In 1985 there was a competition to solve a puzzle--a puzzle in the shape of a book. Christopher Manson presented this strange puzzle in an eerie picture book that he wrote and illustrated. Taken all together, the book itself is the maze. You enter the maze by turning the first page. But once you do, will you be able to find the center? Will you find your way back out again? Each page of the book represents a room. Each room has multiple doors that lead to different pages, and you have to chose the right ones to walk through. As you make your way through the maze the mysterious (and untrustworthy) guide leads you from one surreal landscape to another, dropping tantalizing hints that might be lies.

Back in 1985 the person who was able to solve the maze would win $10,000. But by 1987 no one had been able to solve it. So the company running the competition split the prize money between the top competitors and called it a day.  

This hasn’t stopped people from entering the maze. People have been trying to solve the Maze ever since. It’s been 30 years since this book was released, 28 years since the competition ended, and people are still trying to figure it out. Nowadays there are websites and podcasts and a YouTube channel devoted to the puzzle of Maze. But all you need to enter the maze is your library card.