This was a unique read where martial arts plays such an integral part of the world. I could tell that the author had first hand knowledge of the medium and it added a unique take on the fight scenes that are portrayed. I did have a difficult time in connecting with the characters at the beginning but definitely enjoyed the overall plot. Highly recommend to those who enjoy martial arts.

Fighting is a way of life for the Grievar. It was originally used as a learning tool and a method of settling disputes, but now is utilized to determine political, economical, and societal outcomes. The stakes are of the highest order, and few earn the prestige of being a Knight that fights for the people of Enzo.

The Combat Codes delivers not only on action, but also unique world-building, mystery, and characters you can’t help but to love. The Codes act as guides for fighters to follow, to uphold tradition and honor. The grey between the black and white guidelines continues to grow as new technology is introduced and fighters become famous while being used for political gain.

You don’t need to have experience with martial arts to understand and enjoy this book. I do think that if you have any experience, or even just enjoy watching UFC, you’ll really enjoy this story. Not only is the action frequent and realistic, revelations made in this first installment of a trilogy are making me want the next two books in my hands as soon as possible.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC!

Review copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first entry in "The Combat Codes Saga", which was initially self-published and is now being released by Orbit.

Our main characters are (1) Murray, a former fighting champion who is now a scout bringing in talent for testing and training, and (2) Cego, an orphan taken from his home and forced to fight in underground battles for the benefit of others. I've seen in various places this story described as The Karate Kid meets Harry Potter in another review, and I could not agree more. By no means is it a copycat, but rather a similar vibe.

What makes this story standout is the vivid and detailed fighting descriptions, which stand out because of the author's personal experience in MMA/martial arts.

I gave this book 4, not 5, stars because I didn't get as strong of an emotional connection with or worry for the characters as some of the other books I love, but I nonetheless highly recommend this story and will definitely purchase a signed copy. I cannot wait to see what's next!

I tried. This book is extremely male-centric, with women only being mentioned as a taunt (ie, your mother isn’t here) or in terms of sex (brothels or raising their skirts to the famous fighter). That was enough for me to DNF, but the world-building was slow and inconsistent, and I felt no connection to the characters.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

WOW, I thoroughly enjoyed this book to it's core. Such an interesting and cool premise. I feel like anyone of a wide range of ages could enjoy this book. It's widely described as Harry Potter but with warriors instead of wizards, and I back that 100%. It's a mix of fantasy with a little bit of sci-fi and a healthy amount of coming-of-age. We follow young warriors-in-training during their schooling to grow into who they will be. The book is a part of a series and there will be sequels. I think that's 100% necessary and I'm also excited to continue along with the progress of the story and the characters.

It definitely delivers to readers who enjoy fantasy! It's very combat heavy and I truly love that. It's focused more on the combat side of fantasy rather than the popular romantasy that is everywhere these days. It's actually harder to find those warrior central books now, so it was super exciting to read this!! I've been looking for a book like this for a while!

The characters are well thought out and develop well even during just the first book. I think there is a lot of room for them to grow as they are in training/school, but that could easily get lsost for forgotten about- Darwin does a phenomenal job with sticking to the plot and progressing the characters at a great pace- while still leaving a ton of room for future development!

I was definitely satisfied for the entirety of this book. I honestly dropped my jaw when I finished the last page because I didn't want it to end!

I don't want to compare it too much to Harry Potter, because it is VERY much it's own story (and honestly you can argue that it's only comparable because it's based on a young boy and a fantasy school), BUT to help understand the general feel of how the book played out for readers... I definitely loved the combat heavy dark version of Harry Potter!

Bring on book 2!!

Tournament style setting set in a sci fi/fantasy world. Each character feels relatable, and I'm intrigued as to how they will all progress through the trilogy.

Absolutely loved this book, and feel that it was close to perfect in almost every way. Truly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and hope to get to book two soon

Thank you to the publisher Orbit for giving me access to the eARC via Netgalley!

Wow. 4.5 stars.

<i>Combat Codes</i> follows Cego, a kid wrenched away from his home and enslaved in the Underground, where he must do heavy manual labor and win in the fighting ring. Then a Grievar knight well past his glory days named Murray comes along and sees potential in Cego. Murray may be Cego’s ticket to a more hopeful future.

The first half of CC feels very low stakes. The third person limited perspective that follows Cego centers mostly on Cego’s hard life and his internal conflict. Cego strains against the brutality of his life but also his longing for his brothers. We get regular flashbacks to Cego's upbinging on a mysterious island. As Cego experiences change, we as readers get to relish in the raised stakes of the plot but also the unfolding of the mysteries. I initially thought Alexander Wu was just riding the coattails of well-trodden tropes and old reliable fantasy plot points, but this author definitely shows by the end of this debut novel that he has a bold vision for his series.

CC leaves off having resolved a major mystery, but that answered question created a world of possibilities and posed new questions. I cannot wait to continue the series. The blend of familiar elements with its own unique flavor is delicious.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Orbit for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Combat Codes is a Sci-Fi Martial Arts novel about Murray, an ex-Grievar Knight who used to fight for his country in combat meant to erase war. Two Knights would fight in The Circle in order to decide which side would win the land dispute, the negotiations, or whatever the government was trying to gain. The ex-fighter and current Scout, Murray, has always stuck to The Codes, but finds that the higher ups have only strayed further and further away from the old ways. The Combat Codes seems to be a book that was originally a self-published novel that has since been picked up by a publisher. The new version of The Combat Codes comes out on June 12th and is available for pre-order now.

I struggled with the decision to keep reading or to DNF this one pretty early on. As in, two chapters in I knew this wasn’t going to be a book for me. But I’ve only ever DNF’d one ARC so I stuck with it. I’m surprised I managed to read it as quickly as I did simply because I was on vacation. So any time we were on the subway or waiting for a game to start I would open the app and get to reading. Not because I was invested or interested in where the story was going. I just wanted to get it read so I could move on to something I would actually enjoy. So, part of this rating is going to be on me for not DNF’ing the book when I probably should have.

There was a lot I didn’t enjoy so I’m going to make a list here instead of a giant paragraph:
1.) The world building-- I have never read a book where the world building is so thin. I found it so hard to picture the settings or understand how the science fiction aspects worked. I can tell that the author can picture it all in his head really well, but my god is it not presented for the reader at all.
2.) The characters-- Everyone here was so flat--even our two main characters Murray and Cego. I didn’t connect with any of them emotionally because it’s hard to connect with characters that feel like cardboard cut outs.
3.) The outcomes-- While reading, I seemed to always know the direction any fight or plot point was going to take and, while I don’t always consider it a bad thing, it was a pretty well-worn path this story trod. The little guy always won or if he was going to lose it was in order to make some strategic move in order to get the outcome he wanted. It was unrealistic and not in a way where I could suspend my disbelief.

I liked the premise of this story so much and put in different hands it could have been excellent. I never want to be too harsh on an author and I never want to seem like I have nothing good to say for someone’s hard work. It’s just hard when you slog your way through a pretty long book to come out feeling like you had a bad time. Do I think there’s an audience for this book? Of course. There is always an audience for a book. I think this one would be good for readers who love action, fight sequences, and conspiracies. I could see this series going into some really great places as well. I think this is just not for me.

I am very thankful to have been given an ARC copy from NetGalley and my review will be 100% honest. I am so excited that this was my first ARC and love getting this opportunity.

I am giving this a 4.0 to 4.5 rating. There were things I loved and some things I did not, but overall I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to continue with the other books.

“We fight so the rest shall not have to.”

This book is about a world where problems are solved by fighting. Martial Arts style fighting. No weapons just hand to hand single combat fighting. This is how the nations solve their problems with one another. This type of fighting is done instead of using weapons of mass destruction, because the world this book is set in, is an advanced technology world.

If a nation’s fighter loses the fight then it is possible that they could have just lost a city or some territory. The stakes are high for these fighters and only a certain type of person is bred to be these fighters. These people are called Grievars and they can become Grievar Knights if they go through the training school and pass. Starting from a young age these Grievars are trained to fight and live for the fight. They are representing their nations and cannot lose.

Murray, one the main characters, was once a knight who won all his fights until he finally lost a fight that caused a huge loss to his nation. Murray now is a Scout and he searches for Grievars who have the potential to go to Lyceum (the school) to train to become a Knight. It is during this scouting that Murray discovers that Cego is different.

Cego is an orphaned boy who is trying to survive this underworld where the fights are weeding out the weak from the strong. I tend to enjoy books where in the beginning the main character is trying to survive this vicious lifestyle and they must become stronger in order to survive. I always enjoy the training scenes. (similar to the books of Night Angel and Rage of Dragons.) I especially enjoyed these beginning scenes because Cego was already a good fighter—he was better than the other boys he was training with—he had already had another master before he came to the underworld. I enjoyed him being this underdog who really was never weak to begin with.

The rest of the book mainly follows Cego, but there are still some scenes with Murray. And this book is action packed. There is constantly a fight taking place. Stakes are always high and you can sense that there is something malicious going on behind the scenes.

This book constantly had my attention and I enjoyed the characters in this book. The author does well in having characters you love and characters you hate that will make your blood pressure rise when you hear them talk. There were a lot of good fight scenes in this book. It was hard for me to picture a lot of these fight scenes because I am not familiar with martial arts fighting. But this did not affect my enjoyment of the scenes.
The other complaint I had was it was hard to picture the world as well. I never really felt like the world and technology was fully described. I understand the world is technologically advanced but I wasn’t really sure what all that entailed or how it was pictured in this world.

The pacing in this book was great, until the end. The end felt abrupt and didn’t flow as well as the rest of the book. There was a spot a few chapters toward the end of the book where it could have ended on a revelation (cliffhanger moment) but it didn’t and instead the book kept going while not even addressing the revelation and time passed in a huge chunk.. it was a little disjointed.

Things I loved: the pacing, characters, flux tattoos (these were so cool!), the fights, the school and the trials. I loved a lot about this book and I would give this a recommendation if you like classic martial arts fighting in a sci-fi world.

This is a mash up of fantasy and technology. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Red Rising. It was full of action and fight scenes and fast paced. It didn't do much in the way of innovation, but that's not always a bad thing. It was a great debut and I will definitely be checking out the sequels!

Kingdoms and empires use heroes to fight their battles; they avoid crippling death tolls, running out of resources for huge armies, and the use of devastating weapons of mass destruction.

I loved the concept of the book, and the author really knows their stuff when it comes to fighting techniques and battles.

It would’ve been nice to get more history and detail about the world, but the areas focussed on were still well thought out.

While a fun & entertaining read, it was nothing over the top or overly thrilling. At parts I did skim to get to the next action bits.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Orbit Books for a copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC for this book. My opinion is entirely my own.

This book was overall a good read. I don't quite think that I am the target audience for it, which is fine, but it made it hard to keep my interest. I thought that the author was quite knowledgeable about physical combat sports and its quite evident in the writing. The setting incorporates some interesting mixtures of both fantasy and sci-fi and is somewhat primitive, dystopian, and futuristic in feeling. Overall, I think this book would be enjoyed by a male audience more than anything, or with readers that enjoy martial arts.

I had to DNF this book at around the 60 page mark. Maybe this one is just not for me, as I have no personal experience with martial arts and ju-jitsu in particular, which seems possibly essential to really enjoy this one. Even when we weren't in the middle of a fight, though, I found it extremely difficult to get immersed in this read and to care about what was happening. I found the dialogue and characters to be over-wrought and unrealistic, and I wasn't drawn in by the prose or worldbuilding either. I had wanted to wait to put it down until the plot really took shape in case I eventually got into it, but I was enjoying the book so little that I just couldn't keep going with it.

This book has a lot of worldbuilding going on, which I often find overwhelming to the point of distraction, but the exposition was handled well enough that I wasn't put off by it.
Despite the expert handling of all the exposition, the first third of the book still felt a little slow to me. I'm not one who needs nonstop action, but I would have preferred to get a little more insight into Cego and Murray at the start of the book — I didn't feel like I understood them very well as characters until about the second act. That's a shame IMO, because they're both interesting people; the beginning of the book just doesn't give them enough of a chance to shine.
The latter two thirds is where the story picks up both in terms of plot and character development. Something I really enjoyed was how masterfully the plot twists were handled. I sort of saw one coming and another one blindsided me entirely, but in retrospect they make perfect sense. Those are the kind of plot twists I adore.
I left the book wishing I knew more about the way the government and politics of the world worked. Though it seems like the sequels will expand in scope and hopefully answer my questions, I do wish I had a little more understanding from the start just so that I could better appreciate the implications of this first book. I tend to prefer series in which the first book could function about as well as a standalone, so this might not bother other readers as much.
Despite my minor complaints, I enjoyed this book and I'll be keeping an eye out for the sequel(s). I think both science fiction and fantasy readers will find something to love about this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants wholesome found family and well-written combat scenes.

I read this book and immediately wanted to take martial arts classes. Signed up for jiu-jitsu the next day, went the day after that and got choked out. Currently on the phone with my lawyer to sue Mr. Darwin. (Not really) This was a darn good book. It’s like if Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee had a fight with words.

ARC provided by the publisher, Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review. This is a review of the self-published edition. It is safe to assume the edition published by Orbit Books will be even better and well-polished.

Fun, tense, and entertaining; The Combat Codes is an MMA-inspired sci-fi debut with heart and well-written combat scenes.

“A perceived weakness is strength, and a flaunted strength is weakness.”

I’ve been waiting to post this review for a while now, but after hearing there will be a new updated cover art for the series done by the incredible Felix Ortiz, I knew it would better for me to wait for its reveal first before posting this review. I mean, look at that! I loved the distinctive quality of the cover art; it reminded me of Star Wars poster. The Combat Codes is the first book in the The Combat Codes Saga trilogy by Alexander Darwin. This is a debut that’s currently a finalist in this year’s SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off), and I think it deserves its spot as a finalist there for its quality. Personally speaking, though, I have to admit that I’m a bit surprised that some readers classified this as fantasy; I think it’s a sci-fi/dystopia novel with a little fantasy element, and it’s a really great one.

“We fight neither to inflict pain nor to prolong suffering. We fight neither to mollify anger nor to satisfy vendetta. We fight neither to accumulate wealth nor to promote social standing. We fight so that the rest shall not have to.”

The story in The Combat Codes takes place in a world where single combat determines the fate of nations, the Combat Codes guide the Grievar to fight so that the rest can remain at peace. We have two main characters to follow in this book. The first one is Cego, a 13 years old Grievar boy with a mysterious past that’s forced to fight his way out of the slave Circles and enter the world’s most prestigious combat school. The other main character is Murray, a retired Grievar Knight who currently scouts for talents to be enlisted into Lyceum for better and elite training. The main story itself isn’t nothing too surprising; if you’ve read plenty of coming-of-age SFF books, you will most likely know how the story goes from point A to B. However, just because a story is predictable doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing; it all always comes down to execution. I found Darwin’s storytelling of this predictable story to be engaging, and the revelations contained in the narrative made me excited for the next book.

“A Grievar shall become neither arrogant in victory nor broken in defeat; this is the path to complacency. A Grievar’s opponent is their greatest teacher; one learns more walking the path of defeat than they do on the road to victory. Such a balanced spirit will give a Grievar the continued purpose to strive for combat mastery.”


I highly enjoyed reading Cego’s character development. The Combat Codes have been forgotten by many Grievar and fighters of the world, but Cego never stops doing his best to uphold the Combat Codes, even when he doesn’t fully remember his past or understand himself. Also, the relationship that Cego built with Murray and the friends—Dozer, Weep, and Knees—he met along the way was well-written. Friendship, mentorship, and standing for what’s right are prominent themes in the story, and I enjoyed reading about them. As I said, it’s a predictable story, even the bully, the villains, and their actions were predictable from their first appearances, but I can’t help but found myself turning the pages. There’s just something about waiting to see bullies receiving retributions that I can’t ever get enough of. However, I do think that the side characters needed more characterizations and focus. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that the next book in the series will fix this.

“A Grievar shall not accumulate land, wealth, servants, or worldly possessions beyond what is necessary for survival. In the act of relinquishing all but dedication to martial prowess, a Grievar will become unburdened, free to attack and defend without hesitation.”


Actions and hand-to-hand combat are very integral in this book. I started reading The Combat Codes expecting there will be a lot of action scenes, and I’m not disappointed by this. Darwin has delivered detailed hand-to-hand combats with a rhythm that flows really well. The combats and the blow by blow traded between fighters were both vivid and impactful. If you’re a fan of martial arts, or maybe Cradle series by Will Wight, I have a good feeling that you’re going to have a blast reading this book. It also helps that the world-building and history of the world enhanced the believability of the combats and stakes contained in them. Plus, Darwin’s prose was accessible, and each epigraph at the beginning of each chapter helped established the importance of Combat Codes in the world.

“A Grievar must fully commit to the present moment. Weighed down by events of the past or too feather-footed in anticipation of the future, a Grievar will be unable to find the rhythm of combat. A wave rolling to shore and receding to sea knows neither purpose nor path; it has no awareness of time passing. So must it be with a Grievar’s every breath; rolling like a wave and fully in the present. Passage Three, Twenty-Seventh Precept of the Combat Codes”


I do, however, want to address one more time that I don’t think of The Combat Codes as a fantasy novel. Almost everything in the world-building relies on technologies, and if anything, the closest comparison I can think of when it comes to the world-building is Red Rising by Pierce Brown or The Hunger Games (with martial arts) by Suzanne Collins. The class distinction and treatment between Purelight and Lacklight, for example, are very reminiscent of the Gold and Red in Red Rising. I have other reasons for this assessment, but I’m afraid that’s diving too deep into spoiler territory. This, of course, doesn’t mean that I’m dismissing the quality of the book; I enjoyed it after all. This is just me disagreeing with the fantasy genre classification.

“Anger is like a boiling pot of water. Useful if you can keep the boil steady, but if turned too hot, it will overflow and become useless.”


I doubt The Combat Codes will revolutionize the genre. But if you’re looking for a fast-paced familiar, charming, tense, and engaging escapism novel with heart and great hand-to-hand combat scenes, this is a no-brainer. I highly enjoyed reading this debut, and I’m so looking forward to continuing to the sequel, Grievar’s Blood.

You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

“We fight neither to inflict pain nor to prolong suffering. We fight neither to mollify anger nor to satisfy vendetta. We fight neither to accumulate wealth nor to promote social standing. We fight so that the rest shall not have to.”.

The Combat Codes at its core is a martial arts based mentor/mentee storyline with some modern day Mr. Miyagi vibes. As a long time Karate Kid fan I’m 150% down for anything which brings me back to the nostalgic feelings I got the first time I watched that movie. :)

Our mentor is Murray a former Grievar Champion now turned scout who is on his yearly mission to go out and find new talent and bring them back to the Lyceum where their abilities will be tested and if they pass they will be granted admission into the school where they will being their 6 year process of becoming elite grievar warriors.

As for our mentee, that is Cego, an orphan boy who was taken from his home and is forced to fight in the underground Circle battles to improve his social standing while patrons place bets and cheer for blood. Like any sleazy underground racket there are of course traps in place to keep the slaves such as Cego from escaping but he has a few tricks of his own. One such trick not only initially fooled Murray but also his current master.

The author pitches the book as if Harry Potter went to Hogwarts to learn MMA instead of Magic and I think that is what led to some reviews criticizing the book. I personally get why he makes the reference and I do think it makes sense however I think it gives readers the impression the book is more Fantasy based then what it actually is. I personally think the story is more of a blend of both Fantasy and Sci-Fi rather than one or the other as some reviewers have called out. All in all I think the mashup worked and it grabbed a hold of me like a rear naked choke and refused to let go until I finished the story.

After reading the Combat Codes I can clearly see why this book was not only an SPFBO 6 finalist but also why Orbit decided to pick this series up. One of the biggest strengths to this book is the author's authentic background in martial arts. As someone who has been studying and competing in martial arts tournaments since the age of 5 I can wholeheartedly say this book has some of the best fight scenes I have ever read. MMA fans will be drawn in by Darwin’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu background as it really brings each fight sequence to life in a way that you feel like you’re ringside watching the action unfold. It’s fast paced, gritty and most importantly brutality authentic to what someone might experience in the underground fight scene that still goes on to this day all around the world.

Honestly my only gripe with this book is the new cover, it feels very Mortal Kombat-esque, whereas the original cover in my honest opinion fits the plot better and gives the reader a quick glimpse into the soul of the book. I get Orbit was going for more of a Fantasy meets martial arts vibe with the dragon on the cover but it really doesn’t fit and I hope one of the boutique company’s gets the rights to do a special edition cough The Broken Binding cough of this book and either brings back the original cover or something closer aligned too it. Not only is this going to be an instant buy the moment I can get access to a hardcover but I’m also going to be first in line to sign up for an arc for both book 2 and 3 if netgalley offers them.

I must say, this was an absolute thrill ride from start to finish! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The author did an amazing job of creating a unique and immersive world that was full of political intrigue, complex characters, and heart-pumping action scenes that left me on the edge of my seat.

The combat scenes were particularly well-written, with vivid descriptions that made me feel like I was right there with them, cheering them on as they fought for their lives.

Overall, I would highly recommend this trilogy to any fan of science fiction or action-packed adventure. It's a fast-paced, thrilling ride that will leave you breathless and begging for more! Five stars all around!