THE COMBAT CODES

A gritty tale set in a world where fighting well is the highest honor.

“We fight so the rest shall not have to.” For Murray, an aging former fighter with a strong sense of honor, these words are his way of life: The strongest and best Grievars fight in single combat to settle national disputes. No longer able to fight himself, he’s forced to scout the dangerous Deep for kids with potential—even though most of his "discoveries" never stand a real chance. But when he watches an apparently blind boy dominate a much larger Grievar in a fight, he sees his chance to restore honor to his profession through a new fighter who lives by the ancient Codes. That boy, Cego, has memories of another life—training with a master alongside his brothers, studying fighting and meditation techniques on a black-sand beach. What he doesn’t know is how he ended up in the sordid Underground, blinded by light he wasn’t used to, easy prey for slavers looking for fresh fighting meat. For Cego, Murray’s offer to take him to the Surface and give him a chance to train at the prestigious Lyceum is at first a chance to find his brothers and his old master. But as Murray teaches him the ancient Codes, Cego realizes how similar they are to the teachings of his old master and gets swept up in the drive to do well at the Lyceum Trials. Cego and Murray are both compelling characters. The novel takes a while to clearly establish a goal for each of them, but the world and characters are strong enough to carry the reader through to the point where Cego’s quest to prove himself at the Lyceum takes over as the engine of the plot. Clearly drawn martial arts bouts add action and drama to the narrative.

This dark tale of martial arts and ancient Codes in a fallen world will captivate readers who crave action.