Freedom, as the old saying goes, is not free, but for some, the price of freedom can be devastatingly high. For Jim Ralston, his freedom from the oppressive Kopendres Ordinath is a cost that comes due when he learns that the cult is demanding his first born, Piers in exchange for him being free to live in the world outside. Jim and his old mentor, Tom Aimseworth, decide to prepare Piers as much as possible for the ordeal that lies in front of him, but tom discovers that Piers possesses a talent that neither Tom nor Jim—nor even, Tom’s daughter, posses.
His latent abilities are unleashed, Piers sets out on a life-long journey to defy the Ordinath and find his own slice of freedom.
The Golden Codex by William Sandberg is a life’s journey tale that follows Piers as he develops and hones his skills, and discovers the power he holds within, as he prepares for a fateful final confrontation with the powers that be of the Ordinath. An intricate weaving of the real, the modern with the fantasy universe from which the powers that motivate the Ordinath originate. The essence of effective fiction is to enable a reader to suspend disbelief and accept the author’s made-up universe as ‘real’ for a brief moment of time. Sandberg’s universe is totally believable; even the ‘magical’ elements are credible. Characters, especially young Piers—old Piers, not so much, I’m afraid—are easy to identify and empathize with.
The author provides a pronunciation guide for the language, names, and terms used liberally throughout the story, which would have been much more useful at the front rather than the end of the book. It was heartening to discover at the end that I’d mentally pronounced most of the unfamiliar words correctly according to the author’s lexicography but jarring to note that one or two key terms were mentally mispronounced. This, though, is the only non-positive thing I have to say about a story that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading—a story, in essence, of the human condition, of the struggle between good and evil, of dark and light.
I give the author four and a half stars (subtracting a half star for the misplaced glossary) and a wish that he find some way to continue Piers tale.