Play Book Tag discussion

"Greetings from the dead," declares Maxwell Broadbent on the videotape he left behind after his mysterious disappearance. A notorious treasure hunter and tomb robber, Broadbent accumulated over a half a billion dollars' worth of priceless art, gems, and artifacts before vanishing, along with his entire collection.

At first, robbery is suspected, but the truth proves far stranger. As a final challenge to his three sons, Broadbent has buried himself and his treasure somewhere in the world, hidden away like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. If the sons wish to claim their extensive inheritance, they must find their father's carefully concealed tomb.

Individually, they embark in a journey to the ancient Mayan world that will take them into the jungles of Central America. The race is on between the three bothers and the greedy pharmaceutical companies that will stop at nothing to get the Mayan Codex that contains a botanical list and all the medicinal properties of every plant on it.

"The Codex" is the epitome of a beach read/airport novel. It's a rollicking adventure in a rain forest. Except for Don Alfonso, the characters were cardboard cut outs with little to no growth over the course of the novel.

Despite all of that, I really enjoyed this novel. The book was fast-paced and made for a quick, easy read. It was pure Hollywood entertainment and over the top. It wasn't great literature, but it was amusing and fit my mood.