Whilst goofing off with Maribou, I stumbled across a couple of answers with which it was easy to create a puzzle. Now, I was only able to come up with one answer to the puzzle but… I am nowhere near as well-read as all y’all.
I’d ask for you guys to use rot13 for the first handful of days to give your answers (just paste the text into the field you see at that website and then press cypher… it’ll spit out a comment that we can then paste into the same page and untranslate the answer). Or, of course, just say “Got it!” and I’ll assume that you do and it’s the answers that I originally thought of.
Okay. Here it is:
The first sentence* of that book is the major spoiler of this book.
(* it’s actually the first clause of the first sentence but it was categorized in my head as the first sentence… I suspect it’s likely to be filed similarly in yours.)
The first hint, if you want to call it that, is that it’s reasonable of me to expect you (yes, you… the person reading this) to be familiar with both books (and you’ve probably read at least one).
Just so’s we’re clear: You’re saying the first sentence of one book spoils another book?
Yes.
Gur Sryybjfuvc bs gur Evat fcbvyf Gur Uboovg
I didn’t know that! That’s awesome.
So there *ARE* multiple answers to this question.
That ain’t the one I was thinking of.
You could probably use the same logic I did to come up with many answers.
N Puevfgznf Pneby fcbvyf gur bar nobhg Zneyrl naq gur gjb Wnznvpna qeht qrnyref.
(Abgr sebz Wnl: Guvf vf npghnyyl gur bar V jnf guvaxvat bs. Jryy, bar bs gur barf.)
Lbh’er jbeevrq nobhg fcbvyref sbe obbxf gung qba’g rkvfg?
Zl nffhzcgvba vf (be jnf) gung vs lbh xarj gur bar, lbh’q fabeg naq vzzrqvngryl thrff gur bgure. Znlor V’yy unir nabgure uvag yngre gbavtug.
I thought of this one, too, but wasn’t sure if that was a big enough spoiler.
Which is to say, good one!
Gur svefg yvarf bs Cnenqvfr Ybfg fcbvy gur Ovoyr.
I don’t really consider that second one particularly spoilable.
That may be me, though.
Aw, shoot. I thought for sure this was the pair you had in mind.
See it as a limitation on Jaybird’s part that this wasn’t the one that he was thinking of.
You found an answer to the riddle and *THAT* is all that matters.
Deliberately, or coincidentally? That is, suppose that there were a book whose plot revolved around a character who isn’t identified until the end of the book. And it turns out to be the butler, Ishmael. Then Moby Dick would spoil that book. Is that the kind of thing you’re thinking of? Or more like Ian’s answer above?
The two books were written completely independently of each other… but, yes. Your example would be an awesome answer to the question. Better than mine, anyway.
Well, I certainly don’t have an answer yet. I’d just like to thank you in advance for the time that will pass today during which I will appear catatonic to observers as I try to figure this one out.
Gur bcravat yvar bs Gur Fgenatre vf n znwbe fcbvyre sbe Cflpub.
Yes, but are both of them novels?
They are. (I had to cheat and confirm with the Google on the latter, but it is.)
Dude. That is even better than my answer.
So I’m going to say that you got it.
I will confess to combing my bookshelf.
Maribou and I were discussing famous first lines from books… there’s only a half-dozen that I really have ready for immediate recall. (Gur Fgenatre, Gur Ovoyr, Puevfgznf Pneby, Gnyr bs Gjb Pvgvrf, Zbol Qvpx, Gur Thafyvatre…)
When mentioning one of them, I made a joke about how “That’s actually a spoiler for (major recent book).”
And we laughed. After a couple of weeks I realized that that might make for a fun puzzler.
Gur gjb V xrcg univat gb funxr ybbfr jrer Gnyr bs Gjb Pvgvrf naq Naan Xneravan
Technically, those are both spoilers for, like, everything.
I thought maybe the latter might be a spoiler for a novel about clones, but none sprung to mind.
V zhfg unir jevggra n qbmra cnebqvrf bs gur svefg yvar bs Cevqr naq Cerwhqvpr.
ENWHAY Iway eardhay ethay earnlay’day astronomerway;
Enwhay ethay oofspray, ethay iguresfay, ereway angedray inway
olumnscay eforebay emay;
Enwhay Iway asway ownshay ethay artschay andway ethay iagramsday
, otay addway, ivideday, andway easuremay emthay;
Enwhay Iway, ittingsay, eardhay ethay astronomerway, erewhay
ehay ecturedlay ithway uchmay applauseway inway ethay ecturelay-
oomray,
Owhay oonsay, unaccountableway, Iway ecamebay iredtay andway
icksay; 5
Illtay isingray andway idingglay outway, Iway anderway’day
offway ybay yselfmay,
Inway ethay ysticalmay oistmay ightnay-airway, andway omfray
imetay otay imetay,
Ooklay’day upway inway erfectpay ilencesay atway ethay arsstay.
Zneyrl vfa’g n qbt va gur bgure obbx lbh’er guvaxvat bs, vf ur?
And… yes.
This was the other one that I was thinking of.
Huh. I’ve never heard of the spoiled book, and sideswiped the correct answer completely by coincidence (other than being struck by how striking the spoiler sentence is.)
It was a major movie!