Loading...

Lyca — the title in the author’s hand

A story of…

engineering & entropy

music & mushrooms

love & linear algebra

“The greatest compositions are endlessly deep. Each time you listen, you find something new.” — in the narrator’s handwriting
“At first you notice the most obvious features, but there’s a much larger part hidden below the surface.” — in the narrator’s handwriting

Theis theis the

Lyca is   a journal a sketch pad a workbook for fixing a broken life
January 1 and the complete first paragraph of the story, rendered by the manuscript engine
Three lines from the narrator’s workbook: uncertainty about what went wrong, using the journal to sort things out, and analyzing the structure of his own life

Lyca is

Hand written

Hand Drawn

Machine rolled

The modern rolling setup, rendered as a fine cyan newspaper halftone

One of many “scroll-o-matic” prototypes

Lyca facts

  • 120 feet long, either rolled into a single scroll, or split into the story’s 3 movements
  • 110k words and several dozen illustrations
  • Typeface is a bespoke handwritten font that evolves over the course of the story.
  • Includes a new punctuation mark invented by the narrator.
  • Measured in inches, not pages, with markings in a custom numbering scheme that ties into the story.
  • A highly intentional document, with references and Easter eggs throughout.

About the author

A halftone portrait of the author by the water

Lyca is a multi-decade project for Matt Asher

For literary agents (and everyone else)

Representation and other inquiries are welcome. Please send an email to the author.