The Search for Gram (Codex Regius)

Almost a year ago, this book popped up in my recommended stream and since I had started reading CKP stuff, I thought "why not?" and bought it and started reading. And I got about four chapters in and had a big case of "WTF, Over?" and put it down and moved on.Well a couple of months back I picked up "Janissaries", which happens to be three books before this one and discovered that I had stumbled into the middle of a involved saga.Once I read "Janissaries" and the following books, everything going on in *THIS* books made a whole lot more sense. And that allowed me to actually get into the story and start enjoying it.I'll tell you that this is one action packed series (with a capital ACTION, woof!) and goes into some very interesting ground. You do not get slammed with a lot of "message", but it does explore some interesting ideas about the makeup of the multiverse.So, if you are thinking of reading this one (and it is worth a read), do yourself a favor and start at the beginning with "Janissaries". There is another series that comes before this with some of the same primary characters, but the more challenging ideas are introduced in that book.

I happened to just finish reading another book when I saw that the Search for Gram was available, which I then purchased and immediately started devouring! Unlike other self published authors with numerous grammatical and spelling errors(usually the wrong word for the sentence (their,there,&c), Mr. Kennedy takes the time to have his work gone through which if you are like me is refreshing!The story itself, picks up from the end of the last series with both old and new characters. It diverges in that the back story of the main characters has already been established and is only lightly touched upon within the pages, so I highly recommend starting either with Invasion and Theogeny series to understand the how and why. With a request for help, the crew of the Vela Gulf are off and then Mr. Murphy rears his head and members lost from a strange new weapon. Old and...new planets are visited and some of the more minor aliens from the Theogeny are visited in depth. New enemies and allies are found before a more potential danger is revealed.The only criticism I can possibly give is the gods named. While from the correct pantheon, they are grouped slightly incorrectly but I chalked this up to how stories change over time, and in this case distance!Once again, I highly recommend starting either with Invasion and Theogeny series to understand the how and why.

This book started the second trilogy surrounding Earth's first space ship and the human team that seems to be in the middle of every major battle and campaign. It's the 6th book to star the main character, since the first 2 occur on Earth before he is offered the ship by aliens.And at this point the flaws in the plot were just barely noticeable. But Chris has some habits in his writing that were becoming rather clear.First, with the exception of the main character and his top sidekick, everyone is expendable. There are character who will be given 1-2 page buildups only to be killed a few pages later. And the deaths are glossed over as the battles become swirling word tornadoes that never settle down to offer a clear picture of the fight.The fact that this series can't decide if its about space marines who fight in boarding actions or about space ships engaging in epic missile and interceptor fights doesn't help. Nothing seems to receive a good focus.This wasn't a bad book. Honestly, none of the books in this series is bad, its more that I don't like the style and I was tired of the timeline which repeats from book to book in this series. There are always a few variants, but not enough to make any of these books stand out.

This book is act one of the next series of books featuring LCDR "Calvin" Hobbes, who returns from the Occupied Seattle and Theogony series. Like the author's other works he combines a fast paced story with well developed and now familiar characters, and very amusing banter to keep the reader interested and wanting more. One of the things I enjoy the most about these books are the juxtaposition of very realistic smack talk between the military characters in science fiction, willing suspension of disbelief required, situations. As a 20+ year service member it works for me. He captures the best elements of the recent Battlestar Galactica revival, compelling characters and a realistic military atmosphere, before the show started coming apart at the seams and playing to cliches. I HIGHLY recommend all of Mr. Kennedy's works, and this one is the best to date.As an aside, I normally start his books with a large fu-fu coffee from a local shop. I am still thrilled that the book at $3.99 is cheaper than the coffee and gives me 5+ hrs of reading pleasure, while the coffee lasts about 15 minutes.Push "Add to Cart" now.

The search for Gram (codex regius book1) takes off where the previous series left off. The book is full of the same action and intensity that was present in the previous series, and it's just as entertaining. The only problem I have with the latest book is the deeper delving into the fantasy realm which the previous series had touched on. It's purely personal opinion but it feels like now I am reading almost a pure fantasy novel rather than the previous series was more military/science fiction with a touch of fantasy. I felt much more immersed in the series when it was semi believable, and with the latest book the direction towards more fantasy has left me feeling out of touch with the characters and story because I've lost any sense of reality with the story line.

Loved the book, Chris is becoming a favorite of mine. I look forward to many more installments in the series

I have to ay that Chris Kennedy has taken me on a literary roller-coaster ride. As others have commented, his books are becoming more three dimensional, better narrative, better comic moments, totally believable characters. Mr Kennedy has a way with words that conjures ultra vivid landscapes and the way his motley crew of characters interacts with each other and the various interstellar environments within which they travel. To say that this book is entertaining is a complete understatement. The pace is perfect for me, the quirky names for the characters is perfect etc etc.The stand-out thing for me is that Chris Kennedy is a risk taker..........He isn't afraid of mixing genres or story lines. He quite happily and seamlessly threads together books that romp along but still force the reader to absolutely suspend their disbelief in the leaps that he takes.....especially between books..... I have to say that the whackier the stories may seemingly be, the more Kennedy's writing ability and style copes with it and harnesses the concepts and propositions perfectly.....Truly, truly this guy writes the most outstanding fun books and I can't understand why this story line has never been serialized for TV or made into a series of movies. n(Maybe budget).Wonderful.....& I implore the writer to resist the temptation to write any more story lines until this one has run its course. DEEPEST RESPECT!

Waste of money

Good start for the new trilogy interesting new characters good to catch up with old ones well written good military SF

good