Was really surprised by combat codes, as it was a nice blend of almost steampunk but also with a bit of elements that reminded me of high fantasy. The book opens in the underground, a whole world that exists below the surface level (which I think is why some people said this was like red rising, albeit this is not the only similarity). Cego is a slave fighter in a highly elaborate system of matches that are pretty much just cage fights. He is in a team of a bunch of slaves, and wins most of them over, importantly Dozer and knees, when he teaches them moves and defends the weakest among them. One nemesis, Shiar, bests one of the kids to death. Out of nowhere, a former legendary fighter, Murray Pearson, fights for the right of Cego. We learn that Murray is a scout for the Lyceum and is actually recruiting for the military, which is made up of Grievars, a type of knight that fights on behalf of nations, a war that concentrated the violence to just each nation’s Grievar class.
Cego trains for the academy’s entrance exam and during this exam learns about the corruption of the honor code referred to as the combat codes of the Grievars. Importantly Grievars are not supposed to use enhancements and tech, but the entire trial is a simulation. Cego does so well that Murray knows something is off with the kids past. While Cego enters the academy, which also have Knees, Dozer, and Shiar in it, Murray tries to figure out what’s wrong. Cego gains friends at school, and the grand scheme of the year is to have his team (which he is the leader after doing so well in entrance exams) fight Knees’ team so that they can trade for Knees. Murray finds out that Cego had been trained with a simulation tech that synthesized his entire childhood, and then spit him out on the streets of the underground after his childhood. The book ends with Murray and Cego grappling with the implications of this.
Phenomenal plot here, which is impressive on such a cool idea. One weakness might be that it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, but sufficient world building is always a bit confusing at the beginning. Maybe a bit predicatable, but was extremely fun, so wouldn’t put that as a huge downside. Character development was good with Cego and Murray, but also with Knees and Dozer. Liked how it popped out of Cego and Murray sometimes to give you a glimpse into a crucial political element or another helpful plot point.
My siblings and I have a podcast, would love to start discussions there too!
[linktr.ee/beyondthephirstpage](http://linktr.ee/beyondthephirstpage)
by pcornell99