German Review on GosuReviews Ok I just have to start with a little guide on how to actually read this book. Many people did the same mistake as I did in the beginning and thus couldn't really enjoy the book. I wish I would have gotten this advise sooner, so here it is: How to read this book: First you should read the main story of the book Ship of Theseus, by V.M Straka. There is actually an audiobook of this here (you won't find it if you search for J.J. Abrams and it's not linked on Amazon) (The narrator is great btw.) You should just ignore all the inserts in the book on your first read. Then you can start reading all the notes by Jennifer and Eric on the page margins. Often times they refer to later chapters of the book and sometimes spoil future stuff. If you are finished with everything there is this "fake-blog" by Jen http://jenheyward.tumblr.com/, where you can find a translation of the mentioned Chapter 10. Ok now to the book itself. As you can see this is not just a book. It's a Gesamtkunstwerk, by the amazing J.J. Abrams and Doug Droust. To understand what I mean here is a better picture of what it actually looks like: With great passion to detail the two created an amazing reading experience. The inserts range from postcards, letters over old pictures to a map sketched on a napkin and many more stuff, that gives the whole book an amazing depth. The story Ship of Theseus by itself is very well done and a great stand alone, but it gets much more deeper with the conversation of Jennifer and Eric in the margins of the pages. It's fun to follow their research, the development of their relationship and mystery surrounding V.M. Straka I urge you to buy this book as a hardcover, it's meant to be that way and I doubt it works as an ebook or paperback. It's a great gift for every book geek and a great addition to every ones book collection.

Two stars for a good concept and a few almost exciting moments, but I don't think it's ever taken me this long to finish a book before. The concept of S. is intriguing. There is a book (Ship of Theseus), written by a fictional author. In the margins of the book there is another story, where two readers meet, fall in love, and investigate a third story - that of the mysterious author V.M. Straka and the equally mysterious group he worked with. Disappointingly, all of these stories are, behind all the props, quite boring. The main problem is that the central mystery - who was V.M. Straka? - simply isn't interesting. There are constant hints of something dangerous and important looming in the background, but it never seems to materialize. I wasn't sure why I should care. Add to that implausible and unlikable characters both in the book and in the margins, and three romances that all feel forced and artificial. The central book, Ship of Theseus, is so clumsily written and dull that I kept wondering if it was on purpose, to underline that it was a fictional book and not the main story. Unfortunately that just made me even less interested its fictional author and all the people who seemed so enchanted by him and his work.

Abgebrochen auf Seite 120 Leider konnte ich die Geschichte nicht greifen, es gab keine Geschichte! Der Protagonist von „das Schiff des Theseus“ hatte Amnesie und wusste nicht wo er war und wer er war und irrte herum, die Studenten Eric und Jen waren sehr sympathisch aber haben zu 85% gefachsimpelt und „FXC“ (übersetzer) hat kritische Fußnoten beigetragen, die ich ebenfalls nicht verstanden habe. Die Aufmachung verlor leider rapide seinen Reiz, weil es niemanden dieser Personen je gegeben hat und all das nie passiert ist. Ich habe mich ohne Vorkenntnisse in einer Vorlesung zu einer Charakterstudie zu einer Person verirrt, die mich nicht interessiert, da es sie nicht gibt. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I have no word for this. This book is quite something new, something to challange you! I never expected it to be like it. At the beginning I had a hard time to get into the story. Basically it is a story within a story. There are like thousand possible ways to read it. I read it page by page and then the notes and comments. It's was easier to get into the story (for me). I don't think there is a perfect way, but sometimes I really struggled to understand what happened. I did like the main story, even though I'm not sure I fully understood it. The second story with Jenny and Eric was interestig as well. I also grew up under crystal clear governance about how to care for and respect a book (especially library books): never write in it (except on the cover page to indicate ownership), never dog-ear the pages, ... So on one hand it gave me wtf moment's but on the other hand "mystery" vibes. Especially when the story with Jenny and Eric is getting romantic (I think this is every bookworms and introverts dream

Ein ganz besonderes Buch, auf das man sich einfach einlassen muss. Mir hat sowohl die Geschichte von S. und dem Schiff gut gefallen, wie auch die Entwicklung zwischen Eric und Jen. Zusätzlich die ganzen Extras im Buch, die mit so viel Liebe zum Detail gestaltet sind. Wirklich schön!