The Master Theorem - A Book of Puzzles, Intrigue and Wit

by M .

Purchased directly from the publisher, authorized distributor, or author. Never used. Professionally spiraled and resold by Sweethome Books (Sweethomeliquid2). Sweethome Books is not necessarily affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the publisher, distributor, or author. Dubbed "Mensa's evil twin" by The New York Times, The Master Theorem originated in 2011 as an online "secret society of solvers" and quickly developed a cult following. Its larger-than-life figurehead was the cryptic polymath known only as M who posted mysterious puzzles, called Theorems, each week at midnight. After an eight-year sabbatical, M dramatically re-emerged with a beautifully illustrated puzzle book that features fully revamped versions of his old classics, plus an assortment of new puzzles and other enigmatic surprises. With five new “training” puzzles and plenty of hints in the back, the book is sure to captivate the attention of both old and new TMT fans alike. M's Theorems are not your average Sudoku or crossword puzzles. They're each completely unique, beautifully illustrated, "escape room"-like puzzles that’ll have you decrypting messages and tackling creative brain-teasers. Solvers will enjoy weeks to months of neuron-growing entertainment as they work their way through M's 40+ perplexing puzzles and become experts in codes, ciphers, and the mysteries of the universe.

Genres: Puzzles, Nonfiction, Mystery

220 pages, Spiral-bound

First published July 1, 2019

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some fun moments in here, but for the most part M thinks way too much of himself. The majority of the puzzles aren't satisfying to solve.

[Fatima Seraj Alam · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are three training puzzles at the start of the book, of varying difficulty that was easy to understand and solve. But once you got into the actual puzzles, they were incredibly hard to crack. You had to have prior knowledge of ciphers, cryptography etc., use the clues of the arrogant author to decode what was happening. Since I am a novice to the world of puzzle solving, I literally worked out each puzzle with the solution provided at the back of the book. A waste of my 57 dollars.

[Gneen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down a great puzzle book ... 42 (plus) individual puzzles that lead you into the land of crytography and all sorts of other topics. It is not trivial - expect to spend a calendar month or two finishing the effort (unless you use the clues or just read the answers!). There is a follow-up "Elite" book I ordered as soon as it was printed. I'm an old nerd with lots of time and I'd rate this my number one favorite puzzle book! Read more at themastertheorem.com to get a flavor!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has nearly 50 puzzles and riddles of varying degrees of difficulty. Some are easily sussed out while others are rather arcane and require looking up various cyphers or source material.

Many of the puzzles are quite clever, but the voice of the creator is a bit grating. The person comes off as too clever by half and insufferable smug.

[Santosh Rananaware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Some puzzles are too easy, a few are too subjective, but almost all of them are fun to solve.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

counting this as a “book” because it took me several days to solve all the puzzles, and there was a lot of reading involved lol. for the most part it was really fun and scratched a lot of itches for my interests (encryption, math, science, logic puzzles, etc.), but most puzzles were a bit too easy/simple. though i did learn/get refreshed on a lot of ciphers from this book that i will keep in mind.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book filled with fun and clever puzzles, what's not to like? I liked the option of having up to three hints for each puzzle. For some of the puzzles I didn't need any hints, but for most I availed myself of one, two, or three. Then I could have the fun of still puzzling things out. There were only a couple where even three hints weren't enough. There were a lot of interesting ideas in this book.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, but in tune with some of the reviews here, I didn't think most of the puzzles were satisfying to solve and frankly, there was no appeal. The author's tone is smug and condescending, which prevented me from wanting to engage with the puzzles in the first place.

[Dina Anur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardest puzzle book I’ve ever encountered! Definitely grew some more brain cells. But super fun for rainy days indoors.

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“dubbed ‘Mensa’s evil twin’ by the New York Times”

sometimes you don’t even have to think about a purchase

for those of us with 0 (zero) desire to join an organization for mutual self-congratulation & pathos on genetic lottery ability

but who still love a damn good puzzle

enough said

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for the sequel Master Theorem - Elite since it wasn't in the goodreads database lol

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was alot of work...bit I had alot of free time so it was a great distraction.