Customer Reviews

Merl Reagle's Sunday Crosswords, Vol. 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You'll never again spend your time working the average mundane crossword puzzle after you've tried one of Merl Reagle's! The clues may be straightforward or a bit devious; either way, they are totally fair and you will often find yourself smiling as you get that "aha!" feeling. THEN, as the clever theme reveals itself to you, the real fun begins. You will laugh out loud with delight! I don't know how Merl pulls this off in puzzle after puzzle, but I'm glad I found them.

Merl Reagle is one of the most ingenious, devious, and interesting puzzle makers around. He comes up with some of the most bizarre clues and answers -- quite a change of pace from so many crosswords. You do a couple dozen from one paper or another and you start to recognize patterns, word usage, clue trends. Not with Merl: there's always something bizarre, interesting, and funny around the corner.

Being a California product also, I frequently enjoyed these crosswords in the Sunday San Francisco paper, and was happy to see Amazon carries the whole collection, of which I hope to get more volumes. Lest I be thought to be "damning with faint praise", I would like to add that these puzzles are delightful. Each puzzle carries a theme, and when you deduce the theme many of the clues which initially baffle one becomes clear. Each puzzle also contains clues that are puns, antonyms, synonyms and often just plain clever. Money well spent for hours of delighted amusement.

What fun! Now I don't have to wait for the Sunday paper to enjoy Merl's talent and humor. I love taxing my brain with his puzzles.