Review: The Lost Puzzler

The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

3.25 stars

The Lost Puzzler offers an interesting world but gets bogged down in a repetitive plot structure. Telling the story of Rafik, the titular lost puzzler, we see events that directly affect him in the past, along with a "present day" (future world) historical search for information about him, along with an attempt to determine his whereabouts. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, puzzlers are those both gifted and cursed with the ability to gain access to sophisticated technology and structures that are remnants of the mysterious Tarakanian society.

While the concept was initially intriguing, the repetitive theme of twelve year old Rafik being sold from guild to guild as people exploit his puzzle solving abilities seemed to drag on. The reader can foresee early on what facets of the ending of the book will be but it's a long 500 pages getting there. My biggest complaint however was the development of the character of Vincha, who is judged by everyone in this future dystopian world by the same double moral standards as those in our day. It felt odd that this was a world that evolved with sophisticated technology, fell apart, its denizens struggle to survive in an almost Mad Max sense, many with significantly augmented humans, yet everyone is still focused on how many people Vincha has slept with in this camp or another. Evidently women's sexuality/promiscuity is still a significant social issue while men can still "just be boys." Really? After a while, it just began to annoy me. Wouldn't it be unique to have a future dystopian world in which assertive or aggressive women are not labeled bitches and no one cares about who they sleep with?  It also would have given the sting of the revelations about her character's actions far more impact.

I received a Digital Review Copy from Harper Voyager via Edelweiss along with a paper review copy, in exchange for an honest review.

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