BOSS Library
The effective BOSS operative has a wide range of skills. Alongside a selection of Harry’s favourite books about codebreaking, we have included the GCHQ and Bletchley Park puzzle manuals to train your mind, and a selection of novels, biographies, and history books that will help you to learn the important techniques of spy craft.
If you want something to listen to while browsing, then here is something written for the National Cipher Challenge back in 2003. If you fancy writing and recording your own Cipher Challenge theme send us a link. You never know, we might add it here!
If you have a favourite book that doesn’t appear in the library why not let us know and we will see if we can add it.
Alex Rider is back – and playing a deadly game
Anthony Horowitz is a fan of the National Cipher Challenge and has supported us for a while now. This year he has kindly offered a free copy of his latest Alex Rider novel as a prize in a random draw from the first 1,000 registrations. To enter, just register at the login page. If you are the lucky winner we will let you know using the BOSS messaging system.
When his best friend Tom is abducted, Alex Rider is given an ultimatum by Nightshade – a sinister cult of assassins with a score to settle. But what twisted evil are they planning? And how is it connected to a revolutionary new gaming system? With no idea who to trust, Alex finds himself dragged into a nightmare world – where nothing is real, but the game could kill you.
Nightshade Revenge, the 14th Alex Rider mission in the No.1 bestselling series, is out 7th September 2023, read an exclusive extract here!
One of my own favourite introductions to classical cryptography is Helen Gaines’ “Cryptanalysis”, which is now out of copyright, and you can download a copy here.
In the introduction Helen lists several other classics that inspired her, and for your entertainment, the Elves have tracked them down online. You can find them below.
The Non-Fiction Section
Greatest Hits
If you are a complete beginner to codebreaking then you should probably start with Harry’s guide to codebreaking, written for the National Cipher Challenge. You can download the pdf here. Of course there are a number of other excellent books about code breaking and we have listed some here for you to explore. You should be able to order them through your library, but we have linked to Amazon so you can read more about them.
Essentials
Deep Cuts
Diversions
The Trailblazers
The Technical Section
From time to time BOSS staff produce guides that you might find helpful. Some of these are short notes, others expand to considerably longer textbooks. They are free for you to download and read as part of the competition, but copyright remains with the authors.
The Fiction Section
We asked Anthony Horowitz for his three favourite books containing ciphers. His nominations were fantastic and we couldn’t agree with them more:
Of course, if you want more Horowitz there is plenty to keep you entertained! On TV you have Midsomer Murders, Alex Rider and Foyle’s War to binge on, or a choice of so many books we couldn’t list them all! Here is a selection to get you started.
Back in 2020, in the middle of lockdown, we were delighted to welcome the Book Brothers as guest librarians at BOSS. You may already follow thm on Twitter, and know that they have a huge fanbase including a number of famous authors. We asked them to recommend some new books for our list and this is what they came up with
A beautiful graphic novel by Philip Pullman. Read the Book Brothers review here: https://www.bookbrothers.co.uk/the-adventures-of-john-blake/
Another great graphic novel that is also an excellent movie. It tells you the story of Alan Turing, the brains behind the invention of the modern universal computer.
Another exciting series, this one by James Dashner, with four volumes.
James Bond never had much time for breaking codes, but several of his adventures involved ciphers or cipher machines. The novels are a bit dated now, but Charlie Higson updated them brilliantly by taking us back to Bond’s early years. Definitely worth a look.
It has been a long time since they published a new Alex Rider novel, and it seemed just perfect that the latest volume came out the same day the Special Edition Cipher Challenge launched back in March. As AH tweeted, “Alex Rider loves codes and ciphers!”
The Book Brothers are also big fans. For those who enjoy AH’s twisted sense of humour (which was also evident in his TV series Midsomer Murders) you might like to try his Diamond Brothers series. The Book Brothers reviewed The Falcon’s Malteser, and as an extra special treat, AH has made a new story, Where Seagulls Dare, freely available to keep us all amused during the lockdown.
Holly Jackson took thrillers to a new place and redefined the phrase “Good Girl” with her cracking trilogy.
