories of these “gods” to their people. As the Terran Navy is returning to the Mworry home world part they’re again confronted by another alien who want the great “hero” Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs to assist them on a dangerous mission. Again, the premise for the series was interesting and the set-up was well executed. We watch the crew of the TSS Vella Gulf stumble into a mission they were unprepared for and the cost in lives is impressive. I would love to give some examples, but you should just buy the series and find out for yourself!
With my military background, I thought the way the military was portrayed was credible. Well, as much as we could say about futuristic tech! This book kept gave an even balance of the ground combat that I love reading about and added in equal parts spaceship porn. Loads of explosions, action and all kinds of gooey dead aliens. A few red shirts from the ranks of humanity get the ‘privilege’ to suffer glorious deaths for Terra. It was all excellently handled, with tactics that fit the world Chris created. I really loved the premise of this plot, and more importantly I enjoyed how he executed it. The pacing was excellent and there was never a slow moment. I couldn’t ask for anything more; excellent premise, perfect execution and wonderful pacing! I again give Chris 5 out of 5 Grenades!
World Building:
This is the first book in The Codex Regius Trilogy, and I’m still hooked on this universe! I’m thrilled to be back into this universe that I love so much. Like in the previous trilogy, this novel had a very flushed out world. It was consistent, made sense and sucked you in. I loved the way he handled inserting new aliens into the world, and letting them become part of the larger world. I liked that these new species, planets and technology made sense and it didn’t feel like they were added just to have shiny things. Overall, the world building was well done and I was sold on the way it happened. It felt believable and the characters fit within the universe Chris created. It was a fun ride, that made me wanna suit up… which is the goal of action/adventure authors! I wouldn’t mind the warrior package that the space marines get with their implants either, hear they take off a few pounds! I give the world building 6 out of 5 Grenades.
Description:
Like the previous book, this novel was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world. The only scenes that were confusing and difficult to envision were the color schemes in the alternate/parallel universe. I believe this was my color blindness getting in the way, so I’m giving that part a pass. Also, like the previous novels, he balanced the explanation of the various military minutia with the need to move a story along. This book didn’t have a single place where I couldn’t picture the scenery and the equipment, which added to world that felt tangible and I enjoyed it. Well, except for the previously mentioned color issue. The world he created evoked visceral emotions, heck I wanted to get my implants and join up again after this novel! As an author, Chris Kennedy was still lite on the details of what the various characters looked like but by now I just didn’t care. I wanted the action, the adventure and the PEW PEW! Overall, I give Chris 6 out of 5 grenades in this category because he definitely stepped up the PEW PEW!
Narration Quality:
Like the previous novels, this audiobook was excellently executed. The narrator, Craig Good, did an amazing job narrating this book. He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic, like a machine was reading the novel too me. Instead, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. This time the way Craig did the voices of the various characters had grown on me and kept me engaged throughout the periods I was listening to this book. He must be growing on me? And in case you notice that my review of his performance has been the same for his last five books, it’s because he provides a steady and consistent performance. Overall, I give him a 5 out of 5 grenades for his performance.
Overall:
I really loved this book, it made my drive home from my brother-in-law’s wedding very enjoyable and I was able to escape the multitude of bad drivers that littered the highways and die-ways. With this book, I listened to all but a few chapters, which is a testament to the quality of the audiobook. Heck, now I want to take a road trip just to have an excuse to listen to the next book! Like the previous trilogy, the covers in this one were amazingly invocative. The military culture shown in this book was spot on, even the ground combat. Such accurate portrayal of the tactics is rare, especially when coming from a sailor like Chris Kennedy. Seriously, the author weaponized the awesome power of the PEW PEW for this gripping start to The Codex Regius Trilogy! He wove the action in such a compelling way that you could almost forget that has become the standard for this awesome author! Basically, Chris had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel. This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!
First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel. Heck, I cribbed this summary from the back and then I add my own twist! I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing! This novel carries on after The Theogony Trilogy, and is the first novel in follow-on The Codex Regius Trilogy. Lieutenant Commander Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs has saved Seattle, traveled to the stars and forged new alliances with alien races. With the latest war concluded, he turned his attention to deciphering the strange rod an ancient alien civilization gave him as a test. Was a little “down time” to work on the project too much to hope for? Obviously, because what kind of boring work would that be?
Whelp, no rest for the wicked and something, or someone, is destroying starships from the alien Aesir race. The elven Aesir are in need of help, and all of the signs point to Calvin as the hero they need. He’s tired, sick of being the “hero” everyone seeks but just to stubborn to walk away and retire. Calvin has already defeated the merciless Drakuls and saved Earth from alien invasion, but is he prepared to face this unknown challenge?
As the Theogony trilogy comes to a close, a new chapter for Calvin is set to begin. “The Search for Gram” initiates the “Codex Regius,” a trilogy that will once again take Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and his Special Forces platoon to the stars. Not even the universe can hold him this time!
Characters:
In this novel, we get more in depth with Shawn Hobbs, with the other characters in the series given secondary status. As many of the original secondary characters die gruesome and bloody deaths, we meet new and interesting people for Chris Kennedy to kill. This novel didn’t lose any of the characters that were awesome in the previous books in this universe, except by natural attrition, nor did Chris Kennedy sacrifice what made Occupied Seattle Duology, The Theogony Trilogy, and now The Codex Regius awesome. Calvin Hobbs was a flushed out, three-dimensional character that I thought was a lot of fun. He’s so flushed out at this point, maybe we should advance him to four-dimensional! I still felt like I could relate to him as a person, and was someone I would want to hang out with. Seriously, this is my sixth book with Calvin and I still want to read more of his adventures! I’m sad to think that they’re only two books left. While we see most of the story through Hobb’s eyes, there was still plenty of red shirts and glorious death! The author, Chris Kennedy, calls them secondary characters but he kills so many of them off that they might as well be red shirts. Here’s a summary of the main character.
Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs: He is a fighter pilot for the US Navy who becomes an instant war herp/celebrity once he got shot down during the opening salvo of the Sino America War. He built on that as he led several successful ground assaults, aerial missions and various other death defying combat roles in the mission of the Republic of Terra. By now, the battles he was involved with during the Sino American War seem like child’s play. He’s fought the blood thirsty Drakul’s who want to eat him and managed not to get killed by flying snakes who wanted to sacrifice him to their gods. In the strange world he finds himself, he must adapt when old allies become enemies and enemies become allies.
Overall, I will give these characters 6 out of 5 Grenades and can’t wait to see where the author takes this character throughout this new series!
Plot:
Like most of the military fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel. The story is set in the post Drakul invasion world where the Republic of Terra barely survived becoming food for predatory aliens. Humanity is again confronted with the fact that most of Earth’s mythologies are actually tales of aliens who visited humanity in its infancy and those who witnessed it and left told the stories of these “gods” to their people. As the Terran Navy is returning to the Mworry home world part they’re again confronted by another alien who want the great “hero” Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs to assist them on a dangerous mission. Again, the premise for the series was interesting and the set-up was well executed. We watch the crew of the TSS Vella Gulf stumble into a mission they were unprepared for and the cost in lives is impressive. I would love to give some examples, but you should just buy the series and find out for yourself!
With my military background, I thought the way the military was portrayed was credible. Well, as much as we could say about futuristic tech! This book kept gave an even balance of the ground combat that I love reading about and added in equal parts spaceship porn. Loads of explosions, action and all kinds of gooey dead aliens. A few red shirts from the ranks of humanity get the ‘privilege’ to suffer glorious deaths for Terra. It was all excellently handled, with tactics that fit the world Chris created. I really loved the premise of this plot, and more importantly I enjoyed how he executed it. The pacing was excellent and there was never a slow moment. I couldn’t ask for anything more; excellent premise, perfect execution and wonderful pacing! I again give Chris 5 out of 5 Grenades!
World Building:
This is the first book in The Codex Regius Trilogy, and I’m still hooked on this universe! I’m thrilled to be back into this universe that I love so much. Like in the previous trilogy, this novel had a very flushed out world. It was consistent, made sense and sucked you in. I loved the way he handled inserting new aliens into the world, and letting them become part of the larger world. I liked that these new species, planets and technology made sense and it didn’t feel like they were added just to have shiny things. Overall, the world building was well done and I was sold on the way it happened. It felt believable and the characters fit within the universe Chris created. It was a fun ride, that made me wanna suit up… which is the goal of action/adventure authors! I wouldn’t mind the warrior package that the space marines get with their implants either, hear they take off a few pounds! I give the world building 6 out of 5 Grenades.
Description:
Like the previous book, this novel was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world. The only scenes that were confusing and difficult to envision were the color schemes in the alternate/parallel universe. I believe this was my color blindness getting in the way, so I’m giving that part a pass. Also, like the previous novels, he balanced the explanation of the various military minutia with the need to move a story along. This book didn’t have a single place where I couldn’t picture the scenery and the equipment, which added to world that felt tangible and I enjoyed it. Well, except for the previously mentioned color issue. The world he created evoked visceral emotions, heck I wanted to get my implants and join up again after this novel! As an author, Chris Kennedy was still lite on the details of what the various characters looked like but by now I just didn’t care. I wanted the action, the adventure and the PEW PEW! Overall, I give Chris 6 out of 5 grenades in this category because he definitely stepped up the PEW PEW!
Narration Quality:
Like the previous novels, this audiobook was excellently executed. The narrator, Craig Good, did an amazing job narrating this book. He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic, like a machine was reading the novel too me. Instead, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. This time the way Craig did the voices of the various characters had grown on me and kept me engaged throughout the periods I was listening to this book. He must be growing on me? And in case you notice that my review of his performance has been the same for his last five books, it’s because he provides a steady and consistent performance. Overall, I give him a 5 out of 5 grenades for his performance.
Overall:
I really loved this book, it made my drive home from my brother-in-law’s wedding very enjoyable and I was able to escape the multitude of bad drivers that littered the highways and die-ways. With this book, I listened to all but a few chapters, which is a testament to the quality of the audiobook. Heck, now I want to take a road trip just to have an excuse to listen to the next book! Like the previous trilogy, the covers in this one were amazingly invocative. The military culture shown in this book was spot on, even the ground combat. Such accurate portrayal of the tactics is rare, especially when coming from a sailor like Chris Kennedy. Seriously, the author weaponized the awesome power of the PEW PEW for this gripping start to The Codex Regius Trilogy! He wove the action in such a compelling way that you could almost forget that has become the standard for this awesome author! Basically, Chris had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel. This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again. Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel! But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!
July 6, 2020
Still astonished how bad terrians are at making war. It's pretty much a forgone conclusion at this point that they will always lose about 75% of their forces, and of those 25% that live, more than 50% will be severely disabled or injured, thus making them combat incapable. Every ship they use will always need months of repairs (not to mention restaffing). They're simply bad at any combat and constantly fuck up beyond belief. Humans reproduce so slowly, the entire race is going to be extinct within 100 years just from the losses they suffer. This is going to be a really really short series.
March 28, 2020
Any scifi fan should be glad to have this book on their read shelf. Aliens, space ships, space battles, universe hopping, future tech, and more. What else could you want in a well written scifi military adventure? Good stuff here folks, highly recommended. I'm off to read the second in the series now.
January 22, 2022
Good story
But so convoluted! They need to do this, but first they have to do four impossible things, losing good men and women along the way. Are they the " red shirts " of this story? Exciting yarn, plan to read the next one.
But so convoluted! They need to do this, but first they have to do four impossible things, losing good men and women along the way. Are they the " red shirts " of this story? Exciting yarn, plan to read the next one.
February 9, 2017
New Novel and Series in Same Great Universe
Chris Kennedy continues to relate fantastic adventure/exploration tales from his universe. Readers continue to follow the adventures of "Calvin" Hobbes...who may or may not be a reincarnation of Zeus, depending on whose story is to be believed.
New allies, enemies and technology are discovered...including technology that allows different races to travel between adjacent universes. This may be a means to once again exterminate the giant vampire frogs, whose threat to the human race started us on this adventure. (Three books back)
BOTH THE NOVEL AND THE TWO TRILOGIES ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Chris Kennedy continues to relate fantastic adventure/exploration tales from his universe. Readers continue to follow the adventures of "Calvin" Hobbes...who may or may not be a reincarnation of Zeus, depending on whose story is to be believed.
New allies, enemies and technology are discovered...including technology that allows different races to travel between adjacent universes. This may be a means to once again exterminate the giant vampire frogs, whose threat to the human race started us on this adventure. (Three books back)
BOTH THE NOVEL AND THE TWO TRILOGIES ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
April 2, 2016
wow, it is always thrilling to read one of Chris's books as they are full of action, it is amazing anyone wants to serve under him as he must have the highest causality rate in the Terran Military
I am looking forward to getting the next book and see what happens next
I am looking forward to getting the next book and see what happens next
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews