The Devil To Pay - Blackwood, Gary

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Résumé :
Some knowledge is dangerous...especially in the wrong hands... As the conflict in Vietnam heats up, Simon Hannay is pursuing his Masters in Comparative Literature at a Midwest university, teaching karate on the side and doing his best to avoid the draft. He's not overly excited about his thesis... until he stumbles upon an encrypted Renaissance journal that's been hidden for decades in the rare book room. Simon, who's been fascinated by codes and ciphers since he was a kid, convinces his advisor to let him use the mysterious codex as his thesis topic. But first he has to decipher it-and, as he soon learns, that's going to be a formidable task. To add to his problems, an unidentified rival he calls the Mystery Man is desperate to get his hands on the codex-so desperate that he ransacks Simon's apartment and even drugs and interrogates him and his advisor. With the help of Gabriela, a Brazilian classmate, Simon finally hits upon the key to the cipher. Together they struggle to unravel and translate the text, which was penned by a 16th-century Portuguese fortune-hunter. In the process, they learn the secrets the codex contains, and why the Mystery Man is so determined to steal it....

Biographie:
Gary Blackwood has published over thirty novels and nonfiction books for young readers and adults. The Shakespeare Stealer and Shakespeare's Scribe were on American Library Association's list of Best Books for Young Adults and Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books. The Year of the Hangman was on the Best Books for Young Adults list and School Library Journal's Best Books. Around the World in 100 Days was a Smithsonian Notable and one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Books for Teens. His adult novels include two Victorian mysteries, Bucket's List and Bucket's Brigade. He's also a widely produced playwright....

Sommaire:
Some knowledge is dangerous...especially in the wrong hands... As the conflict in Vietnam heats up, Simon Hannay is pursuing his Masters in Comparative Literature at a Midwest university, teaching karate on the side and doing his best to avoid the draft. He's not overly excited about his thesis... until he stumbles upon an encrypted Renaissance journal that's been hidden for decades in the rare book room. Simon, who's been fascinated by codes and ciphers since he was a kid, convinces his advisor to let him use the mysterious codex as his thesis topic. But first he has to decipher it-and, as he soon learns, that's going to be a formidable task. To add to his problems, an unidentified rival he calls the Mystery Man is desperate to get his hands on the codex-so desperate that he ransacks Simon's apartment and even drugs and interrogates him and his advisor. With the help of Gabriela, a Brazilian classmate, Simon finally hits upon the key to the cipher. Together they struggle to unravel and translate the text, which was penned by a 16th-century Portuguese fortune-hunter. In the process, they learn the secrets the codex contains, and why the Mystery Man is so determined to steal it....