The Chaos Code

by Justin Richards Narrated by John Lee

Overview

Matt Stribling is stuck spending another holiday with his brilliant yet scatterbrained archaeologist father. When Matt arrives to find the place turned upside down and his father missing, he's not immediately worried. But a cryptic message and strange sandy footprints soon convince Matt that all is not right. With the help of some unusual family friends, Matt discovers that his father had been searching for an ancient code, one rumoured to have brought down the Mayans and maybe even the fabled civilization of Atlantis.

Now in the hands of a madman using high-tech computers to decipher it, the code is being readied for new and sinister uses. Matt and his friend Robin will traverse the globe, battling terrifying sand creatures and mercenaries alike, in their efforts to stop the chaos code from being fully reactivated-and dooming the modern world to a catastrophe not seen since the days of Atlantis.

Editorial Reviews

APR/MAY 08 - AudioFile

Working out clues to decipher the mysterious disappearance of his father, and to find an ancient treasure, Matt Stribling finds himself with many tough choices to make. John Lee characterizes young Matt nicely with an English lilt and various other European accents for the myriad of unusual characters Matt meets while trying to crack the Chaos Code. Good pacing and a clear tone allow the listener to jump into the fun and try to solve the high-tech mystery. John Lee steps up to the task of narrating in a convincing adolescent voice. Although many of the clues presented are simple enough to solve, Lee makes Matt's thoughts sound realistic, and the listener can easily suspend disbelief to enjoy the story. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

Let's Find Treasure," the catchphrase from Richards's (The Death Collector) mystery/thriller, seems emblematic of this novel's excited tone. Like Grimpow(reviewed above), this story, too, utilizes numerous conventions à la Dan Brown's TheDa Vinci Code-cryptic messages, coded clues, historical arcane societies, etc.-but here these feel somewhat derivative. The storyline revolves around 15-year-old Matt Stribling who, in search of his missing archeologist father, becomes entangled in a globe-hopping quest. The goal: to find an ancient treasure that, if unearthed by the wrong people, could potentially destroy the world. Initially, Stribling and two allies-millionaire Julius Venture and his precocious daughter Robin-set out to find the lost treasure of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, a legendary cache of scrolls and relics that supposedly holds the "knowledge held secret by the ancients." But as the search takes the group from the jungles of Brazil to a remote Scandinavian island, the scope of the mysterious "knowledge" expands to include the lost continent of Atlantis, elemental magic and quantum entanglement. The action never stops, but the glut of two-dimensional characters and more than a few highly implausible exploits (Matt figures out a computer's complex password after just a few tries) weaken the suspense. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)

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Kirkus Reviews

Matt Stribling is used to his divorced parents shuttling him back and forth on school vacations. But he'd rather be surfing the Internet at home than spending a dull holiday with his absent-minded archaeologist father, who didn't even remember to pick him up at the train station. Things don't stay dull for long, however, when he receives a coded message and realizes that he's being watched. Part of the message translates into "LTF"-a clue from his dad that means "Let's Find Treasure!" The pace picks up speed as the puzzle unravels, with clues that take Matt and his new friend Robin globe-hopping from England to Denmark to the rain forest of Brazil. But they're not the only ones looking for the treasure; this isn't a game, and the treasure isn't mere gold or jewels. Mixing the supernatural with an action-adventure theme, this is a race that will capture the reader's attention and keep them turning pages long after lights out. (Fiction. 12-15)

APR/ MAY 08 - AudioFile

Working out clues to decipher the mysterious disappearance of his father, and to find an ancient treasure, Matt Stribling finds himself with many tough choices to make. John Lee characterizes young Matt nicely with an English lilt and various other European accents for the myriad of unusual characters Matt meets while trying to crack the Chaos Code. Good pacing and a clear tone allow the listener to jump into the fun and try to solve the high-tech mystery. John Lee steps up to the task of narrating in a convincing adolescent voice. Although many of the clues presented are simple enough to solve, Lee makes Matt's thoughts sound realistic, and the listener can easily suspend disbelief to enjoy the story. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171877071
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/09/2007
Edition description:	Unabridged

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