Official Review: Code: Revelation by Boris Sanders

[Nhien Vu]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Code: Revelation" by Boris Sanders.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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What would you do if one day, a beautiful phantom appeared out of thin air and promised to solve your problem, whether it’s a bullying boss, a financial difficulty, or a hopeless crush? Would you agree to take up the offer without even knowing about the cost?

Code: Revelation is the first installment of The Emporion Chronicles. In a distant future, Maximilian Gutenberg is a run-of-the-mill engineer working for Hydra’s Energy Department. The bane of his existence is his arrogant boss, who piles his workload on Max’s shoulders every day. Yet, his fortune soon changes. While in search of a unique gift for his girlfriend on their anniversary, he stumbles upon a marble box containing a piece of shard which turns out to be the host of Lucy, a mysterious purple-eyed girl. She offers him a lucrative deal: she’s going to help him get rid of his boss and grant him a well-deserved promotion as long as he complies with her insane plans. Max is doubtful about her motive; according to her, she has a private mission. What’s in this for Lucy, and what is the mission she’s so tight-lipped about? Will he rise to the occasion despite the obscure risks?

First and foremost, the novel has excellent world-building, from the city’s multi-level design, the Vertical Train, to the “Tartarus Pit.” In this futuristic world, food is synthesized, walls are holograms, restaurants where all waiters are humans are extraordinarily rare. In a time when cars fly above our heads, Max sometimes muses that he can’t understand how pedestrians and cars used to travel on the same road despite the high chance of traffic accidents. The setting is fascinating and inspiring, yet it simply acts as a complementary background, not as a focal point or to elicit technophobia, which I appreciate a lot.

What’s so laughable is that in such an advanced future, the human race remains the same, driven by impulsive emotions and egos. It’s interesting to see the initial differences between the human characters and Lucy. Both Max and his girlfriend still possess flaws and narrow, subjective perspectives. On the other hand, Lucy, an otherworldly entity, somehow plays the role of the amoral onlooker. This takes a turn when the budding friendship with Max gradually helps Lucy gain a more humanist worldview. I like that Boris Sanders gives everyone decent and three-dimensional characterization, yet each of them still represents a specific approach to life and fulfillment.

Max’s quest involves many tricky plans, and each one is fluently executed. The author provides reasonable and logical explanations for complex plot points. His writing style is straightforward, making the book fast-paced and coherent. Overall, the novel is engaging and entertaining. However, it lacks two ingredients to become a truly magnificent work: finesse and daring.

I enjoy the novel’s characterization, but I can hardly say that I admire Max. While he has his shining moments once in a while, he is an everyman subtly trying to paint himself as a moral hero but never quite succeeds in doing so. He also lacks an overarching agency to make his arc compelling. This poses the uneasy question: What makes him worthy of the story’s spotlight? If the answer is because the villain is a comparatively worse person, Max is a failure of a protagonist. On the other hand, the villain’s sharpness and ruthless ambition initially act as a perfect foil for the ordinary Max, but unfortunately, he later veers onto a more comically evil route.

While Max’s plans make sense on a grand scale, there are some minor steps which are simplified for convenience’s sake. The story has an intriguing premise, and the author certainly delivers some share of his promise. However, if he had added more mysteries and ambiguity, introduced more twists and turns to raise the stakes, and fully explored the ethical dilemmas, the book would have reached its true potential to be a more complex and less forgettable work. It is also not professionally edited since it has many careless punctuation mistakes.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Honestly, I would give it a 2.5 if I could. As I said, Code: Revelation is an exciting novel, but the lack of fine-tuning and the poor editing job make it fall short. Nonetheless, it is highly recommended to fans of sci-fi and futuristic stories and those who enjoy a technological thriller. People who like character-driven novels may not be so satisfied.

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Code: Revelation
View: on Bookshelves | [amazon=B07L3TPH43:]on Amazon[/amazon:]

Like SpencerVo's review? Post a comment saying so!

[randompersonavility]

This looks like a good sci-fi book, too bad the protaganist, Max isn't painted well.

[Nhien Vu]

This looks like a good sci-fi book, too bad the protaganist, Max isn't painted well.

The book definitely has the potential to be remarkable; too bad it falls short a little bit. Thank you for stopping by my review!

[gen_g]

This sounds like a great read, but it's a pity about the lack of development and punctuation errors. Still, it seems like an editor will do much to polish it into something much better. Thanks for the review!

[kandscreeley]

It's too bad about the editing, but I'm intrigued by the concept anyway. It's one that I might skim through. I find myself wondering what I would do in Max's position. Since I'm not exactly thrilled with my job right now, it's an interesting thought.

[Rose Harebate]

The fact that this book is fast-paced, engaging and entertaining, is enough to give it a chance. Thanks for a nice review.

[Kristin Ransome]

This book sounds super interesting! I like how the protagonist has an air of evil about him, and his motivations are not pure like in many sci-fi books. Thanks for your review