I’m not going to lie, my first thought about The Combat Codes was that the title was a bit “meh.” It conjured thoughts of Dan Brown, sounding a bit silly. I’m glad I wasn’t put off. The Combat Codes is reminiscent of many popular science fiction and fantasy books (but not The Da Vinci Code), and it wears its source material with pride. It is far more than a mere pastiche or a reworking of old tropes, however. Author Alexander Darwin has fashioned the influence of the genre’s classics into a fast-paced and addictive read.
What Is The Combat Codes?
The Combat Codes is set in a futuristic, slightly cyber-punk fantasy world, where single, unarmed combat has replaced all-out war. Champions fight to resolve conflict so that soldiers and civilians don’t have to. The book is essentially a training story, much like Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, The Hunger Games, or Red Rising by Pierce Brown. The book is being reissued after being published in 2015.
Cego is alone, severed from his family and his master. He is captured by slavers and forced to fight in the pits. We know that in the past he had martial training and that his upbringing was steeped in the “Combat Codes.” The Combat Codes are a pseudo-philosophical approach to combat and how to live your life beyond it. They are derived from real-world Eastern traditions of martial arts, perhaps not surprising given that Alexander Darwin is a martial arts instructor. The martial arts aspects give the novel further flavors of R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War or Wesley Chu’s The Art of Prophecy.
As with many of these types of stories, Cego is smaller than the other boys he has to fight with and is maltreated by them. This he overcomes to find himself being picked to have a chance of entering the prestigious Lyceum. The Lyceum is where the best fighters go to become Knights, those who then take part in the politically defining fights that govern the world.
Why Read The Combat Codes?
If The Combat Codes were just about Cego’s triumph over adversity, it would still be a compelling read. The journey to greatness through combat might be a trope, but there’s a reason why it’s a story told over. Alexander Darwin is good at telling it. You knew exactly where The Karate Kid was going, but that didn’t mean you didn’t want to watch it. Darwin offers all this and more.
The extended trials and training of Cego take place against an intriguing political backdrop, one that features power circles within power circles. The shadowy Daimyo clan sits above everything, with other clans vying for second place. Within the clan that Cego is fighting for, there are further castes, all set around status. Cego and the friends he establishes are on the lowest rung of the influence scale, which, of course, only makes us, the reader, root for them all the more.
As the novel progresses, it is clear that all is not well within the Lyceum. Success comes at a cost, but will it be too much for Cego and his friends to pay? Whilst Cego tries to fight for what he believes is right, he finds himself at the center of a web of intrigue and misdirection. As the action heats up towards the end of the novel, so do the twists and reveals. By the end of the novel, things are nicely set up for part 2, Grievar’s Blood. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.
If you would like to pick up a copy of The Combat Codes, you can do so here in the US and here in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews.
This review is part of The Combat Codes blog tour. You can check what all these other reviewers thought about the book too!
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
