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Saba: Codex: The Lost Treasure Of The Indus
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Published June 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 4, 2026
I was disappointed. I had read The Magicians of Madh by the same author, and while it wasn't quite to my taste, it made me wonder if the author had written anything else that might interest me - I saw this book listed and was instantly covetous.
Crytography? The Indus Civilization? (there was a fascinating You're Dead to Me episode on it on BBCSounds) Indian female author? It sounded so good, I bought a copy off Abebooks, shipping from some trailer park in Texas (allegedly) but somehow it shipped from Dehli and someone pocketed the residual postal costs (Sem warned me about this!). I didn't even care - I had a copy of this Asian Book Award Winner, beautifully packaged, and I was all set to dive into dorkdom, pencil and paper on standby in case I had to solve a cipher (which was too optimistic of me).
The first disappointment was Codex. She's a genius autistic (presumably). That's her whole shtick. And her whole personality: she's a recluse who would rather be in the library. Aside from her being exceptional at everything (apart from anything requiring physical coordination or social skills), she's basically every second user of Goodreads. I've met more interesting and developed characters here, that's for sure. Codex was extremely flat. Worse, I had already read one of Krishnakumar's other books - Meenakshi (The Magicians of Madh) is nearly exactly the same character. Apart from lineage, setting, and magical capabilities, they are rather dull carbon-copies of each other. And if you read the flyleaf (where it gives an author bio straightaway), you find that these characters may be largely autobiographical, too. So throw in some colour! Tell me your quirks! Your shoe size! Your favourite food! What shape is your nose? What's in the backpack? Anything to differentiate you from any other obligate introvert. Yeesh. Nope, just her many accomplishments. Codex has no personality at all. It's sad.
So Codex, hacker and savant and general genius, shows up to a meeting with her handler/employer wearing khakis and leather boots, grubby orange backpack in tow. And then balks at the idea of flying off to a dusty archaeological site (she is a homebody). Why the heck is she dressed like Indiana Jones, then?! Where are the elasticated waist sweatpants and manga-referencing t-shirt?! The grubby hoodie and converse sneakers or crocs? And does not the publisher, Mr Shantanu Duttagupta, know who Lara Croft is?! GoogleLens could accidentally mistake Codex for her, given that cover!
I'm just going to go straight into spoiler mode and say that, okay, I did wonder exactly what the author could build around the almost completely undescribed Indus Valley civilization (she didn't even mention the toilets... it seems possible that this ancient civilization had domestic plumbing and sewers... that would have been what I led with! Amazing!!!). But ancient aliens (or not) and involving the Nazca Lines in the story (yes, the ones in Peru... in South America..), even as a rouse or joke (sequel to explain more?! Global archeological treasure hunt? Why the heck don't we know more about the sort of things Vega does do, if they definitely exist?!)... argh.
It's really not a great book. It disappoints on every level I can think of. Almost all of the humour revolves around the, "And we won't let you do that, because of what happened last time!" set-up (you have to imagine what she might have done). It's fine once in awhile, but multiple gags like this per chapter is overkill (Meenakshi in The Magicians of Madh also had many very similar references.. oh dear). "Oh hi, I'm so smart, I can subvert governmental security systems! Tee hee, aren't I naughty?!" Not a problem for me, but where is the motivation behind the actions?! Tell me more about what drives these characters, and it can't be just 'boredom'. If it is boredom, then why?! Neglectful parents?! Stifling misogyny? How does it make her feel?! Give me something to work with!
Positives are... multiple leading female characters in the fields of espionage and cryptography? Not explicitly stated, but a presumably neurodiverse female lead? It's not exactly unheard of nowadays. And there have definitely been daring young female-lead adventure stories even since the 1940s (Crimson Rust and The Ring of Nenuphar by Bernard Rutley are two I've read recently from that decade!). So we need more - parachuting out of planes can't be the highlight (again, Crimson Rust - that even had agriterrorism in it!).
I wish I could add "code-breaking" to the positives list, but it wasn't really mentioned in any detail. Or at least it was insufficient to me. Codex could have given Lila a crash-course in cryptography, at least. The codes might have been printed in the text, too. And why reference the Voynich manuscript if you aren't going to talk about it a little more?! It would be the perfect thing to discuss alongside this Ghaggar Stone - WHY was it made?! What are some theories?
Oh, okay - I liked the astronomy. The equinoxes and the varying pole star - that was alright. Kind of wish it fit more directly with the mystery at hand, though, or was woven through the book.
The plot drove me batty. Berman and planting the thing with the thing, then taking back the thing, then posting it to Codex, then the rogue agents trying to get the thing.. MOTIVE. Motive is really, really important. There isn't anything discernible here, and I can't help think that even the author doesn't know what Shaw and Berman and Vega and the General are up to anyway.
I wouldn't bother putting effort into tracking this particular novel down from overseas (though it can easily be done, fradulently by the sellers or not).
Crytography? The Indus Civilization? (there was a fascinating You're Dead to Me episode on it on BBCSounds) Indian female author? It sounded so good, I bought a copy off Abebooks, shipping from some trailer park in Texas (allegedly) but somehow it shipped from Dehli and someone pocketed the residual postal costs (Sem warned me about this!). I didn't even care - I had a copy of this Asian Book Award Winner, beautifully packaged, and I was all set to dive into dorkdom, pencil and paper on standby in case I had to solve a cipher (which was too optimistic of me).
The first disappointment was Codex. She's a genius autistic (presumably). That's her whole shtick. And her whole personality: she's a recluse who would rather be in the library. Aside from her being exceptional at everything (apart from anything requiring physical coordination or social skills), she's basically every second user of Goodreads. I've met more interesting and developed characters here, that's for sure. Codex was extremely flat. Worse, I had already read one of Krishnakumar's other books - Meenakshi (The Magicians of Madh) is nearly exactly the same character. Apart from lineage, setting, and magical capabilities, they are rather dull carbon-copies of each other. And if you read the flyleaf (where it gives an author bio straightaway), you find that these characters may be largely autobiographical, too. So throw in some colour! Tell me your quirks! Your shoe size! Your favourite food! What shape is your nose? What's in the backpack? Anything to differentiate you from any other obligate introvert. Yeesh. Nope, just her many accomplishments. Codex has no personality at all. It's sad.
So Codex, hacker and savant and general genius, shows up to a meeting with her handler/employer wearing khakis and leather boots, grubby orange backpack in tow. And then balks at the idea of flying off to a dusty archaeological site (she is a homebody). Why the heck is she dressed like Indiana Jones, then?! Where are the elasticated waist sweatpants and manga-referencing t-shirt?! The grubby hoodie and converse sneakers or crocs? And does not the publisher, Mr Shantanu Duttagupta, know who Lara Croft is?! GoogleLens could accidentally mistake Codex for her, given that cover!
I'm just going to go straight into spoiler mode and say that, okay, I did wonder exactly what the author could build around the almost completely undescribed Indus Valley civilization (she didn't even mention the toilets... it seems possible that this ancient civilization had domestic plumbing and sewers... that would have been what I led with! Amazing!!!). But ancient aliens (or not) and involving the Nazca Lines in the story (yes, the ones in Peru... in South America..), even as a rouse or joke (sequel to explain more?! Global archeological treasure hunt? Why the heck don't we know more about the sort of things Vega does do, if they definitely exist?!)... argh.
It's really not a great book. It disappoints on every level I can think of. Almost all of the humour revolves around the, "And we won't let you do that, because of what happened last time!" set-up (you have to imagine what she might have done). It's fine once in awhile, but multiple gags like this per chapter is overkill (Meenakshi in The Magicians of Madh also had many very similar references.. oh dear). "Oh hi, I'm so smart, I can subvert governmental security systems! Tee hee, aren't I naughty?!" Not a problem for me, but where is the motivation behind the actions?! Tell me more about what drives these characters, and it can't be just 'boredom'. If it is boredom, then why?! Neglectful parents?! Stifling misogyny? How does it make her feel?! Give me something to work with!
Positives are... multiple leading female characters in the fields of espionage and cryptography? Not explicitly stated, but a presumably neurodiverse female lead? It's not exactly unheard of nowadays. And there have definitely been daring young female-lead adventure stories even since the 1940s (Crimson Rust and The Ring of Nenuphar by Bernard Rutley are two I've read recently from that decade!). So we need more - parachuting out of planes can't be the highlight (again, Crimson Rust - that even had agriterrorism in it!).
I wish I could add "code-breaking" to the positives list, but it wasn't really mentioned in any detail. Or at least it was insufficient to me. Codex could have given Lila a crash-course in cryptography, at least. The codes might have been printed in the text, too. And why reference the Voynich manuscript if you aren't going to talk about it a little more?! It would be the perfect thing to discuss alongside this Ghaggar Stone - WHY was it made?! What are some theories?
Oh, okay - I liked the astronomy. The equinoxes and the varying pole star - that was alright. Kind of wish it fit more directly with the mystery at hand, though, or was woven through the book.
The plot drove me batty. Berman and planting the thing with the thing, then taking back the thing, then posting it to Codex, then the rogue agents trying to get the thing.. MOTIVE. Motive is really, really important. There isn't anything discernible here, and I can't help think that even the author doesn't know what Shaw and Berman and Vega and the General are up to anyway.
I wouldn't bother putting effort into tracking this particular novel down from overseas (though it can easily be done, fradulently by the sellers or not).
April 16, 2025
A spunky mystery-adventure on an interesting theme - decoding ancient codes from the lost Indus Valley civilisation, referencing Indian mythology. A nerdy (in the good way) read for middle graders that is still an enjoyable experience for adults, too. Would love to read more of Codex's story!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews