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Rating: 
Summary: Hours of distraction (days, if you're like me)
Review: I mourned the demise of the New Yorker cryptic, and was elated (Editor hugs the tardy but joyous [6]) when I found this book. Cryptics are very popular in Britain and their former territories, though not as common here in the US. A must for those who enjoy wordplay.
Rating:
Summary: Hours of distraction (days, if you're like me)
Review: I mourned the demise of the New Yorker cryptic, and was elated (Editor hugs the tardy but joyous [6]) when I found this book. Cryptics are very popular in Britain and their former territories, though not as common here in the US. A must for those who enjoy wordplay.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome collection of small cryptics
Review: The "New Yorker" ran slender puzzle column for a couple of years in a marvelous attempt to introduce cryptic crosswords to a larger US audience. These 8 x 10 barred diagrams were composed by many of the finest constructors around: editer Fraser Simpson, Mike Shenk, Trip Payne, Patrick Berry, and "Monika Zook" (a pseudonym for a well-known puzzle-constructing duo), and others.These 101 puzzles have been collected into a lovely spiral volume, with two per page, on nice heavy white stock. A few minor typographical oddities mar the typesetting (apostrophe s constructions are spaced out and some there are minor type size inconsistencies) -- perhaps the result of its production in Hong Kong -- but nothing that will trouble solvers. The standard of wordplay is high in these gems, and because of their barred diagrams and extensive checked letters, you'll find that with practice one of them can be solved in under half an hour. Solutions are clevely shuffled in the back so that when you look up the solutions (and explanations) you won't accidentally see the solution to the next puzzle in the sequence. I solved these in the magazine years ago but am glad to have the collection in one place. A delight.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome collection of small cryptics
Review: The "New Yorker" ran slender puzzle column for a couple of years in a marvelous attempt to introduce cryptic crosswords to a larger US audience. These 8 x 10 barred diagrams were composed by many of the finest constructors around: editer Fraser Simpson, Mike Shenk, Trip Payne, Patrick Berry, and "Monika Zook" (a pseudonym for a well-known puzzle-constructing duo), and others. These 101 puzzles have been collected into a lovely spiral volume, with two per page, on nice heavy white stock. A few minor typographical oddities mar the typesetting (apostrophe s constructions are spaced out and some there are minor type size inconsistencies) -- perhaps the result of its production in Hong Kong -- but nothing that will trouble solvers. The standard of wordplay is high in these gems, and because of their barred diagrams and extensive checked letters, you'll find that with practice one of them can be solved in under half an hour. Solutions are clevely shuffled in the back so that when you look up the solutions (and explanations) you won't accidentally see the solution to the next puzzle in the sequence. I solved these in the magazine years ago but am glad to have the collection in one place. A delight.
Rating:
Summary: Treasure trove of cryptics
Review: This book will provide days (or hours, if you're a whiz at cryptics) of fun and distraction. However, you must enjoy wordplay. Cryptics are relatively rare in the US, but widely enjoyed in Britain and its former territories.
Rating:
Summary: Treasure trove of cryptics
Review: This book will provide days (or hours, if you're a whiz at cryptics) of fun and distraction. However, you must enjoy wordplay. Cryptics are relatively rare in the US, but widely enjoyed in Britain and its former territories.
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