The Egyptian Jukebox: A Conundrum

by Nick Bantock, Robert Kezeire (Photographer), Cassia Farkas (Editor)

In this picture-cum-puzzle book, every picture is full of clues which are designed to lead to the whereabouts of Hamilton Hasp, an eccentric millionaire who has disappeared. Containing a baffling mystery that reveals a connection between the ancient and contemporary worlds, The Egyptian Jukebox offers a ten-drawer "cabinet" of colorful artifacts, each with its own eerie story.

Genres: Art, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Puzzles, Fantasy, Short Stories

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 1993

About the author

Nick was schooled in England and has a BA in Fine Art (painting). He has authored 25 books, 11 of which have appeared on the best seller lists, including 3 books on The New York Times top ten at one time. Griffin & Sabine stayed on that list for over two years. His works have been translated into 13 languages and over 5 million have been sold worldwide. Once named by the classic SF magazine Weird Tales as one of the best 85 storytellers of the century. He has written articles and stories for numerous international newspapers and magazines. His Wasnick blogs are much followed on Facebook and Twitter. His paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages and prints have been exhibited in shows in UK, France and North America. In 2010 Nick's major retrospective exhibition opened at the MOA in Denver. His works are in private collections throughout the world. Nick has a lifetime BAFTA (British Oscar) for the CD-ROM game Ceremony of Innocence, created with Peter Gabriel's Real World, featuring Isabella Rossolini and Ben Kingsley. He has two iPad apps, Sage and The Venetian and is working on a third. Three of his books have been optioned for film and his stage play based on the Griffin & Sabine double trilogy premiered in Vancouver in 2006.

Produced artwork for more than 300 book covers (including works by Roth and Updike), illustrated Viking Penguin's new translation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. He's designed theater posters for the London plays of Tom Stoppard and Alec Guinness.

For 20 years Bantock has spoken and read to audiences throughout North America, Europe and Australia. Given keynote and motivational speeches to corporations and teachers state conferences. He's given dramatic readings on the radio and the stage and has been interviewed (way too many times) for TV, radio and print.

Bantock has worked in a betting shop in the East End of London, trained as a psychotherapist, designed and built a house that combined an Indonesian temple and a Russian orthodox church with an English cricket pavilion and a New Orleans bordello. Between 2007 and 2010 was one of the twelve committee members responsible for selecting Canada's postage stamps.

Among the things Bantock can't do: Can't swim, never ridden a horse, his spelling is dreadful and his singing voice is flat as a pancake.

Source: Nick Bantock - profile

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't comment on the puzzle aspect of the book as I didn't try to solve it. There's a solution in the back but since I never actually caught what the question was it meant nothing to me.

The collages and mini-stories were nice.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Egyptian Jukebox is a mysterious artifact that belongs to a missing adventurer. His daughter has put it on display, and is allowing anyone who wishes to approach it and hear its stories. You can withdraw each of its drawers, hear the story associated with the artifacts and bit by bit reconstruct what is within to solve the mystery of just where the missing adventurer has gone.

Are you up to the puzzle?

Like many, I did not actually try to solve the puzzle when reading this book. Instead I just enjoyed the short stories housed within and the beautiful artistic nature of the book itself. The snippets were good and pleasantly eerie, as heavy on the magical realism as Nick Bantock's previous effort Griffin and Sabine. The stories chill and enrapture, they are just enough to whet the appetite without going too far.

This is an odd little book, but one that I enjoyed. I'm happy I was able to find a copy to read it.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve long enjoyed Nick Bantock’s work, and appreciated his way of creating complex visual and literary colleges with overlapping meanings and unusual connections. The Egyptian Jukebox was his first post Griffin and Sabine book, and I think it misses the mark. The ten drawers of the jukebox are beautifully composed, and the stories are haunting little snapshots, but I felt like there was a disconnect. Sure, an object from the stories appears in each of the drawers, and one can deduce where most of the others relate, but this felt more like a collection of short stories (and had it been packaged that way I think I would have enjoyed it more) than a complete work. Moreover, the mystery felt confusing, overly complicated and forced, and the plot, what that it was, didn’t make any sense. Man who is wealthy and travels vanishes. Instead of waiting for him to return, his daughter publishes a book with the clues he left to find out where he is. Read the book, have someone else explain how to connect the dots they made, and come up with a random city name, which I comfort myself in being a bizarre pop-culture reference (rather than actually making sense). Enjoy the short stories, look at the pictures, ignore the clues.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was not smart enough to read this book

[Josée Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming little book featuring 10 intriguing stories, puzzles and artwork. Very enjoyable!

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Nick Bantock's art. This book did not disappoint in that regard. The riddle within the book was far too difficult to break so I barely even tried.

[Luke Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat but I am bad at puzzles i think

[Thomas Gizbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book with a fun puzzle to solve. Unlike most of the reviewers here I'm not a particular fan of the Griffin & Sabine books. Instead, I picked this one up after seeing it at an experimental games conference and being struck by its incredible format - mysterious collages, cryptic clues, evocative stories, all brought together in something like a museum guide.

This one won't take you months to solve; I got through it in a couple of afternoons. The puzzle itself is multi-faceted, so that there's a satisfying series of aha! moments, but I found myself wishing there was another layer to it when I got to the answer.

I can see where other reviewers are coming from when they say that the puzzle's also not 'elegant' in the sense that there's more red herring than puzzle here, but I think part of the joy of this book is in the lingering feeling that there's more that's unexplained, more connections and clues to be pieced together, more and greater mysteries to be solved.

All in all, a 4-star puzzle in a 5-star package.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year I did a post of "fun facts" about author Nick Bantock. Writing the review inspired me to read all of his books I hadn't yet read. One of those was The Egyptian Jukebox: A Conundrum.

The jukebox in question is a ten drawer puzzle found under mysterious circumstances. The author explains in a serious of one page stories his take on the drawers and how the search for clues affected his life. I think here "juke" refers to its wickedness, rather than it being a coin operated music box.

Did I solve the mystery? No. I tried some but I frankly don't have much patient for this pictorial mystery books. Since I was borrowing the book from the library I also felt rushed to return it.

I did however love looking at the different drawer photographs and seeing what they contained. I like his collage artwork even if I don't fully understand it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our library has this shelved as non-fiction, but I don't really understand why. The entire book is a huge, complicated puzzle, made up of Bantock's characteristic bizarre and beautiful drawings, short stories, and clues, all of which eventually tie together. When I started, I thought I'd just read the stories and absorb the pictures, but the temptation to try to solve the puzzle was just too great for me, and I found myself totally absorbed in it.

[Amber the Human · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know. I'm awful. I didn't follow the clues - although in my defense, they confused me. And I was eager to read the story and see the art - less about solving things. Reading other reviews on here, some people found the stories not exciting or un-releated, but I disagree. I really liked the stories. Bantock does a nice job of teetering right on the edge of the impossible - who am I to say that there isn't a chess board in India where the pieces move on their own?

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book with a puzzle for you to solve. It took me quite awhile, but I did finally figure it out. In true Nick Bantock form, there is an intriguing storyline which is enhanced with unique artwork.

[Slarson6 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, but strange. Each drawer of the jukebox contains clues to the answer of the conundrum, (I couldn't figure it out) and a short story that explains the contents. As with all of Nick Banton's books, the illistrations are fantastic and the stories mind bending.

[Chrisel]

Beautiful book. Original. Love the Sabine & Griffon saga better.
But it seems I wasn't in the mood to solve riddles... I am afraid that Hamilton Hasp will remain 'lost' for a long time if you are waiting for me to find him...
Will surely revisit this book at another time.

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book many years ago, and although I enjoyed the stories and images, didn't think too hard about solving the puzzle. I don't know why it took so long, because on a whim I picked it up today, sat down and solved it without much effort. A nice puzzle morsel.

[Rilayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! A friend and I solved it together while spending a summer in the mountains. We were completely engrossed with it, and solved it in a day and what an enjoyable time! We worked together and ended up constantly discussing possible ways to solve the riddles, then would have to wait for a break when we could go back to the book and test out theories. I’m sad it isn’t still in print as I’d love to get my hands on a copy!

[Sandra Guzdek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember getting this book when it was new (big fan, then and now, of Mr Bantock's work), struggling to solve each puzzle in turn... and loving the process of doing it. The art's gorgeous and I found the puzzles difficult but not impossible; I've struggled more with puzzle games with built-in hint systems! If the puzzle aspect isn't for you, then revel in the weird and wonderful collages.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't feel compelled to solve the mystery. I don't think it was the author's issue. If I had read this with more distance from their other works, then maybe I would have gone through the motions. I was in the ball park with my guesses but I didn't feel compelled to find out if I was right.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was very interesting and gave me the interest to keep reading. It's also a puzzle you have to solve with all the clues.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Cabinets of curiosities with modern curiosities show the relevance of human interactions with space and time with tangible links to our exploration.

[Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for Summerween 2024. The stories are intriguing. The mystery and photographs made this book really engaging. All of the books I have read by this author/artist have been amazing.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty pictures, fun short stories, but I cant say that I tried to solve the mystery. Helpfully there is a solution at the end!

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bantock is an amazing creator of collage art, and the Jukebox shows his usual skill at combining myriad bits and pieces into creations of intricacy. However, this 10 chapter "mystery" is weak in story line. The book is 48 pages long and oversized (9X12), which allows Bantock much more room than usual for his assemblage art. The "conundrum" is based on the contents of 10 drawers, and the reader is supposed to solve a puzzle.

Since I'm not big on puzzles, especially one as esoteric as this one, I mainly enjoyed the double-page spreads of the drawer contents. Each drawer has a very short story right before it, but the stories aren't connected.

And I'm still unclear as to the "Jukebox" title, since we're dealing with a chest of drawers--but the title certainly allowed the cover art to be one of the best of Bantock's pieces.

[Frances Sawaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted this to be as good as the Griffin trilogy but once the code was broken then the book along too quickly. Still, quite clever with great graphics. From the list given on this site though, I see that this author has quite a few books that I have not read. Will have to check them out when at the library in Oceanside.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great puzzle book, makes a great gift

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over ten years and I still haven't figured the damned thing out.

[J-me · Rating 4 out of 5]

both I and Tamsen have had a go at this book and not been able to get through it. It is a game of clues and such. very cool though

[K8e · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!

[Jessie]

I just love a good brain teaser.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book, but I'm the first to admit that I don't understand how he got the answer!