The Emperor's Code (The 39 Clues, Book 8)

Written by Gordon Korman

Narrated by David Pittu

Tensions run high in the explosive 8th book of 39 Clues, the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

One belief has sustained fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, on their hunt for the 39 Clues: They are the good guys. But then a shocking discovery about their parents shatters everything Amy and Dan think they know, dividing the two siblings for the first time ever. When Dan disappears in a country of more than a billion people, Amy has to make a terrible choice - find the next Clue . . . or find her younger brother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scholastic Audio Books
• Release date: Apr 6, 2010
• ISBN: 9780545238830

Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman published his first book at age fourteen and since then has written more than one hundred middle grade and teen novels. Favorites include the New York Times bestselling Ungifted, Supergifted, The Superteacher Project, The Unteachables, Pop, Notorious, Unplugged, Operation Do-Over, Slugfest, and the Masterminds series. Gordon lives with his family on Long Island, New York. You can visit him online at gordonkorman.com.

Reviews for The Emperor's Code (The 39 Clues, Book 8)

[bookslesstravelled · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun way to teach history, and really get kids and young adults into learning. Even as an older teen, and adult, I still learned from these books, and enjoyed the ride along the way.

[Jessica Smotrys · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really really like this one I think It is the one of the best

[Josh Jackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book. We’ve been listening to them as a family (2 boys- 12 & 9). It’s fun to listen as a family & try to figure out the mystery.

[Steven Millar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read some of the greatest books ever and this is one of the best

[Anna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book ? is supa cool ?.

Amy and Dan get get split up.

How are they going to find each other?

What’s gonna happen?

[funstm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was fast paced and action packed and it was wickedly good. Unlike Alex Rider it's not overly sad and unlike Cherub - I like the main characters. As a reader, I relate to Amy but I love Dan's way of looking at things. They're a great team. Nellie, the au pair, is hilarious. She's laid back and loyal and can speak a seemingly million different languages. The rest of the Cahill family kind of suck, but what's an adventure story without a villain? Or ten? The plot is riveting - the mix of fiction and history is fascinating and I'm flying through the series. They're not particularly long - but then this kind of book never is - or at least never feels like it is. I can't wait to read the rest. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.


Jonah? Really? Honestly I feel sorry for the rest of the kids in the hunt - they all have horrible evil parents. Not exactly setting a great example there. At least Jonah does try to redeem himself - although how much remains to be seen.

[true54blue · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a decent read but there are so many inaccuracies that I found it hard to stay with the plot. For instance the Chinese city of Xi'an is misspelled as it must have an apostrophe because it is two characters. The poem on p27 supposedly written in 1932 is in simplified Chinese whereas Puyi would have used Traditional Complex characters and a couple of the characters are mutts combining both. The helicopter mentioned near the end is based on a real event but the Frenchman in question used a stock machine and flew to the top of Everest from Nepal, not China. Aside from this it's a fast ride through several of China's most famous places.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Children series fiction; action/mystery. Book 8 of the series. Gordon Korman delivers alright, but a couple of the passages could've used polishing. After finishing 1-7 I didn't think I wanted to bother with 8, 9, 10, but after finishing 8, I want to read 9.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Amy and Dan Cahill are continuing their hunt for the 39 Clues and this story carries them into the world of Chinese history. Love the intrigue and the sibling love!

[wichitafriendsschool · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One belief has sustained fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, on their hunt for the 39 Clues: They are the good guys. But then a shocking discovery about their parents shatters everything Amy and Dan think they know, dividing the two siblings for the first time ever. When Dan disappears in a country of more than a billion people, Amy has to make a terrible choice - find the next Clue . . . or find her younger brother.

[martensgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting stuff about Chinese history- I hope children reading this series are inspired to find out more about it,

[weisser4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great Korman book for children. My husband and my upstairs neighbor have read it as well. Can't wait for the next in the new series.

[virginiahomeschooler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The eighth book in the 39 Clues series finds the kids racing through China to track down clues. I love how these books add little tidbits about the locations they visit. I especially liked the bits about the terracotta army in this one. I find myself reading these with the perspective of an adult (of course) and wishing there was more detail given. But then, kids would probably be turned off by that, so there's probably something brilliant in that. Give them enough info to get them interested in the subject, and then maybe they'll go off and learn about it on their own. Fun book from a cute series.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amy and Dan leave Africa behind and enter one of the most populated countries in the world, China, in pursuit of more clues. As they fly to their new destination, a clue hidden on the airline movie points them where to start in this immense country. They begin in the Forbidden City, after realizing that the Emperor Puyi was actually a Janus, hard at work on a secret and important task. Somewhere in this heavily guarded historic site is a clue, leading them to a Clue. Their mission is hard, but even harder is the interior struggle the children are handling after their revelation from the last book that their parents were Madrigals.

Amy is lost. She is starting to wonder if her parents were evil, and all of her dearly held memories are tainted. When she challenges Dan about this possibility, they have their biggest fight yet. He dashes off, and before they can cool down and make peace, Dan is cleverly kidnapped in the middle of Tiananmen Square. Amy and Nellie search frantically, but aren't sure if Dan was taken or left of his own accord, as he was so furious earlier. Dan discovers that his captors are Ian and Natalie Kabra - fortunately missing their malicious mother - and they want to know what Dan found in the Forbidden City. He easily feeds them a bit of information without revealing too much, and they dump him, only to be picked up by another rival, Jonah Wizard.

Jonah, however, greets him like beloved family. Technically they are family, but affection has always been absent. This time, Jonah takes Dan under his wing, inviting him to live the life of the rich and famous, stay in his amazing hotel suites, ride in his limo, and participate backstage at his concerts. Jonah tells Dan that he has his men looking for Amy, and eventually confides to Dan that since they can't find her anywhere, they fear she must have left the country in her pursuit of the 39 clues. Dan fears that Jonah is right; his sister wants nothing to do with him after their fight, and isn't even looking for him.

Of course, Amy is going out of her mind with worry, and she and Nellie are exhausting themselves searching for Dan. They connect with Alistair, who speaks the language and is their best chance for finding news on Dan's whereabouts. Through Alistair they learn that Dan is actually with Jonah Wizard; they are relieved that he is safe, but make valiant efforts to track down Jonah and get Dan back. The novel alternates between Amy and Dan's adventures, now that they are separated, as both siblings decide that they only way to find each other in a country so big is to continue the hunt. If they are looking for the same thing, eventually their paths will cross. Amy and Nellie find a secret room on the Great Wall, and Dan finds mysterious artifacts in a temple run by Shaolin monks. Eventually, they reunite at the base of Mt. Everest, where another coveted clue resides at the peak of the tallest mountain.

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman is the eighth of the original 39 Clues series. The clues take Cahill siblings to Beijing and later to Mt. Everest. It is the first time that Dan and Amy are separated, while searching through the Forbidden City.

For most of this series, Dan and Amy haven't known their family branch. They are Cahills but not associated with a house like all their other relatives are. Now they know and it scares the bejeebers out of them. Now comes the age old question of nature versus nurture. Their performance so far on the clue hunt makes them re-evaluate their upbringing.

Along the way, Dan and Jonah Wizard form an unlikely alliance, while Amy begins to have her doubts about Nelly. Through their own methods, Dan and Amy work their way across China — through important historical locals — and to the base of Mt. Everest.

I enjoyed the adventures through China. Part of that stems from my children's study of China (the culture and the language). The adventures though around Mt. Everest went from dramatic to absurd very quickly — and then hovered there (literally) for far too long

[sraval_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love all of the suspense and mystery in this book just like the rest in the series. I can't wait to read the next one!

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The way the authors of this series blend fact with fiction is absolutely astounding to me. I feel compelled to look up every little "fact" stated to see if it's true or simply part of the Cahill canon, but I stop myself because I REFUSE to destroy the temporary suspension of disbelief with this series (at least until I've finished it).

[joqu05 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A really good book. This time they go to China and bump in to Jonah, and Jonah manipulates Dan that Amy doesn't want to find him.

[jabu815 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like this book. I think that is the second best book in the series

[porch_reader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Book #8 in the 39 Clues series, and it is another good one. At the end of Book #7, Amy and Dan learned some shocking news about their family and Amy's reaction really upsets Dan. When he storms off in the middle of Tiananmen Square, Dan is kidnapped. Amy and Nellie (their au pair) are forced to search for Dan and the next clue. Full of action and suspense, this book kept Ben (my fourth-grade son) and me on the edge of our seats.

[59square · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another fast-paced adventure for the Cahill siblings. They just discovered that they are Madrigals - the worst of all the Cahill families. The Cahills and their au pair end up in China, where they are separated during a fight. Dan ends up with their cousin Jonah, who has been sort of in the background during many of the missions. Jonah is a rap star and famous mogul, and he manipulates Dan into believing that Amy doesn't want to be with him anymore. While Amy and Dan take different paths through China, they both end up at the top of Mt Everest, with many of the Cahill branches right on their heels. Korman does a good job with this one - incorporating the Cahills' fears that they are truly murderers and evil with the story, as well as the siblings' fight. There are some cool ideas in this book, but as always, this series does a good job of just telling some of the history and allowing tweens to explore the rest for themselves. There is a very obvious code in the book as well, to allow kids who haven’t been following all the clues a little taste of solving the clues.

[youthgpl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another fast-paced adventure for the Cahill siblings. They just discovered that they are Madrigals - the worst of all the Cahill families. The Cahills and their au pair end up in China, where they are separated during a fight. Dan ends up with their cousin Jonah, who has been sort of in the background during many of the missions. Jonah is a rap star and famous mogul, and he manipulates Dan into believing that Amy doesn't want to be with him anymore. While Amy and Dan take different paths through China, they both end up at the top of Mt Everest, with many of the Cahill branches right on their heels. Korman does a good job with this one - incorporating the Cahills' fears that they are truly murderers and evil with the story, as well as the siblings' fight. There are some cool ideas in this book, but as always, this series does a good job of just telling some of the history and allowing tweens to explore the rest for themselves. There is a very obvious code in the book as well, to allow kids who haven’t been following all the clues a little taste of solving the clues.

[prkcs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As the race to find the 39 Clues builds to its explosive finish, Amy and Dan must explore an ancient culture and steal a clue guarded by thousands of the world's best-trained soldiers. It's the most dangerous search yet ... and it may mean the end for Amy and Dan.

[montse2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the 39 Clues Series. Anyone who loves history and adventure will love this series. In this book we meet up with Dan and Amy who along with there babysitter Nelly have traveled to China. As Dan and Amy find out more about the 39 Clues and there parents involvement in the search Amy begins to have doubts about who there parents really were, and as a result of her doubts Dan and Amy get in a fight and become separated. As they try to find each other each must deal with there doubts about the continuing the hunt.