Maze: A Riddle in Words and Pictures

by Christopher Manson

Book Overview

This is not really a book. This is a building in the shape of a book...a maze. Each numbered page depicts a room in the maze. Tempted? Test your wits against mine. I guarantee that my maze will challenge you to think in ways you've never thought before. But beware. One wrong turn and you may never escape

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805010882
• ISBN13: 9780805010886
• Release Date: November 1985
• Publisher: Holt McDougal
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 10.0" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

I met them at the gate though I usually wait inside...

This book is truly one of the most amazing creations I've ever held in my two hands. The dialogues, the pictures, the clues, riddles, symbolism, historical references...it's all fantastic. I've been working on this for over three years now with my best friend and several others, and although we solved it over a year ago, we still keep going back to this book. Everytime you open it up, there's something new to discover. And the more research we do, the more incredible it becomes. It truly lives up to its' title as the World's Most Challenging Puzzle. We're still trying to dicipher clues in some of the rooms, although we have theories about nearly all of them, and some hard facts on quite a few. If you want to discuss anything about the Maze, please feel free to e-mail me...we're always interested in new opinions

Finally! The Answer is out there!

I first found this online 7 years ago, and it has tormented me ever since. I thought I was alone, but the reviews here tell me how many others there are. My ray of sunshine came when I searched the net for the answer, and found it. You don't have to cheat! (I cxan't beleive it either.) Amazing riddle . . . the best "choose your own adventure" book EVER.

Once you enter The Maze, you'll never forget it . . .

As an elementary school teacher, I have read thousands of childern's books. This is one of the best. There are layers upon layers of meaning to peel away. My second graders were stimulated by the pictures and the physical structure of the maze. The fifth graders I shared it with began to discover the subtlety of the textual clues. In middle school, the students noticed non-linear connections between rooms in the maze, complexities in the placement of the chambers, and the double entendres of the mysterious host.As an adult, I found myself thrilled by the challenge of The Maze, the creepy ambiguity of meaning, and a pervading sinister feeling that made my stomach uneasy and gave me goosebumps up and down my arms.I envy those who are stepping into the entrance hall for the first time . . . Good Luck!

Not A Book, But A Maze Shaped Like A Book

This work is an engrossing, intriguing, thought-provoking, perspective-changing, paradigm-shifting...maze. This is a work of genious. I can't think of any book, puzzle, or movie to compare it to (except maybe "Labrynth"). The subtle yet surreal illustrations and short dialouges from your guide draw the visitor/reader into a maddening underworld of the Maze. A friend showed me this book about 13 years ago, and the illustration style and overall eerieness and CHALLENGE stayed in my memory, I recently purchased it, to find it as wonderful as when I was 14 years old. I'm above average at solving puzzles, and I can't even get a good start into "MAZE" before I start doubting my whole interpretation of the "clues", and run around in circles blindly. I give this work 5 stars for the premise and flawless execution, but I would subtract a half star for the following reason: After weeks of serious attempts at deciphering the symbolism, it is still as unintelligible as some of Lewis Carroll's or Aleister Crowley's nonsense. Yes, I am dense. The only solution we've figured out to MAZE involves "cheating", unless that's the real solution. Notice on the cover how there is a very ambiguous fish over the door? Well, that's what its like inside, too: "ambiguous at best." Utterly ecclectic, and gripping. LET ME OUT!

Hands-down the best maze I've ever been lost in

I first stumbled upon this book at the age of twelve. I always enjoyed mazes and thought I'd be able to add another notch to my belt in no time at all, an hour at most. I spent every free minute for the next several months looking at this beautiful book, completely lost in its simplicity. Twelve years later, I found myself entering the maze again, just as bewildered. I finally, with a little help from my friends (who think this book is evil in its purest form,) was able to find the shortest path from 1 to 45 and back again. Now if I can only unravel the hidden riddle and trace the answer through those many rooms, I believe I may just die a happy man.As for the author/illustrator Christopher Manson, I tip my proverbial hat to you, sir. I believe you may have me in check, but I've a few tricks left up my sleeve as well. I both fear and covet the next offering of this caliber, though to equal MAZE would be an astonishing feat. This is my favorite book. Ever.