Reviews - The Lost Puzzler

This book deserves the highest praise I can give: it reminded me of Cage of Souls, one of my favorite books of all time. Like Cage of Souls, The Lost Puzzler thoroughly immerses the reader in a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has dwindled and diminished to the point that we are flickering out as a species. These two stories have very different physical settings, very different ideas of how humans would react, and different scopes, but the tone underlying both was similar. These two authors have tapped into a writing style that is both straightforward and rich. There are myriad examples of depth in both books as the authors examine what core traits of humanity remain when all the accoutrements of modern society are stripped away. While these two authors come to very different conclusions, the results in both cases are spectacular, heartfelt, and adventurous.

In The Lost Puzzler, Eyal Kless introduces us to a future in which we have self-destructed as a species. An unrestrained war has triggered a global collapse of civilization, economy, and technology. However, despite the widespread destruction and barren world that remains 500 years after The Catastrophe, some remnants of the past persist. These high-tech and poorly-understood gadgets are highly coveted in this post-apocalypse, primarily because nobody knows how to replicate them to create more. As supplies dwindle, the desperate survivors huddle together wherever they can survive. We meet our main character in one of these small settlements in the woods. These rural, very manual settlements contrast sharply with the very few remaining cities, which the survivors abandoned and to which they only recently have begun to return. These cities, including the City of Towers are full of mysterious and ancient technology, far superior to anything the current civilization can create or replicate.

Rafik, one of our main characters, is a Puzzler. He was born with an ability to solve complex locks that are also remnants of a past culture that has risen to mythic proportions because of their ability to create incredible technological advancements. This race, known as the Tarkanians, has been eliminated during The Catastrophe, but the artifacts they have left behind cast a long shadow over the present. The survivors begin to graft these artifacts onto their bodies, build up a new economy around them, and create guilds who largely control access to them. In short, the emerging human society begins to try to rebuild itself with the objects and technology of the past. As we become more dependent on these ancient-yet-futuristic artifacts, they suddenly begin to become scarce. This is where our Puzzler comes in. His talents are extremely highly valued, and he almost immediately becomes embroiled in a tug-of-war in which he has virtually no agency. This embitters him, and events unfold from there. I digress, though, because Rafik actually gets introduced after our other main character: The Scribe. As far as I remember, we never learn his name. His background is that of a wealthy family who sent him to use his talents (he can see through things as a result of a fairly common congenital condition in this post-apocalyptic world) with the Guild of Historians. He has strong character development over time, which felt natural based on the things he goes through in the book. We spend a lot of the story with him as he tries to piece together Rafik's history so it can be applied to the future.

There are many twists and turns in this book, the energy stays high most of the time, and the characters felt genuine and interesting, even if some of them were abrasive. I would've liked to hear a bit more from some of the minor characters, but I understand why the author would choose to move on without them to keep the plot moving and the book from ballooning to a huge volume. This book is great for sci-fi readers like me who want to have some depth to the plot. Kless does a great job of examining humanity itself in addition to his characters and settings. Characters change and grow, sometimes drastically over time. I will happily recommend this to just about anyone, and I will be picking up the sequel as soon as possible to continue this excellent story. I almost forgot to mention that this author is also a classically-trained violinist, something he and I share and which is part of the reason I was drawn to pick up this book at a used bookstore.

skuld3996's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

idamus's review against another edition

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1.0

DNF

lgrn's review against another edition

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2.0

This reads like a young adult novel, in the worst of ways.

ithinktfiam's review against another edition

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1.0

It started off ok, but quickly changed. It's a post-apocalyptic world that implies Earth but then implies not. It starts as SF in that world and then magical tattoos show up and allow magical actions, all while staying in an SF claimed world. Clarke's statement about technology and magic doesn't help with this travesty.

Then the author used the deservedly maligned trope of repeated flashbacks.

Then he just keeps writing and writing.

What started off as an interesting premise turned into a boring mess.