With the glitzier offerings from Sterling, we often forget about S&S. The best things about the series:
* There are a LOT of puzzles in each book (300).
* Puzzles include sizes other than the 15x15 and 21x21 normally seen. Good practice for those tournament 17's and 19's.
* Pages are perforated, so they can be torn out after completion. I feel like I'm making tangible progress as the book gets ever-smaller.
* Puzzles are themed, and mostly by constructors you've heard of.
The cons:
* Answer grids are teeny-tiny. This was corrected in later volumes.
* Themes exist, but may not be eye-poppingly innovative.
* There's some crosswordese. This isn't necessarily bad (why oh why didn't I learn the difference between IONE and IONA?).
* I found a few errors (How does "Check over" define ABLE?). However, that's partially my fault for not accepting S&S proofreading offers over the years.
Disclaimer: there's a puzzle in there with my name in it (as well as other champs). I'd say more about it, but I apparently tore it out and put it "somewhere" (specific place to be found sometime during this millennium).
