Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

S. is one of the best books I’ve read. Period. But I believe I feel differently than the average reviewer because I made the conscious decision that I was going to “believe” before I started reading. You see, you can only enjoy this book if you go in accepting that you are not its first owner and that what you are reading was not intended for your eyes. The ability to become an active participant instead of a passive reader, I would imagine, is the difference between loving this book and hating it. I fall so far onto the “love” side of the spectrum that I simply cannot wait to read it again. S. is really a story about 6 principal characters: • S. – The main character in the novel "Ship of Theseus" who is suffering from amnesia. The novel follows S. as he desperately tries to figure out who he is and what his significance is to both the Ship of Theseus and the various ports at which it docks. • V.M. Straka – an enigmatic author of the novel Ship of Theseus, the book which serves as stage to this mystery. • The Translator (FXC) – a historian of Straka’s works who not only translates his novels into a variety of different languages but also pens commentary in the form of footnotes throughout Ship of Theseus. • Eric – an exhausted theorist who believes the mystery of “Who is V.M. Straka” can be solved via subtext clues cleverly embedded throughout Ship of Theseus • Jen – a student who stumbles upon Eric’s copy of Ship of Theseus and who’s penchant for researching the obscure and who's fresh perspective on the tale helps reveal that the initial question of “Who is V.M. Straka” is only the tip of a very, VERY large iceberg. • YOU – You are the 3rd handler of this book. Jen and Eric have taken extensive notes in the margins and left dozens of pieces of ephemera tucked into the pages that serve as clues. You will use these clues to not only help solve the mystery of V.M. Straka, but also explore the mystery of why it is that you now have this book in your possession. By reading S., you essentially become a character. In the same way that Eric and Jen attempt to solve a mystery about FXC and VM Straka, you must solve the mystery of Eric and Jen. Eric and Jen will often express frustrations over how they are not privy to the conversations and events that took place outside the pages of Ship of Theseus. This is not dissimilar to frustrations you, as the reader, will experience when Jen and Eric engage in meetings and ongoings outside of the book’s margins. It’s a brilliantly complex and maddeningly open-ended plot hurdle that you will regularly encounter throughout S. The quantity of information that is thrown at you all at once is alarmingly difficult to comprehend. This is, of course, intentional. You may reach a page that has a postcard tucked into the binding, has 2 footnotes from FXC, has 11 margin notes from Eric and Jen (in 4 different ink colors), and, obviously, the continued Ship of Theseus novel. There is no good way to digest all of this, you simply have to read through it and absorb it as best you can before moving on. As you progress through the book, you pick up tricks for understanding when a note was written, who wrote it, and what the meaning is. Unfortunately, you’ll gain this perspective just in time to realize that – at some point – you’ll have to start the book all over again. However, while this is undeniably frustrating, it lends authenticity to the overarching plot of S., pulls you deeper into the story, and makes you feel like you really are solving a mystery. In this way, Eric and Jen become very real and you’ll feel like you can help them in the same way they are trying to help V.M. Straka. S. is so much more than a book. It’s an experience. I continue to obsess over every detail, every clue, and every word contained in these pages. But, what’s funny about S., is that I wouldn’t recommend this book to most of my friends and family. Simply put, I just don’t think many people will “get it.” I don’t know how many people have the tolerance for ambiguity in the same way I do. I don’t know if other people will appreciate the complexity, the depth, or the details like I do. If The Da Vinci Code was the pizza of the literary world, then S. is the sushi. Most people probably won’t like it, but it will be passionately loved for by a few. I could go on about this book for days. I would write more, but I have to go Google how to read a “rail-fence” cipher so I can continue solving this mystery :)