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The Daniel Codex #1

The Artifact Enigma

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CIA agent Daniel Winters is on a mission to keep two worlds safe; he just needs to bring a guy back from the dead first.

To most, Daniel is the charming owner of an oddities shop he inherited from his grandfather.

But looks are deceiving.

Charged with keeping the worlds safe—from magicals and humans alike—Daniel leads a double life, leaving no room for anything—or anyone—else.

When a relatively straight-forward mission takes a turn, it plunges him into a dangerous new world where no one can be trusted.

He must live a lie within a lie while he works from the shadows to keep the worlds safe from a deadly new threat.

Everyone has their limits.

Will Daniel survive being pushed past his?

James Bond meets Harry Dresden in this action-packed paranormal thriller that’ll keep you guessing until the last page.

Don’t miss out! Click the Buy Now button to get it today!


350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2018

377 people are currently reading
211 people want to read

About the author

Judith Berens

78 books198 followers
Judith Berens is a figment of your imagination, made up of the fevered brainpower of Michael Anderle and Martha Carr, fueled by a lot of people helping them out - as well as all of you, The Fans. Great stories mixed with a lot of great readers equals more adventures to follow.

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5 stars
235 (53%)
4 stars
131 (29%)
3 stars
55 (12%)
2 stars
12 (2%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Veronica.
1,012 reviews5 followers
November 2, 2018
Fresh, new characters!

I’m in love with a new lead character. The double life adds an interesting angle, and the clues being scattered are fascinating. I think I have a good idea where this is heading, but will have to wait and see. Judith has masterfully scattered clues and tidbits, without revealing what they will lead to. We are in suspense along with Daniel, waiting to discover the truth.

A grumpy old man, a salty old man, a naive young woman, and some interesting Oricerans all add to the different feel of Daniel’s world.

Soooo.... How long until the next book is released?
Profile Image for Bonnie Dale Keck.
4,677 reviews58 followers
November 28, 2018
kindle unlimited, can tell that amazon finally got around to messing with goodreads' programming because now it's CRAP too not wanting to take reviews even after refresing etcetera. The blurbs, for all 3 books read so far, actually don't make any sense when reading the actual books, still no idea why Michael Anderle's name down as one of the writers after Judith Berens/Martha Carr unless, supposedly, supposed to link with Brownstone at some point but seeing as how that series is barely dribbling out & has already had 2 or 3 major spoilers because of Alison ones which are mixed in and way out of sync/order with Leira, Brownstone, Shay, Alison ones yet also supposedly connected to Midwestern Witch ones {couldn't really tell, the time differences on some of these are way different} beyond confusing and almost beyond comprehension. Claims this is mix of James Bond with Harry Dresden; is NOT, is very much NOT. Do NOT appreciate the quantity over quality to date, makes no difference how fast can get story out when story ends up confusing and crappy and nonsensical.

CIA agent Daniel Winters is on a mission to keep two worlds safe; he just needs to bring a guy back from the dead first.

To most, Daniel is the charming owner of an oddities shop he inherited from his grandfather. But looks are deceiving.Charged with keeping the worlds safe—from magicals and humans alike—Daniel leads a double life, leaving no room for anything—or anyone—else. When a relatively straight-forward mission takes a turn, it plunges him into a dangerous new world where no one can be trusted. He must live a lie within a lie while he works from the shadows to keep the worlds safe from a deadly new threat. Everyone has their limits. Will Daniel survive being pushed past his?

James Bond meets Harry Dresden in this action-packed paranormal thriller that’ll keep you guessing until the last page.


The Daniel Codex Series {Urban Fantasy Action Adventure series
The Artifact Enigma 1
Artifact Of The Sky Gods 2
Artifact Of The True Patriot 3

just by Anderle {but goes with I Fear No Evil books by him and Carr AND The School of Neccessary Magic AND Leira Chronicles AND Daniel Codex}
An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone series
Feared By Hell #1
Rejected By Heaven #2
Eye For An Eye #3
Bring The Pain #4
She Is The Widow Maker #5
When Angels Cry #6
The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Omnibus One (Books 1-6
Fight Fire with Fire #7
Hail To The King #8
Alison Brownstone #9
One Bad Decision #10
Fatal Mistake #11
Karma Is A Bitch #12

I Fear No Evil series
Kill The Willing #1
Bury The Past, But Shoot It First #2
Reload Faster #3
Dead In Plain Sight #4
Tomb Raiding PHD #5
Tomb Raider Emeritus #6

An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The School Of Necessary Magic)
Dark Is Her Nature 1
Bright Is Her Sight 2
Wary Is Her Love 3
Strong Is Her Hope 4
Wicked Is Her Smile 5
Strange Is Her Life 6
Determined Is Her Path 7 DO NOT READ THIS ONE IF READING BROWNSTONE, between this series and Shay ones totally contradictory/out of order/sync MESS w/ this one SPOILERS
Epic Is Her Future 8 DEFINITELY DO NOT NOT NOT READ THIS ONE, SO FAR OUT OF ORDER EVEN SAYS SPOILERS

The Leira Chronicles -- The Revelations of Oriceran
Quest For Magic - Prequel to Waking Magic (0.5) {this one was later put in with book 1 copies as prelude type}
Waking Magic (1)
Release Of Magic (2)
Protection of Magic (3)
Rule of Magic (4)
Trick or Troll: The 2017 YTT Halloween Special (4.5)
Dealing in Magic (5)
Christmas at Estelle's: The 2017 YTT Christmas Special (#5.5)
Theft of Magic (6)
Enemies of Magic (7)
Guardians Of Magic (8)

Justice Served Cold: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Rewriting Justice, #1)
Vengeance Served Hot: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Rewriting Justice Book 2)
Bounty Hunter Inc: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Rewriting Justice Book 3)
Profile Image for Jen.
Author 8 books115 followers
November 16, 2018
I liked it

I read the other reviews and wasn’t especially impressed, but I gave this book a whirl. It was fine. I didn’t have any laugh out loud moments. I’m not especially emotionally involved with either the characters or the story, but that’s the weakness of the 3rd person omniscient point of view. The story was linear and easy to follow, there weren’t really any surprises, again the fault of the authors’ chosen POV. I liked the characters, but no one was especially endearing and that’s the fault of the main character who doesn’t interact with the world in a way that establishes emotional connections with others. I like the universe, it’s an interesting one, and probably the biggest draw of the book. I’m going to read the next in the series and maybe I’ll keep up with it as it publishes, but because I read a lot (10-15 books a week), unless it’s a memorable series, it may fall by the wayside.
I didn’t realize when I picked up the book that The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone was related by way of the same universe, and I may not have picked it up if I had known that because I didn’t make it far into the first book of that series before setting it aside because I wasn’t impressed with or sympathetic to the characters. There’s just not a lot of emotion in these books, which is why it’s getting 3 stars from me.
As far as the technical aspect of the writing, there’s only a few minor typos/grammatical errors. Nothing to get in a snit about and fewer than I’ve seen under major publishers at times. The story really would have benefitted from an editor that could have helped with making the main character and the other minor characters more attractive to the reader on an emotional level. As it stands now, I don’t even feel sorry for the guy about his parents. Even James Bond movies have scenes designed to draw in movie-goers and pull on heart-strings, or elicit lust, or anger or any real emotional reaction, because if you can’t connect to the characters, then you’re not going to connect to the story either. Action-adventure doesn’t mean you can’t have moments of pure human emotion; and I think the authors substituted those possible moments with internal monologue, which doesn’t really accomplish the goal.
Ok, I’m done monologuing myself. To sum up, it was good enough to read once, but not impressive enough to want to put yourself out there for book 2 unless you’ve got kindle unlimited.
Profile Image for Katy.
1,494 reviews10 followers
November 16, 2023
This book was totally different to what I'd expected - in a good way!

I really loved the plotline, and the characters were immediately believable, and enjoyable to get to know.

It feels a little like the Kurtherian Universe type of vibe, which I became addicted to when reading every one of the books within that Universe.

I really like Daniel. He's my idea of the perfect CIA Agent, who happens to have other, more secret, interests.

But, what I really like about him, is his willingness to put his life on the line, to keep his neighbourhood, his Country, and the Earth, plus Oriceran, as safe as possible.

His reaction to the gang trying to move in on his neighbourhood was so telling - and his love of dogs really came to the fore there, but all that he went through, where his main job with the CIA is concerned, showed just how far he's willing to go, and then how much he'll protect his neighbourhood, too, in order to defend and protect the innocent.

There were definitely some surprises here, and I'm really looking forward to reading book two: 'Artifact of the Sky Gods', to, hopefully, find out more details of both his missing parents, and the possibility of there being other 'Aliens' beyond those who come from Oriceran.

But, first, I need to catch up on my sleep, once again, as it's silly O'Clock in the morning, and my eyes are closing as I type, I'm so tired.

Once I've slept, I'll be back to read book two, then I'll catch you on the flip side, to let you know what I think of the second helping of this, so far, excellent series!
70 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2019
Another FANTASTIC series in the Oriceran universe!

I am reading through the timeline of the Oriceran series chronologically, and so my experience may be different from some other fans. Whatever... The point is, this series has gotten off to a great start. Great characters, excellent humor, plenty of page-turning suspense, AND... Now there's the CIA and ancient aliens (ok, the ancient aliens are not brand new, but quite recent, and definitely expanded upon with The Daniel Codex.
Bottom line is that I HIGHLY recommend this book and I am sure entire series. Give it a read. Or, so like I did, look up the Oriceran universe timeline on their site, start with the Leira Berens series, and get ready for a massive list of wonderful series that these authors, and some others along the way, have created. I am having a BLAST reading all of these fantastic books, and I bet a super-size bag of Cheetos (inside joke begun in Leira Berens series) that you will too. Get ready, and get reading folks!
3 reviews
November 11, 2018
Great Start to new series

Great start to new branch of Oricerean series! Just finished the School of Necessary Magic and The Lerira Chronicals, and started the next Leira series, several of the Mr. Brownstone books, and the 1st book about Shay. All the books drew me because it was vividly rendered, the characters live, breath, and captured me (particularly a troll named YTT).

What’s fun about this series is that it’s a different angle. I love the multi-layer storyline - spy within a spy + taking care of his neighborhood, merging magic and tech, the mystery of his parents, mysterious runes....there are so many threads to pull on I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Thank you Martha Carr and Michael Anderlae! You guys rock!
Profile Image for Trish R..
1,772 reviews58 followers
September 30, 2020
This was a pretty good book. Good enough that I'll move on to the next story. I just hope they don't spend too much time playing and talking about Dungeons and Dragons. I was totally lost during that.

But I did like Daniel. He was very good at stealing artifacts from other people and museums, and he didn't hesitate to kill a person, or 20. And his fun little toys reminded me of 007's toys, only he had more of them than James Bond did.

There was no romance whatsoever, not even a girl, so I have no idea what that book-cover is all about. And the F-bomb was used 80 times.

As to the narration: Seth Podowitz did a great job! His voices were spot on and he actually laughed when it was called for.
Profile Image for More Books Than Time  .
2,514 reviews19 followers
December 15, 2018
So disappointing. The blurb for The Artifact Enigma sounds great, combining magic, suspense and aliens. We have a CIA agent, a rogue CIA group, elves and apparently some elusive aliens already on Earth. Unfortunately the authors do nothing to engage us readers and the entire book is flat.

About half way though the story started to come to life as we got a little involved with the characters, but then the authors retreated to description. The novel reads like a report of someone else's life.

Please see my full review here: https://www.morebooksthantime.com/the...
139 reviews
July 19, 2020
Great start!

What a great start to a new series in one of my favorite universes! Daniel is such an interesting character, he wears so many hats, yet they all help to round him out. A plain, well in the biological sense, he is really quite extraordinary, human in a magical world. He has a good team backing him, though I do look forward to getting to know them better. I also have an itch in my brain telling me it won't be scratched until I find out what is going on with his parents. A few ideas have come to mind and I am heading into the next book wondering if any of them are correct or I am way off.
Profile Image for Frank Bertino.
1,771 reviews19 followers
November 5, 2018
Compelling Read

Daniel, an agent for the CIA, lives a double life? How about a triple life? Maybe a quadruple life? Life and his moral code have furnished Daniel with many hats. I like the action and humor. The fluid flow of the plot, is entertaining and compelling. I look forward to the next book.
138 reviews1 follower
November 8, 2018
Enigma

An amazing start to another Oriceran universe series. Judith Berenson (I assume she's a descendant of Keira) and Martha Carr (a favorite author of ours) have crafted a new and exciting first story for this series. Excellent writing, original characters, and an intriguing plot line make this book a promising start for another successful series.
Profile Image for Shana Pare.
911 reviews6 followers
November 22, 2018
Delightful romp

This book is just plain good adventure with characters who aren't stupid or boring. The plot is slightly different, makes sense and folds around the primary characters in a very good way. I look forward to the next book, and I recommend this series. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
Profile Image for Terry Easom.
94 reviews2 followers
December 5, 2018
I really liked this book!

This book has a great storyline! It flows smoothly and keeps you very interested. The main character Daniel is pretty cool. The relationship between him and his grandfather is pretty good and I think Tommy is going to become someone important to Daniel, at least I hope so! I feel like this series has plenty more stories to come!
Profile Image for Sally Bishop.
131 reviews2 followers
January 2, 2019
What a ride!

At first I thought I was reading a collection of very short short stories with a fascinating premise. Then things started to come together into one story with a few subplots. Characters I could relate to especially a hero with a great moral compass and even greater skills. Plenty of James Bond like gadgets but way cooler to use Tommy's words.
Profile Image for Kim.
192 reviews24 followers
dnf
December 12, 2024
DNF @ 37%

I've been looking for a new Urban Fantasy series, and I read a review that said this was 007 meets Harry Dresden. This is not even close to either of them. It's not terrible, but I can't seem to get into it. I actually find it quite boring. I have too many books to read/listen to and too little time.
Profile Image for Wanda binz.
817 reviews6 followers
November 1, 2018
WOW Another great new series

Another great new series. Great new characters interesting twists and turns in the story that is so awesome and fun. I like the way the main character thinks.
543 reviews2 followers
November 3, 2018
Great start

Great beginning to a new series that I will definitely read . The story kept me reading until 2 am. Definitely recommended for fans of any of these authors other books. Keep them coming , please.
Profile Image for Sooziemac McLaughlin.
142 reviews1 follower
November 4, 2018
Oh

My. I really kind of adore "the agent" a.k.a. Daniel.
I also really really kind of wish that the "fight" between Daniel and the Steel Wolves...... It. Should. Be. Filmed!
BTW, love you, love the books!
70 reviews
November 15, 2018
Really enjoyable

A different tale in the same universe with a background we’re familiar with, but a completely new take.

Really enjoyable flow to interesting characters that I’m looking forward to finding out more about.
546 reviews3 followers
November 29, 2018
Great book

Good start to a new series. Characters are interesting and the action is good. The main character was a little too good for a human, blindly following orders from his cia bosses.
Profile Image for Debra Stubbins.
334 reviews
December 5, 2018
Fantastic new series starter

I love how this series links in with the Oriceran Universe but is different to the other series with a heavier focus on humans and aliens. Looking forward in seeing how much Daniel grows and if he finds the answer to his missing parents.
256 reviews
June 30, 2020
Wow!!

I keep going back to forward. Daniel and his crew are promising another great ride through the Oriceran universe, and book one hooked me in rather quickly! I'll keep.reading what these fantastic authors out ou, because they never let me down!
Profile Image for Steven.
21 reviews
December 2, 2021
Ok writing, but waaay too much inner dialog. Seems like someone's first time writing a book. Also, everyone in the book's favorite name for others is @$$hole. I would say there is somehwere around 50 or so times that word was used in this book. Trues a little to hard to be clever. 🤷🏼
33 reviews1 follower
November 2, 2018
New character

I really enjoyed reading a new perspective into a world I’ve come to know & love, can’t wait for the next one!
115 reviews
November 3, 2018
Great start

New insights into the orcerian universe, soon we will know everyone who lives there. Just remember, don't mess with family
Profile Image for Lois Alston.
1,864 reviews3 followers
November 3, 2018
Another winner story

I really enjoyed this first story of Daniel's. A very calmed down Brownstone but working for the government. Love the action in this story.
Profile Image for George  Lawson.
515 reviews1 follower
November 4, 2018
Great first book in a new series

Good solid story and interesting characters made this a pleasing read. Looking forward to more stories with Daniel and crew.
Profile Image for Kathleen R Semmerling.
5 reviews
November 24, 2018
Great Start to a Series

I hope this is the first on many books in a series. Daniel is interesting and I love how this story mixes with the rest of Oriceran books.
201 reviews1 follower
December 28, 2018
Enjoyed the story

Found the characters interesting and the relationship between them does make me curious to see what happens next, especially with his grandfather.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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