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amotisse's review against another edition
5.0
I definitely love puzzles but I bought this book based on the creative format alone! Incredibly inventive, unusual and intriguing. A visual splendour and wonderfully thought provoking. Some bits easily found though not completely solved yet.
thecesspit's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot of gorgeous mash up art in this book, put together in lovely envelopes.
The Puzzle aspect however is a little lacking - the documents don't hold up on their, but each has a clue written that expands on what the solver has to do... and these clues are relatively fast to resolve if you've done a few puzzles in the past. And they don't use the full scope of the art and documents - often only a tiny fragment is used - drawing the reader/solver from the rest.
And as far as I could tell, the art doesn't by itself tell a story, or link together.
The solution is relatively satisfying - the bonus extra solution however we couldn't quite parse.
3 stars because it's a beautiful - only really 2 stars as a puzzle book.
The Puzzle aspect however is a little lacking - the documents don't hold up on their, but each has a clue written that expands on what the solver has to do... and these clues are relatively fast to resolve if you've done a few puzzles in the past. And they don't use the full scope of the art and documents - often only a tiny fragment is used - drawing the reader/solver from the rest.
And as far as I could tell, the art doesn't by itself tell a story, or link together.
The solution is relatively satisfying - the bonus extra solution however we couldn't quite parse.
3 stars because it's a beautiful - only really 2 stars as a puzzle book.
jo_in_bookland's review against another edition
4.0
I love Nick Bantock's work and this was no exception. The beautiful envelopes and their contents were a pleasure to look at and explore. The majority of the puzzles were quite easy but they were still fun. I needed help putting the sentence together at the end though.
I'm glad I still have more of his work to get through.
I'm glad I still have more of his work to get through.
attytheresa's review against another edition
5.0
I have loved [a:Nick Bantock|28699|Nick Bantock|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1193528700p2/28699.jpg]'s work since I fell in love with his [b:Griffin and Sabine|381102|Griffin and Sabine (Griffin & Sabine #1)|Nick Bantock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356716196l/381102._SX50_.jpg|981140] series. I have squirreled away boxes of notecards with his artwork, and treasure my set of his books. Not long ago I discovered he'd created and published this little gem, more interactive puzzle than book to be read. The premise is that Magnus Berlin's ancester, back in the Quattrocentro era, was commissioned by King Francis 1 of France to create an amusement for the court. He came up with a puzzle that led to a political and social philosophy that is espoused to this day. After discovering this 'entertainment' by his ancester Berlin is inspired to create his own puzzle for future generations to solve and thus share the philosophy espoused back in the day.
Once again we have Bantock's signature rich artwork tucked inside equally decorative envelopes. There's a list of clues corresponding to each envelope that when solved, leads to an anagram which you can sort from another guide provided. i got halfway through before I was able to solve a single clue, at which point they all started falling into place. Some are incredibly easy, others quite difficult, and there are some amusing deceptions -- as in there is much included ot distract your attention so you make an easy 'find' much harder than it needed to be. Paper and pen are needed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, spending a couple hours working through it, split over 2 days. Like doing a crossword puzzle, you need to walk away sometimes for a bit to get those last ones. I think this would also work very well solving with others at the same time - an entertainment at a dinner party or family gathering.
What is important is to keep everything in order and put back into the correct envelopes. I recommend stickys rather than writing on the documents themselves in order not to ruin the artwork.
NOTE: I think there is a mistake in one of the clues. As the answers are not provided, I will check with either the artist or publisher. I did see a comment here on GR that another clue had a mistake in it that the publisher has fixed in later printings since first in 2018 -- and I have one of those later printings.
Once again we have Bantock's signature rich artwork tucked inside equally decorative envelopes. There's a list of clues corresponding to each envelope that when solved, leads to an anagram which you can sort from another guide provided. i got halfway through before I was able to solve a single clue, at which point they all started falling into place. Some are incredibly easy, others quite difficult, and there are some amusing deceptions -- as in there is much included ot distract your attention so you make an easy 'find' much harder than it needed to be. Paper and pen are needed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, spending a couple hours working through it, split over 2 days. Like doing a crossword puzzle, you need to walk away sometimes for a bit to get those last ones. I think this would also work very well solving with others at the same time - an entertainment at a dinner party or family gathering.
What is important is to keep everything in order and put back into the correct envelopes. I recommend stickys rather than writing on the documents themselves in order not to ruin the artwork.
NOTE: I think there is a mistake in one of the clues. As the answers are not provided, I will check with either the artist or publisher. I did see a comment here on GR that another clue had a mistake in it that the publisher has fixed in later printings since first in 2018 -- and I have one of those later printings.
kwalks's review against another edition
2.0
While the artwork is gorgeous, it doesn't have much connection to the puzzles or a true story line. The puzzles themselves are mostly presented as weirdly constructed synonyms to the answers.
omnibozo22's review against another edition
3.0
Bantock's puzzle books rarely reach the intriguing level of his Griffin and Sabine series. The images are always interesting, but the puzzles are mostly simplistic. That's almost OK, as the images are so interesting.
marcia_94's review
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Some of the envelopes were a bit difficult to solve and I didn't get the whole sentence but it was still a fun time.
hannahbananarama's review
4.0
Super enjoyable way to spend a snowy morning. This is not a traditional book but rather a piece of art as well as a puzzle. It begins with a brief letter of background and invitation to the challenge from one Magnus Berlin. Each page is a detailed envelope containing a page of intricate art, both front and back, somewhere containing a word that you must puzzle out. Mostly you really will need the clues to figure out the puzzle, some of the clues make the puzzle almost too easy but there’s still a decent amount of challenge for many of them. Perhaps a really experienced puzzle worker will be able to figure the solution without the clues but I am not that person. This would be a lot fun with the right partner but it’s also very enjoyable to curl up with on your own.
Passed along by my aunt and uncle.
Passed along by my aunt and uncle.
unnaturalhistory's review
5.0
I had a fun time with this book, but wish the puzzles were a little harder.
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