Decoded
by Mai Jia
Decoded tells the tragic story of a math genius who becomes China’s greatest code-breaker, only to be driven mad by the unfathomable darkness of the world of cryptology. The book went through countless revisions, at one time running to over a million words. The protagonist, Rong Jinzhen, is a classic Mai Jia character, possessing exceptional intelligence, who is yet also deeply flawed and fragile as a person.