Journal 29

SYNOPSIS:

Journal 29 is a unique book game where you can solve riddles and puzzles and submit your answers online to get the keys and move forward.

To solve the riddles, you need to think out of the box.

REVIEW

(3 STARS)

Even though this book was not what I expected it to be, it managed to be an enjoyable experience. I think the fact that I solved these with my boyfriend made it pleasant - I'm sure that alone I would've only gotten half of the answers right. We complemented each other and managed to see things the other was missing. I seriously recommend something like this as a Christmas present, especially if you like puzzles and riddles. However, as stated above, I was expecting the book to have a storyline. Unfortunately, it didn't. The riddles weren't directly connected to a story, they were just (sometimes too) random challenges you had to solve to get to the next riddle. The synopsis is very misleading, as none of the things actually happen. I would've loved it if we figured out a part of the story with each puzzle, or if the keys meant something instead of being random words. I think that, had it been wrapped up in a story, I would've given it 5 stars. Even if some riddles were just too ludicrous for anyone to guess them without any hints. I'm being completely honest: if you managed to solve every single page without any sort of help, you're a hero. Personally, I found some pages to be too cryptic - there were rarely any instructions or hints on the book on how to solve the enigmas. This totally ruined the fun because it often broke the concentration and the mood. No one likes to feel dumb and no one enjoys having to stop in the middle of a game to ask for help.

While reading some comments on the hint page of 'Journal 29', I saw that people were stuck on some pages for weeks! You don't want that in a book - we want a challenge, but I don't want to be spending money on something impossible to solve.

I've seen many people complaining about the same issues and I can only hope that the author has listened to them before launching the second book.

I will definitely check his other book ('The Cypher Files') even though people complain about the same issue (lack of a storyline and a plot). If the author doesn't feel confident enough to write a story about those riddles, maybe he could find someone interested in doing so? It would be so much fun!