Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Book, But A Maze Shaped Like A Book, August 14, 2003
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!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once you enter The Maze, you'll never forget it . . ., February 1, 2004
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!
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I met them at the gate though I usually wait inside..., July 28, 2004
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
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