A young professor's life is turned upside down when he is approached by an American foundation to continue the work of a recently deceased colleague. His research leads him around the world as he tries to determine the true identity of Christopher Columbus, through his writings and other historical documents.

Very interesting research, but the author struggles to put it into a novel format. ( )

Let's just set the record straight here. Some reviewers of this book say that they were disappointed because they were expecting something along the lines of the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Well, nowhere in the blurb on the inside cover does it say that this book is an action-packed thriller. I looked, trust me. There is no promise of anything at all along the lines of the Da Vinci Code. Somewhere, some how and at some time (I don't know when or how this happened), it seems that Dan Brown's book became the standard by which to judge other books that may be even remotely similar. It seems to me that holding the Da Vinci Code as the standard is somewhat unfair: if people expect the Da Vinci Code, and they don't get what they want, then the book is often trashed because it doesn't live up to expectations. And that's unfair. Okay. Done with rant.

In Codex 632, Lisbon history professor Thomas Noronha is hired by a kind of shady foundation based in the US to find out what his predecessor, a Professor Toscano, had found during his foundation-sponsored research. Toscano had been hired to do some research on the discovery of Brazil, but it seems that his research had taken on a life of its own somewhat tangential to his original project, having to do with Christopher Columbus. Toscano died, so Noronha is hired as his replacement. The salary is quite lucrative, and he needs the money to help take care of his daughter who was born with Downs Syndrome. When Noronha discovers what it was that Toscano was up to, he realizes that he has some very important research that could possibly change our notions of what is perceived to be historical fact. His continuing search leads him from Portugal to the US to Brazil, then on to Jerusalem in his quest for more information,also leading to the Knights Templar and Kabbalah for help.

Personally, I found all of the research quite interesting, and the author says that all of the documents that are presented in this book exist today. Obviously, the author's done quite a bit of research here. What I didn't like about this book were the two subplots here: that of his linkup with one of his students, and that of his wife and child, which really went nowhere and never really developed more fully. Both were just kind of limp, and drew me away from the meat of the book.

I won't say I loved this book, because I didn't, and I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. I liked it, and think that anyone really interested in Christopher Columbus might get something out of this, or you might like the book if you're interested in theories that may lead you away from historical established status quo. You will also like it if you're interested in European history. But don't pick this up with the expectation that you're getting the Da Vinci Code, because you're not. And nowhere does the blurb say you're going to. ( )

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/... ( )

Who was Christopher Columbus? Thomas Noronha, a college professor is approached by a nonprofit organization to research the history of the Americas. Noronha uncovers documents, books and Codex 632 that point to a different history than the one we accept. Was Columbus Italian? Was he the first to discover America? The author has skillfully woven intrigue and mystery into what could be dull history. I enjoyed this much more than The Da Vinci Code, probably because this is more believable. ( )