S.

When you pick up S. the first problem you have is how to read the thing! I believe the title page gives you the clue. Having read the initial correspondence between Jen and the stranger, I followed her route of discovery and read the V. M. Straka Ship of Theseus novel first ignoring all the notations. Early in their conversation, before any of their notes back and forth, Jen finishes the novel in one sitting "Thanks! Read the rest in one sitting - wow." The stranger then teases Jen implying she has not seen the real message in the book whereby Jen goes back doing more of an analysis and leaves the first run of commentary starting their dialogue. The only notes in the book when Jen reads it first are the translator’s footnotes and the stranger’s pencil notes.Firstly, the novel. Ship of Theseus. The story is a strange one and I’m not even sure what genre you would put it in... fiction certainly but adventure/horror/mystery/fantasy/supernatural... it has all these elements but none are defining.We first meet S., the title character, in a city by the sea. He is very wet, has no memory of how he got there or who he is. He wanders aimlessly for a time in a surreal atmosphere before entering a tavern. Here he meets a woman reading a book; she seems familiar but professes she does not know S. It is a trap and S. is shanghaied, next waking on a ship at sea. The ship, the woman and the book reoccur throughout the novel as S. tries to escape but always returns. Sounds strange as I say but to go any deeper here would spoil the experience of reading.While I enjoyed the novel I struggled to devise the meaning, if any, behind the story. It seemed to me to be about many things not least unrequited love and loss as well as the greed of humanity and its propensity for evil to obtain what it desires. If the story was a metaphor for something deeper I’m afraid I missed it although the books and the Island struck a chord. Life perhaps? It was certainly intriguing with a seemingly unending war between good and evil where a balance is maintained by bloody action on both sides, with S. becoming a major player towards the end... certainly worth reading.Secondly, we have the book’s footnotes and the margin notes which are an entire story in their own right. As the original manuscript for Ship of Theseus was not in English the book has been translated by one F. X Caldeira. Many readers (in the fictional world of the book) believe the translator’s forward and footnotes are actually messages in code to the author Straka. The first margin notes in the book are Eric’s pencil ones which are then followed by a dialogue between Jen and Eric as they try to identify Straka and unravel Caldeira’s messages. As they delve deeper a sense of threat develops as unseen enemies try to prevent Jen and Eric revealing the truth. Is it paranoia? Is the threat real? Are they about to reveal a clandestine organisation that kills without compunction? Is it simply academic rivalry? The paranoia, real or imagined, drips from the page as you read, becoming more and more involved in Jen and Eric’s quest to learn the truth. Again I’ll say no more as to do so would spoil the fun.The margin notes are handwritten in two distinct styles; Jen’s are lowercase cursive script while Eric’s are all in uppercase block letters. Several colours are used to indicate the different iterations as the book passes back and forth between Jen and Eric.I don’t believe you need to try and read them in the order they were written, i.e. follow a colour, as some have suggested. Not only would this be an almost impossible task it seemed to me each full set of notes on a particular page moved the narrative of Jen and Eric along correctly in time. In truth it would probably spoil it trying to read a single set of colours first as near the end you would undoubtedly read a future note too early. Then again, I could have it completely wrong, that is the beauty of the whole book.And finally, the book’s production. It is simply astounding. Place this in the hands of any book lover and their heart will melt. It arrives sealed in a functional slipcase to ensure the contents remain intact. You open the cellophane and are presented with a perforated seal embossed with an S.. You break this with a letter opener and slide out Ship of Theseus which is a faithful reproduction of an old 1949 library book (the only giveaway is the smallest copyright panel below the library in/out stamps at the back of the book, and even this is disguised to look like the Library’s lending rules). In the book are numerous pieces of ephemera, old letters, postcards, articles, etc., that all expand the story and relate to Jen and Eric’s notes as they try to solve the mystery of Straka and learn more about one another.S. is a rare thing; individually each element is very good in its own right, however, the sum of the parts is breathtaking and every book lover should own a copy, read it and enjoy the experience.• The story• The foot notes• The margin notes• The ephemera• The codes• The quality of productIf you had the time you could spend hours of enjoyment unravelling more and more... and at the end there is one mystery left unanswered... how did we, the reader, get the book?

I come at this review having not yet finished the book but I am more then happy to rave about it - I can't help but describe it as a testament to the written word and recommend it should absolutely be brought in hardback!The idea is brilliant in its simplicity but stunning in its execution - within the box of S is a library book called The Ship of Theseus "written" by the author V M Straka, who in true Shakespearean style has a mystery surrounding his identity. That is one story because within the margins of the "library book" are notes left by 2 people who use this book to communicate - as well as trying to uncover the great literary mystery of who V M Straka is they also discover each other; and its not just the notes they leave in the margins but the bits of paper they have stuffed within said pages that go towards fleshing out the story and add to the deepening mystery.Conceived by JJ Abrams (yes he of Star Trek, Alias and Super 8 fame) and Doug Dorst this is a book that should be owned by anyone who loves to read - my only regret is that I couldn't read this in one sitting! I wish there were more books like this!!

I’ve just started this great creation and it’s captured my mind on so many levels. If you love a great story with depths you can dive into, you love the accoutrements that necessarily authenticate that journey, the compass and map, the small specialist tools unique for the job, and even more if you’ve actually been a go and do it adventurer (I lived in the Borneo jungles with the Iban Dyak head hunters for two years, investigated war crimes embedded u set over as a refugee in Northern Syria (it was the French!), and escaped with my life and followed by a death sentence from the Chinese communist party, and more as an independent investigative journalist) and dig in deep then this book so far has given me a ‘desk’ adventure second to none. I’ll write more as I progress through this journey. Sam, xxx

Unlike anything I’ve ever read.

Ship of Theseus é verdadeiramente impecável. Desde a capa até a qualidade do papel e impressão, cada detalhe foi cuidadosamente pensado. Espero gostar tanto desse mistério quanto gostei da edição, livros interativos são fascinantes! Altamente recomendo!

Steal deal. Stellar book

Zelf hou ik niet zo van het lezen van boeken maar deze lijkt zelfs mij zeer interessant

A fun book. Arrived in an excellent condition. Just buy it, you won’t regret it. Fun to read and it nerver gets boring,