I enjoyed this book. I hope you enjoy the puzzle!

I am in doubt that anyone actually does these puzzles, so unless I get some sort of feedback I may lie low for a while!

Well, embarrassingly I can't find my original, so here are some bits:
A) Blaise Pascal
B) ewe
D) Nephew wept
F) Thirteen at dinner
G) Troilus and Cressida
J) Let's Twist Again.

Surely you don't need more!

Another crostic, this time not cryptic.

It should not be too hard, once again.

Solution for the last cryptic puzzle!

A) Batman and the Outsiders.
B) Registered.
C) Offer.
D) out
E) Keep
F) Shaun of the Dead
G) Planet of Twilight.
H) Ere
I) Creed.
J) Kept.
K) While the City Sleeps.
L) IE
M) That struts and frets his hour.
N) He
O) Fret
P) Of
Q) Let.
R) Darkness and the Light.
S) E
T) Depp
U) Respect
V) Ate
W) Mercer

First letters: Brooks Peck, With folded ram.

This is fairly soon after the last posting, but I might leave it up a lot longer. Apart from being cryptic, it took me a lot longer to get right.

It may be a bit more challenging, but maybe not.

The solution to the last puzzle.

A) resurrection
B) off
C) before
D) Eye of the Storm
E) Rd
F) The Las Vegas Story
G) Scrutinize
H) Toff
I) all
J) Low
K) LC
L) Man with the Stolen Heart
M) AC
N) ND
O) Todd
P) He knew he was right
Q) EC
R) Chinese Orange Mystery
S) A hoof
T) Pond
U) top
V) if
W) voodoo
X) EFC



The first letters read: Robert Stallman, The Captive.

Sorry, a lot of acronyms in that one! I'll do better!

Another puzzle.
Hope you enjoy it!

Probably not too hard. I can't really tell myself!

The solution to thte last puzzle:

A) dodecahedron
B) Another day in Paradise
C) Vibrate
D) icy deep
E) Due
F) Mistress of the Empire
G) A Hopi
H) Catcher in the Rye
I) Katydid
J) Left hand of Darkness
K) Optic
L) Stubborn
M) Two Gentlemen of Verona
N) Sit
O) Ohio
P) Up
Q) Lithe
R) Shut

The first words make: David Mack, Lost Souls

The text is: There were a thousand potential distractions on the bridge of the Enterprise but every time Captain Picard looked up from the padd in his hands his eyes found the blackened cavity of his ready room.

This one  was from a while ago, for me. I tried a few cryptic clues, but others are not! I hope to do better than that soon. As is somewhat usual, it is based on a Star Trek book.

Not a long one, so I hope you enjoy it!

This crostic gave me a lot of trouble. I have been using a BASIC program I got about 1977, in a TRS-80 magazine, with no trouble, but this one was just too big. I got through making it up, but when I tried to print it, the machine just hung there! So I had to do it all by hand. Which took a while.

I don't think it will be any harder than usual, but it's a bit longer. And it's not quite a week since the last one! There are a few Shakespeare clues, including one (B) which is from a sonnet, and three quotes from Hamlet.
I really enjoyed the version by David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. I hadn't realised that Claudius was almost as much a presence as Hamlet. I may go to see the Benedict Cumberbatch version as well.

I hope you have had a chance to solve this, but here is the solution!

A) Attract
B) Last man on earth.
C) Abandon
D) Nut
E) Stuff
F) Monster Club
G) A case of conscience.
H) Leave her to heaven
I) Edward Scissorhands.
J) Ephor
K) NW
L) Gust
M) Lodestone
N) ITNT (although I cheat, I make sure these are acronyms of SOMETHING!)
O) Stunt
P) House on Haunted Hill.
Q) Wrap up.
R) Iff
S) Loudness
T) Diary of a Madman.
U) Lowdown
V) Ipso
W) Farthest Shore.
X) Ethos.

First letters read: Alan Smale, English Wild Life. (From Asimov's Oct-Nov 2015)

I had a recent burst of enthusiasm and made up a puzzle devoted to films with Vincent Price. I have done two so far, and there are plenty of people with a lot of films, so...
Anyhow, this may be easy or hard!

The solution to the previous (fairly short) puzzle.

A) I Will Repay
B) Add
C) Neolithic
D) Repudiated
E) Mrs Warrens Profession
F) Ash
G) Cot
H) Lot
I) Elephants can remember
J) Offload
K) Dot
L) Ewok
M) Ness
N) This side of Paradise
O) As
P) New
Q) God
R) Lop
S) Esk
T) Depth

First letters read: Ian R Macleod, Entangled.

The text: People walked the streets wearing facemasks or climbed into their panic rooms or headed for hilltops and deserted islands with years supplies of food and weapons.

A fairly simple puzzle. I hope you enjoy it.

The answers to the recent puzzle...

A) Cave
B) An order for death
C)  The lady and the unicorn
D) House of Mystery
E) Euphemism
F) Rhythmical
G) Ie
H) Neglect
I) Eat
J) A hole
K) Shelf
L) Ally
M) Recycle
N) Ohio
O) Decal
P) I
Q) Alb
R) Metes
S) Opt
T) Noah
U) Delete it
V) Shag
W) The sport of queens
X) Ail
Y) Reclassify

The first letters of which read: Catherine Asaro, Diamond Star

I have been going quietly crazy this week! I have been using a BASIC program to make up crostics since I first typed it out from the TRS-80 magazine about 1977, and have had to fix it over the years (though I doubt I could do it again). I tried a longer puzzle, and all went well until I tried to print it - and the computer froze up.
I write down all the words, and have been trying to get the puzzle working. But it is taking a while! So there is an upper limit on how many letters I can use!

In the meantime, here is a shorter one again.

I'll try to post the solution in a week or so, but I am recouping from turning 78!

Solution:
A) Ivanhoe.
B) Legume
C) Odd Man Out.
D) Nought
E) A Fine Romance
F) Aft
G) Note
H) David Suchet
I) Rosemary and thyme.
J) Entertainment
K) Who
L) Shove
M) Married with children
N) ad
O) Gilbert and Sullivan
P) Intend
Q) Change of Heart
R) Booth
S) Rod
T) EF
U) AV
V) Know
W) Stooge.

And the first letters read: Ilona Andrews, Magic Breaks.

Another crostic, which I hope  I haven't posted already. Space crowds up on me....

And so another solution....

A) Happy
B) Absence makes the heart grow fonder
C) Murder at the Vicarage
D) Bellicose
E) Loss
F) Yarn
G) Two Gentlemen of Verona
H) How
I) Edition
J) Tuft
K) Inflict
L) Masterpiece
M) Eft
N) Ostensible
O) Foot
P) Tilt
Q) Hunt
R) Elf
S) Did
T) As
U) Raze
V) Keith DeCandido

And the first letters read:  Hambly, The time of the Dark.

Another crostic puzzle:

A couple of clues from the dictionary that I didn't really know myself!

Oops! Letting them get away from me!

Here are the answers to last week's puzzle.

A) Appointment in Samarra
B) James Doohan.
C) A juncture
D) Beggars in Spain
E) Legends of the Stargrazers
F) Othello the Moor of Venice.
G) Kiwi
H) Outmutated.
I) Venus and Adonis
J) Bipartisan
K) Atavism
L) Disruptive
M) Duvet
N) A tit.
O) Yaws
P) OTT tie
Q) New tie.
R) Brent Spiner.
S) Out.
T) Souls in the Great Machine
U) Comedy of Errors.
V) Outer
W) Butt.
X) Expecting someone taller.
Y) Linda Danvers.

And the first letters read: A Jablokov, Bad Day on Boscobel.

And so another crostic...

A few from Mr Shakespeare, so they should be easy to find, and a few SF and comics...

Answers to the recentest puzzle!

A) Player on the other side.
B) Oath
C) Letter
D) Lewd
E) Ebb.
F) New
G) Fattened.
H) Robert Graves.
I) Of
J) Miniature Australian Shepherd.
K) Add
L) Fond.
M) Ute.
N) Timekeeper Conspiracy.
O) Unhitch.
P) Rube.
Q) EC
R) Hub.
S) Ashy.
T) Remission.
U) Vocative.
V) EW
W) Svetlana Kuznetsova.
X) Thy.

First letters read: Pollen from a Future Harvest.
Text: The temperature of the planet hovered around seventy Kelvins but was minutely rising each year. The vacuum photosynthesizers absorbed infrared that would otherwise have been reflected back into space.I hope you enjoyed that one. Another one soon!

Just for a change I thought I would try some clues in cryptic form. So one lot is normal, the other is cryptic. And when I tried them I couldn't remember what I meant in one of the cryptic clues!
You can print one lot of clues. or the other. Or if you have paper to spare, both!

The solution for the last one:
A) Jar
B) Obsolete
C) Hatch
D) Nook
E) Revoke
F) Ytterbium
G) Aft
H) Naked athlete
I) Practices deft twitch
J) Ask
K) Nut
L) Effect
M) Leslie Charteris
N) Both
O) Yttrium
P) Prodigal
Q) Add
R) Network
S) Egg
T) Loss

The first words of which read: John Ryan Panel by Panel.

The text: The story was set in the outback and covered the attempt of Blue, his girlfriend Kit, and their blacktracker jacky to locate the famous Pettigrew lost gold reef.

This is a pretty simple puzzle, but it does have a context.
We have had a lot of copies of a drawing of my father from the Second World War, drawn by an artist, Unk White. I suddenly realised that Unk White was featured in a book about cartoonists. So this is sort of related to me!

The clues are pretty straightforward, except (I), but you'll get there!

The solutions to the September 8 post:

A) Laurel Canyon
B) Augustus does his bit
C) tUrf
D) Repudiate
E) Every time we say goodbye
F) Latch
G) Lazy thief
H) King George
I) Huw
J) Aphid
K) Magnificent Ambersons
L) I wept
M) Loathsome
N) They came to Baghdad
O) Off with his head
P) Noted heft.
Q) HB
R) Intact
S) Tweet
T) Light
U) Immediate
V) Scherzo with tyrannosaurus
W) TBH

Title: Laurell K Hamilton, Hit List.

And even the text:  I was eating my Egg McMuffin as Edward drove. He'd gotten the breakfast burrito which always puzzled me, but hey! it wasn't my stomach. He'd eaten his before he put the car in gear. He still had that guy and cop ability to inhale food because you might not get to finish it otherwise.

And so I'll have to post another one soon...

Another puzzle.
This has a fault again. Clue C) is shifted to the left a bit so the crostic part is lined up!Sorry!
But I hope you enjoy it.

The answer in a week or so!

The solution for the previous crostic:

A) Deja vu
B) Image in the sand
C) conjugate
D) karyatid
E) From Here to Eternity.
F) Robert Louis Stevenson
G) A japanese spaniel
H) Novak Djokovic
I) chimney
J) I ebb
K) seem
L) traverse
M) OE
N) timber
O) Happy Highwayman
P) Every man in his humour
Q) hew yew
R) I
S) lessee
T) trader

And the first letters read: Dick Francis, To the Hilt.

This one is from a well-known racing writer. It should be easy enough, but it is all dialogue, so lots of abbreviations.

Note the clue at the bottom...

The solutions for the last crostic!

I am getting a bit slow. I enjoy making them up, then I have to get each one checked, etc...
I am having a brief run on novels by C S Harris, reading them and doing a few puzzles. The puzzles tend to have a lot of what someone is dressed in...
I am just finishing the tenth novel. And then have to wait six months for the next!

A) Captains Holiday
B) Sb  (Lead was stibnium or something like that in Latin.)
C) Him
D) Ale
E) Rock
F) Row
G) It
H) Sock
I) Way to dusty death.
j) Hit
K) Eve
L) Repent
M) Ebb.
N) SLR (or Single-Lens Reflex)
O) Hew
P) Adhere
Q) Drill.
R) Oil
S) Wok
T) Ski
U) Dire
V) Adept
W) Noneuclidean Geometry
X) Call of the wild.
Y) Ell

The first letters read:  C S Harris, Where Shadows Dance.

Text: She wore pale yellow kid half boots that laced up the back and coordinated nicely with her yellow kid gloves and a teal silk reticule embroidered with tiny primroses.

First a new puzzle:

I don't think this will  be too hard.
And the solution to last week's puzzle:

A) Rusticate
B) Orphans of the sky
C) Balancing
D) exultant
E) restraint
F) The door into summer
G) ruff
H) cataract
I) Hit
J) An outpost of the Empire
K) Space Cadet
L) ea
M) Drunkards Walk
N) ei
O) caraway
P) AIS
Q) You are cordially invited
R) iris
S) New Teen Titans
T) Go tell it on the mountain
U) own
V) racist
W) Bandwagon
X) it
Y) tactic

And the first letters say: Robert R Chase: Decaying Orbit.

A crostic with an emphasis on science fiction novels...

This may be reasonably hard, as there are a lot of novels by the authors represented, but there are always the answer in a few days' time!

From the last post,
A) goldsmith
B) Romancing Mister Bridgerton
C) elf
D) Ghostwalker
E) Whale
F) glaucoma
G) AHHD
H) Naff
I) galah
J) Little Annie Rooney
K) oaf
L) rattail
M) yam.

First letters read: Greg Egan, Glory

Text: An ingot of metallic hydrogen gleamed in the starlight, a narrow cylinder half a meter long with a mass of about half a kilogram.

A fairly short puzzle this week.

I think it should be easy - but who knows?

From my last post...

A) Red sails in the sunset
B) other
C) By the pricking of my thumbs. (said the witches in Macbeth.)
D) E
E) role
F) The Dragon and theRose
G) A huff
H) Gave
I) Ether
J) Lew Hoad
K) low
L) Irrational
M) Shove
N) Kilowatt
O) Naphtha
P) In
Q) Grief
R) Hie
S) The Sword and the Swan
T) Shaw
U) Hen
V) One
W) Nice
X) Owe
Y) Ruff

And the first words read:  Roberta Gellis, Knights Honor

And the text..

Even in his haste Hereford had chosen only those troops who would have a personal interest in this fight because a few men hot with rage were better for this kind of work than a huge army halfhearted and unwilling.

This doing a puzzle every week may be getting a bit tiring! But still, here is one:

If anyone needs it, the answers in a  week or so!

Solutions for "Hear me roar,"

A) King of the Royal Mounted
B) A twig
C) Trouble with Lichen
D) Harold the Dauntless
E) Roughshod
F) Yorkshire terrier
G) night
H) hitI) Old white bearded Satan
J) Risa
K) Ewe
L) ghost
M) et
N) now
O) eight
P) Ro
Q) allies
R) thoughtful
S) is
T) OT
U) NW
V) Zenna Henderson
W) E
X) restless
Y) Os  (for osmium.)

and the first letters read: Kathryn Hore, Generation Zero.

A new crostic, this time from a short story in an anthology, Hear Me Roar.

I was quite pleased with this one. It is not very hard. Does anyone want harder onesI am at mcardle@ozemail.com.au

Solutions for the previous puzzle!

A) Old Wine Shades
B) Rocket
C) Shy
D) Once
E) Ninth
F) Stand
G) Collar
H) Och
I) The Winds of Change
J)The Queen of air and darkness
K) Chrysalis
L) ant
M) Robotech
N) dawn
O) End
P) nook
Q) Decal
R) Eph
S) retch
T) Saint in London
U) Girth
V) arc
W) Mastiff
X) EBH

The first letters of which spell: Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game.

(Which I am not surprised didn't do too well as a film, because in the book you didn't know what was going on!)

Well, hoping I haven't posted this before...! I'm pretty sure I haven't.

Sorry! There are a couple of abbreviations!

For my tennis acrostic,

A) Postman always rings twice.
B) Andy Murray
C) Twelfth
D) Caroline Wozniacki
E) Ash
F) Roger Federer
G) ducts
H) itch
I) Garbine Muguruza
J) avoids
K) nosh
L) nights
M) OSS
N) touch tooth
O) Hearing of her beauty and her wit
P) It shoots
Q) notch
R) gumshoes
S) Parker Pyne Investigates
T) executes
U) Roth
V) Serena Williams
W) gosh
X) nth
Y) Ag
Z) Little Nemo in Slumberland.

First letters read: Pat Cardigan, Nothing Personal.

These puzzles are not all that difficult to make up, except for the last bit, where you have a few stray letters needing to be made into a word. Which I have difficulty with sometimes! And on this occasion Gosh had to be moved left!! Sob.

A  little bit early this week!
Also, this one is IMPERFECT! I thought I would do a special crostic for Wimbledon, (hoping I spelled names right!) and I had lots of Hs left, so I put them in the diagram. There are five players' names in it, including two with "Z" in their name. But I couldn't spot a passage with two Zs and a J - so, sorry Djoker!

Also, the crostic itself is imperfect. One of the first letters is out of place. I have sneaked the answer out of line, so the second letter is in line!
The piece is a short(ish) story from Gardner Dozois' Twenty-first Annual collection of Science Fiction stories. I have bought three of these now, so others may appear in this series of puzzles from time to time!

The solution to last week's puzzle!

A) bump
B) If we are marked to die
C) eg
D) gangway
E) lass
F) E
G) rug
H) focus
I) is
J) Neal Stephenson
K) dun
L) I
M) New Mutants
N)gum
O) NC
P) espy
Q) Where is the life that late I led
R) procrastination
S) a watched pot never boils
T) to a blind man
U) hug
V) was
W) Al Capp
X) yap
Y) Staffordshire bull terrier

and the first letters read: Biegler Finding new pathways.

It seems we sculpt new brain pathways well into adult life and maybe right up until stumps. The research has spawned a slew of brain training games popular among habitual carkey losers and others eager to fend off cognitive decrepitude.

Another new puzzle. I may get a bit slower, and post one every second week...

This one is based on an article from the Melbourne Sunday Age, just to be different!

These are jpg files, so they should be easy to download? Answers in a week or so.

The solution for last week's puzzle:

A) twitch
B) homeowner
C) ewe
D) awoke
E) root
F) thumb
G) Oh
H) Frankenstein Unbound
I) emote
J) Featuring the Saint
K) frown
L) Eh
M) careworn
N) theme
O) IH
P) vouch
Q) E
R) doth
S) redeem
T) E
U) Ag
V) Moon is a harsh mistress
W) I
X) North Dakota
Y) Gillian Polack

The first letters read: The Art of Effective Dreaming, which by coincidence is by answer Y) Gillian Polack.

A new crostic. I met the author recently at a convention in Melbourne!

I am pretty certain I haven't uploaded this one already!
I actually enjoyed her other story even more, but the  title was too hard! Langue [dot] doc 1305!

On the other hand I enjoyed it a lot!