altlovesbooks
"Vendi, Vidi, Solvi."
Clayton Stumper is a puzzle unto himself -- as a baby, he was left on the doorstep of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers in a hat box with no note. Growing up with the house full of various puzzlers across many different disciplines left an impression on him, but as a young adult now, he wants to learn more about where he came from. Pippa, the woman who found him, knows, but all she left him after her death was a puzzle to solve. Never much of a puzzler, he nevertheless sets off to learn more about his parents, and himself in the process.
Right off the bat, we needed more Clayton in this story about Clayton. Interspersed with the chapters about this mystery surrounding his parents, we also have the past POV of Pippa, founding the Fellowship and bringing together all the disparate personalities that made the group what it was. Not a lot happens after the founding of the Fellowship though, making it feel more like a distraction from the actual plot with Clayton that matters than anything else.
I also wish Clayton was developed a bit more than he was. He seems like a nice guy, but really unable to adult on his own without Pippa or the Fellowship there to guide him along. Towards the end, he seems more willing to talk to people than he was, but that's really all the character development we get out of him.
I will say, in my physical copy at least, the inclusion of puzzles to actually solve was a nice touch.
"Vendi, Vidi, Solvi."
Clayton Stumper is a puzzle unto himself -- as a baby, he was left on the doorstep of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers in a hat box with no note. Growing up with the house full of various puzzlers across many different disciplines left an impression on him, but as a young adult now, he wants to learn more about where he came from. Pippa, the woman who found him, knows, but all she left him after her death was a puzzle to solve. Never much of a puzzler, he nevertheless sets off to learn more about his parents, and himself in the process.
Right off the bat, we needed more Clayton in this story about Clayton. Interspersed with the chapters about this mystery surrounding his parents, we also have the past POV of Pippa, founding the Fellowship and bringing together all the disparate personalities that made the group what it was. Not a lot happens after the founding of the Fellowship though, making it feel more like a distraction from the actual plot with Clayton that matters than anything else.
I also wish Clayton was developed a bit more than he was. He seems like a nice guy, but really unable to adult on his own without Pippa or the Fellowship there to guide him along. Towards the end, he seems more willing to talk to people than he was, but that's really all the character development we get out of him.
I will say, in my physical copy at least, the inclusion of puzzles to actually solve was a nice touch.