diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index cfa706a4f..66f707d52 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ uuid = { version = "0.8", features = ["v4", "serde"] }
 crossbeam = "0.8"
 futures = {version = "0.3",  features=["thread-pool"] }
 tantivy-query-grammar = { version="0.14.0-dev", path="./query-grammar" }
+tantivy-sstable = {version="0.14.0-dev", path="./sstable"}
 stable_deref_trait = "1"
 rust-stemmers = "1"
 downcast-rs = "1"
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ unstable = [] # useful for benches.
 wasm-bindgen = ["uuid/wasm-bindgen"]
 
 [workspace]
-members = ["query-grammar"]
+members = ["query-grammar", "sstable"]
 
 [badges]
 travis-ci = { repository = "tantivy-search/tantivy" }
diff --git a/src/core/index.rs b/src/core/index.rs
index ad2d29969..12ef5e37f 100644
--- a/src/core/index.rs
+++ b/src/core/index.rs
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ mod tests {
             let field = schema.get_field("num_likes").unwrap();
             let mut index = Index::create_from_tempdir(schema)?;
             let mut writer = index.writer_for_tests()?;
-            writer.commit().unwrap();
+            writer.commit()?;
             let reader = index
                 .reader_builder()
                 .reload_policy(ReloadPolicy::Manual)
diff --git a/src/termdict/sstable_termdict/term_dict.rs b/src/termdict/sstable_termdict/term_dict.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5fceacfeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/termdict/sstable_termdict/term_dict.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+usse
+
+pub struct TermDictionaryBuilder<W> {
+    sstable: sstable
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/.gitignore b/sstable/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f8100ca94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+.idea
+Cargo.lock
+sstable.iml
+/target
+**/*.rs.bk
diff --git a/sstable/Cargo.toml b/sstable/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d9f2ae61f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+[package]
+name = "tantivy-sstable"
+version = "0.14.0-dev"
+authors = ["Paul Masurel <paul.masurel@gmail.com>"]
+
+[dependencies]
+slice-deque="0.1"
+byteorder = "1.2"
+jemallocator = "*"
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "merge_benchmark"
+harness = false
+
+[profile.bench]
+opt-level = 3
+debug = false
+overflow-checks = false
+lto = true
+rpath = false
+debug-assertions = false
+codegen-units = 16
+incremental = false
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+criterion = "0.2"
+rand = "0.6"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/benches/merge_benchmark.rs b/sstable/benches/merge_benchmark.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b8974ebc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/benches/merge_benchmark.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#[macro_use]
+extern crate criterion;
+extern crate rand;
+extern crate sstable;
+
+use sstable::{SSTable, VoidSSTable};
+use criterion::Criterion;
+use rand::prelude::*;
+
+use std::collections::BTreeSet;
+use sstable::VoidMerge;
+
+const NUM_SSTABLE: usize = 18;
+
+fn generate_key(rng: &mut StdRng) -> String {
+    let len = rng.gen_range(5, 10);
+    (0..len)
+        .map(|_| {
+            let b = rng.gen_range(96u8, 96 + 16u8);
+            char::from(b)
+        })
+        .collect::<String>()
+}
+
+fn create_sstables() -> Vec<Vec<u8>> {
+    let mut keyset = BTreeSet::new();
+    let seed = [1u8; 32];
+    let mut rnd = StdRng::from_seed(seed);
+    while keyset.len() < 10_000 {
+        keyset.insert(generate_key(&mut rnd));
+    }
+    let mut buffers = (0..NUM_SSTABLE).map(|_| Vec::new()).collect::<Vec<Vec<u8>>>();
+    {
+        let mut writers: Vec<_> = buffers.iter_mut().map(VoidSSTable::writer).collect();
+        for key in keyset {
+            for writer in &mut writers {
+                if rnd.gen_bool(0.2) {
+                    writer.write(key.as_bytes(), &()).unwrap();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        for writer in writers {
+            writer.finalize().unwrap();
+        }
+    }
+    buffers
+}
+
+fn merge_fast(buffers: &[Vec<u8>]) {
+    let readers: Vec<&[u8]> = buffers.iter().map(|buf| &buf[..]).collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    let mut buffer = Vec::with_capacity(10_000_000);
+    assert!(VoidSSTable::merge(readers, &mut buffer, VoidMerge).is_ok());
+}
+
+fn criterion_benchmark(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    let buffers = create_sstables();
+    c.bench_function("Merge fast", move |b| b.iter(|| merge_fast(&buffers)));
+}
+
+criterion_group!(benches, criterion_benchmark);
+criterion_main!(benches);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/block_reader.rs b/sstable/src/block_reader.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a26b959e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/block_reader.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+use std::io;
+use super::BLOCK_LEN;
+use byteorder::{LittleEndian, ReadBytesExt};
+
+pub struct BlockReader<'a> {
+    buffer: Vec<u8>,
+    reader: Box<dyn io::Read + 'a>
+}
+
+impl<'a> BlockReader<'a> {
+
+    pub fn new(reader: Box<dyn io::Read + 'a>) -> BlockReader<'a> {
+        BlockReader {
+            buffer: Vec::with_capacity(BLOCK_LEN),
+            reader
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn read_block(&mut self) -> io::Result<bool> {
+        let block_len = self.reader.read_u32::<LittleEndian>()?;
+        if block_len == 0u32 {
+            self.buffer.clear();
+            Ok(false)
+        } else {
+            self.buffer.resize(block_len as usize, 0u8);
+            self.reader.read_exact(&mut self.buffer[..])?;
+            Ok(true)
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn buffer(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.buffer
+    }
+}
diff --git a/sstable/src/lib.rs b/sstable/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5d3ff17e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,435 @@
+extern crate jemallocator;
+
+#[global_allocator]
+static ALLOC: jemallocator::Jemalloc = jemallocator::Jemalloc;
+
+extern crate slice_deque;
+extern crate core;
+extern crate byteorder;
+
+use std::io::{self, Write, BufWriter};
+use merge::ValueMerger;
+use byteorder::{ByteOrder, LittleEndian};
+use std::usize;
+
+pub(crate) mod vint;
+pub mod value;
+pub mod merge;
+mod block_reader;
+
+pub use self::block_reader::BlockReader;
+
+pub use self::merge::VoidMerge;
+
+const BLOCK_LEN: usize = 256_000;
+const END_CODE: u8 = 0u8;
+const VINT_MODE: u8 = 1u8;
+
+const DEFAULT_KEY_CAPACITY: usize = 50;
+const FOUR_BIT_LIMITS: usize = 1 << 4;
+
+pub(crate) fn common_prefix_len(left: &[u8], right: &[u8]) -> usize {
+    left.iter().cloned()
+        .zip(right.iter().cloned())
+        .take_while(|(left, right)| left==right)
+        .count()
+}
+
+pub trait SSTable: Sized {
+
+    type Value;
+    type Reader: value::ValueReader<Value=Self::Value>;
+    type Writer: value::ValueWriter<Value=Self::Value>;
+
+    fn delta_writer<W: io::Write>(write: W) -> DeltaWriter<W, Self::Writer> {
+        DeltaWriter {
+            block: vec![0u8; 4],
+            write: BufWriter::new(write),
+            value_writer: Self::Writer::default()
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn writer<W: io::Write>(write: W) -> Writer<W, Self::Writer> {
+        Writer {
+            previous_key: Vec::with_capacity(DEFAULT_KEY_CAPACITY),
+            delta_writer: Self::delta_writer(write)
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn delta_reader<'a, R: io::Read + 'a>(reader: R) -> DeltaReader<'a, Self::Reader> {
+        DeltaReader {
+            common_prefix_len: 0,
+            suffix_start: 0,
+            suffix_end: 0,
+            offset: 0,
+            value_reader: Self::Reader::default(),
+            block_reader: BlockReader::new(Box::new(reader)),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn reader<'a, R: io::Read + 'a>(reader: R) -> Reader<'a, Self::Reader> {
+        Reader {
+            key: Vec::with_capacity(DEFAULT_KEY_CAPACITY),
+            delta_reader: Self::delta_reader(reader)
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn merge<R: io::Read, W: io::Write, M: ValueMerger<Self::Value>>(io_readers: Vec<R>, w: W, merger: M) -> io::Result<()> {
+        let mut readers = vec![];
+        for io_reader in io_readers.into_iter() {
+            let reader = Self::reader(io_reader);
+            readers.push(reader)
+        }
+        let writer = Self::writer(w);
+        merge::merge_sstable::<Self, _, _>(readers, writer, merger)
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct VoidSSTable;
+
+impl SSTable for VoidSSTable {
+    type Value = ();
+    type Reader = value::VoidReader;
+    type Writer = value::VoidWriter;
+}
+
+
+pub struct Reader<'a, TValueReader> {
+    key: Vec<u8>,
+    delta_reader: DeltaReader<'a, TValueReader>,
+}
+
+impl<'a, TValueReader> Reader<'a, TValueReader>
+    where TValueReader: value::ValueReader {
+
+    pub fn advance(&mut self) -> io::Result<bool> {
+        if self.delta_reader.advance()? {
+            let common_prefix_len = self.delta_reader.common_prefix_len();
+            let suffix = self.delta_reader.suffix();
+            let new_len = self.delta_reader.common_prefix_len() + suffix.len();
+            self.key.resize(new_len, 0u8);
+            self.key[common_prefix_len..].copy_from_slice(suffix);
+            Ok(true)
+        } else {
+            Ok(false)
+        }
+
+    }
+
+    pub fn key(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.key
+    }
+
+    pub fn value(&self) -> &TValueReader::Value {
+        self.delta_reader.value()
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn into_delta_reader(self) -> DeltaReader<'a, TValueReader> {
+        assert!(self.key.is_empty());
+        self.delta_reader
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a, TValueReader> AsRef<[u8]> for Reader<'a, TValueReader> {
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.key
+    }
+}
+
+
+pub struct Writer<W, TValueWriter>
+    where W: io::Write {
+    previous_key: Vec<u8>,
+    delta_writer: DeltaWriter<W, TValueWriter>,
+}
+
+impl<W, TValueWriter> Writer<W, TValueWriter>
+    where W: io::Write, TValueWriter: value::ValueWriter {
+
+    pub(crate) fn current_key(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.previous_key[..]
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn write_key(&mut self, key: &[u8]) {
+        let keep_len = common_prefix_len(&self.previous_key, key);
+        let add_len = key.len() - keep_len;
+        let increasing_keys =
+            add_len > 0 &&
+                (self.previous_key.len() == keep_len ||
+                    self.previous_key[keep_len] < key[keep_len]);
+        assert!(increasing_keys, "Keys should be increasing. ({:?} > {:?})", self.previous_key, key);
+        self.previous_key.resize(key.len(), 0u8);
+        self.previous_key[keep_len..].copy_from_slice(&key[keep_len..]);
+        self.delta_writer.write_suffix(
+            keep_len,
+            &key[keep_len..]);
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn into_delta_writer(self) -> DeltaWriter<W, TValueWriter> {
+        self.delta_writer
+    }
+
+    pub fn write(&mut self, key: &[u8], value: &TValueWriter::Value) -> io::Result<()> {
+        self.write_key(key);
+        self.write_value(value);
+        self.delta_writer.flush_block_if_required()?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn write_value(&mut self, value: &TValueWriter::Value) {
+        self.delta_writer.write_value(value)
+    }
+
+    pub fn finalize(self) -> io::Result<()> {
+        self.delta_writer.finalize()
+    }
+}
+
+
+pub struct DeltaWriter<W, TValueWriter>
+    where W: io::Write {
+    block: Vec<u8>,
+    write: BufWriter<W>,
+    value_writer: TValueWriter,
+}
+
+impl<W, TValueWriter> DeltaWriter<W, TValueWriter>
+    where W: io::Write, TValueWriter: value::ValueWriter {
+
+    fn flush_block(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+        let block_len = self.block.len() as u32;
+        LittleEndian::write_u32(&mut self.block[..4], block_len - 4u32);
+        self.write.write_all(&mut self.block[..])?;
+        self.block.resize(4, 0u8);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn encode_keep_add(&mut self, keep_len: usize, add_len: usize) {
+        if keep_len < FOUR_BIT_LIMITS && add_len < FOUR_BIT_LIMITS {
+            let b = (keep_len | add_len << 4) as u8;
+            self.block.extend_from_slice(&[b])
+        } else {
+            let mut buf = [1u8; 20];
+            let mut len = 1 + vint::serialize(keep_len as u64, &mut buf[1..]);
+            len += vint::serialize(add_len as u64, &mut buf[len..]);
+            self.block.extend_from_slice(&mut buf[..len])
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn write_suffix(&mut self, common_prefix_len: usize, suffix: &[u8]) {
+        let keep_len = common_prefix_len;
+        let add_len = suffix.len();
+        self.encode_keep_add(keep_len, add_len);
+        self.block.extend_from_slice(suffix);
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn write_value(&mut self, value: &TValueWriter::Value) {
+        self.value_writer.write(value, &mut self.block);
+    }
+
+    pub fn write_delta(&mut self, common_prefix_len: usize, suffix: &[u8], value: &TValueWriter::Value) -> io::Result<()> {
+        self.write_suffix(common_prefix_len, suffix);
+        self.write_value(value);
+        self.flush_block_if_required()
+    }
+
+    pub fn flush_block_if_required(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+        if self.block.len() > BLOCK_LEN {
+            self.flush_block()?;
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub fn finalize(mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+        if self.block.len() > 4 {
+            self.flush_block()?;
+        }
+        self.flush_block()?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+
+pub struct DeltaReader<'a, TValueReader> {
+    common_prefix_len: usize,
+    suffix_start: usize,
+    suffix_end: usize,
+    offset: usize,
+    value_reader: TValueReader,
+    block_reader: BlockReader<'a>,
+}
+
+impl<'a, TValueReader> DeltaReader<'a, TValueReader>
+    where TValueReader: value::ValueReader {
+
+    fn deserialize_vint(&mut self) -> u64 {
+        let (consumed, result) =
+            vint::deserialize_read(&self.block_reader.buffer()[self.offset..]);
+        self.offset += consumed;
+        result
+    }
+
+    fn read_keep_add(&mut self) -> Option<(usize, usize)> {
+        let b = {
+            let buf = &self.block_reader.buffer()[self.offset..];
+            if buf.is_empty() {
+                return None;
+            }
+            buf[0]
+        };
+        self.offset += 1;
+        match b {
+            END_CODE => {
+                None
+            }
+            VINT_MODE => {
+                let keep = self.deserialize_vint() as usize;
+                let add = self.deserialize_vint() as usize;
+                Some((keep, add))
+            }
+            b => {
+                let keep = (b & 0b1111) as usize;
+                let add = (b >> 4) as usize;
+                Some((keep, add))
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn read_delta_key(&mut self) -> bool {
+        if let Some((keep, add)) = self.read_keep_add() {
+            self.common_prefix_len = keep;
+            self.suffix_start = self.offset;
+            self.suffix_end = self.suffix_start + add;
+            self.offset += add;
+            true
+        } else {
+            false
+        }
+    }
+
+
+    pub fn advance(&mut self) -> io::Result<bool> {
+        if self.block_reader.buffer().is_empty() {
+            if !self.block_reader.read_block()? {
+                return Ok(false);
+            }
+        }
+        if !self.read_delta_key() {
+            return Ok(false);
+        }
+        self.value_reader.read(&mut self.block_reader)?;
+        Ok(true)
+    }
+
+    pub fn common_prefix_len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.common_prefix_len
+    }
+
+    pub fn suffix(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.block_reader.buffer()[self.suffix_start..self.suffix_end]
+    }
+
+    pub fn suffix_from(&self, offset: usize) -> &[u8] {
+        &self.block_reader.buffer()[self.suffix_start.wrapping_add(offset).wrapping_sub(self.common_prefix_len)..self.suffix_end]
+    }
+
+    pub fn value(&self) -> &TValueReader::Value {
+        self.value_reader.value()
+    }
+}
+
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test {
+    use common_prefix_len;
+    use super::VoidSSTable;
+    use super::SSTable;
+    use VoidMerge;
+
+    fn aux_test_common_prefix_len(left: &str, right: &str, expect_len: usize) {
+        assert_eq!(common_prefix_len(left.as_bytes(), right.as_bytes()), expect_len);
+        assert_eq!(common_prefix_len(right.as_bytes(), left.as_bytes()), expect_len);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_common_prefix_len() {
+        aux_test_common_prefix_len("a", "ab", 1);
+        aux_test_common_prefix_len("", "ab", 0);
+        aux_test_common_prefix_len("ab", "abc", 2);
+        aux_test_common_prefix_len("abde", "abce", 2);
+    }
+
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_long_key_diff() {
+        let long_key = (0..1_024).map(|x| (x % 255) as u8).collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        let long_key2 = (1..300).map(|x| (x % 255) as u8).collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        let mut buffer = vec![];
+        {
+            let mut sstable_writer = VoidSSTable::writer(&mut buffer);
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&long_key[..], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[0,3,4], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&long_key2[..], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.finalize().is_ok());
+        }
+        let mut sstable_reader = VoidSSTable::reader(&buffer[..]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &long_key[..]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &[0,3,4]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &long_key2[..]);
+        assert!(!sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_simple_sstable() {
+        let mut buffer = vec![];
+        {
+            let mut sstable_writer = VoidSSTable::writer(&mut buffer);
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[17u8], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[17u8, 18u8, 19u8], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[17u8, 20u8], &()).is_ok());
+            assert!(sstable_writer.finalize().is_ok());
+        }
+        assert_eq!(&buffer, &[
+            7,0,0,0,
+            16u8, 17u8,
+            33u8, 18u8, 19u8,
+            17u8, 20u8,
+            0u8, 0u8, 0u8, 0u8]);
+        let mut sstable_reader = VoidSSTable::reader(&buffer[..]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &[17u8]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &[17u8, 18u8, 19u8]);
+        assert!(sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+        assert_eq!(sstable_reader.key(), &[17u8, 20u8]);
+        assert!(!sstable_reader.advance().unwrap());
+    }
+
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic]
+    fn test_simple_sstable_non_increasing_key() {
+        let mut buffer = vec![];
+        let mut sstable_writer = VoidSSTable::writer(&mut buffer);
+        assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[17u8], &()).is_ok());
+        assert!(sstable_writer.write(&[16u8], &()).is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_merge_abcd_abe() {
+        let mut buffer = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut writer = VoidSSTable::writer(&mut buffer);
+            writer.write(b"abcd", &()).unwrap();
+            writer.write(b"abe", &()).unwrap();
+            writer.finalize().unwrap();
+        }
+        let mut output = Vec::new();
+        assert!(VoidSSTable::merge(vec![&buffer[..], &buffer[..]], &mut output, VoidMerge).is_ok());
+        assert_eq!(&output[..], &buffer[..]);
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/merge/fast_merge.rs b/sstable/src/merge/fast_merge.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..40fbd3ad7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/merge/fast_merge.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+use {SSTable, Reader};
+use std::io;
+use merge::{ValueMerger, SingleValueMerger};
+use Writer;
+use std::collections::BinaryHeap;
+use std::cmp::Ordering;
+use std::cmp::Ord;
+use std::option::Option::None;
+use std::mem;
+use std::fmt::Debug;
+use common_prefix_len;
+
+fn pick_lowest_with_ties<'a, 'b, T, FnKey: Fn(&'b T)->K, K>(elements: &'b [T], key: FnKey, ids: &'a mut [usize]) -> (&'a [usize], &'a [usize])
+    where
+        FnKey: Fn(&'b T)->K,
+        K: Ord + Debug + 'b {
+    debug_assert!(!ids.is_empty());
+    if ids.len() <= 1 {
+        return (ids, &[]);
+    }
+    let mut smallest_key = key(&elements[ids[0]]);
+    let mut num_ties = 1;
+    for i in 1..ids.len() {
+        let cur = ids[i];
+        let cur_key = key(&elements[cur]);
+        match cur_key.cmp(&smallest_key) {
+            Ordering::Less => {
+                ids.swap(i, 0);
+                smallest_key = cur_key;
+                num_ties = 1;
+            }
+            Ordering::Equal => {
+                ids.swap(i, num_ties);
+                num_ties += 1;
+            }
+            Ordering::Greater => {}
+        }
+    }
+    (&ids[..num_ties], &ids[num_ties..])
+}
+
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
+struct HeapItem(pub u32);
+
+impl HeapItem  {
+    fn new(common_prefix_len: u32, next_byte: u8) -> Self {
+        HeapItem(common_prefix_len << 8 | (next_byte as u32))
+    }
+
+    fn common_prefix_len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.0 as usize >> 8
+    }
+}
+
+struct Queue {
+    queue: BinaryHeap<u32>,
+    map: Vec<Vec<usize>>,
+    spares: Vec<Vec<usize>>,
+}
+
+
+fn heap_item_to_id(heap_item: &HeapItem) -> usize {
+    heap_item.0 as usize
+}
+
+impl Queue {
+
+    // helper to trick the borrow checker.
+    fn push_to_queue(heap_item: HeapItem,
+                     idx: usize,
+                     queue: &mut BinaryHeap<u32>,
+                     map: &mut Vec<Vec<usize>>,
+                     spares: &mut Vec<Vec<usize>>) {
+        let heap_id = heap_item_to_id(&heap_item);
+        let ids = &mut map[heap_id];
+        if ids.is_empty() {
+            queue.push(heap_item.0);
+            *ids = spares.pop().unwrap_or_else(Vec::new);
+        }
+        ids.push(idx);
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_capacity(capacity: usize) -> Self {
+        Queue {
+            queue: BinaryHeap::with_capacity(capacity),
+            map: (0..256 * 100).map(|_| Vec::new()).collect::<Vec<Vec<usize>>>(),
+            spares: (0..capacity).map(|_| Vec::with_capacity(capacity)).collect()
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn register(&mut self, common_prefix_len: u32, next_byte: u8, idx: usize) {
+        let heap_item = HeapItem::new(common_prefix_len, next_byte);
+        Queue::push_to_queue(heap_item, idx, &mut self.queue, &mut self.map, &mut self.spares);
+    }
+
+    pub fn pop(&mut self, dest: &mut Vec<usize>) -> Option<HeapItem> {
+        dest.clear();
+        self.queue
+            .pop()
+            .map(|heap_item| {
+                dest.clear();
+                let idx = mem::replace(&mut self.map[heap_item as usize], Vec::new());
+                self.spares.push(mem::replace(dest,idx));
+                HeapItem(heap_item)
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn merge_sstable<SST: SSTable, W: io::Write, M: ValueMerger<SST::Value>>(
+    unstarted_readers: Vec<Reader<SST::Reader>>,
+    writer: Writer<W, SST::Writer>,
+    mut merger: M
+) -> io::Result<()> {
+    let mut delta_writer = writer.into_delta_writer();
+    let mut readers = vec![];
+    let mut empty_key_values: Option<M::TSingleValueMerger> = None;
+    for reader in unstarted_readers {
+        let mut delta_reader = reader.into_delta_reader();
+        if delta_reader.advance()? {
+            if delta_reader.suffix().is_empty() {
+                if let Some(value_merger) = empty_key_values.as_mut() {
+                    value_merger.add(delta_reader.value());
+                } // the borrow checker does not allow an else here... that's a bit lame.
+                if empty_key_values.is_none() {
+                    empty_key_values = Some(merger.new_value(delta_reader.value()));
+                }
+                if delta_reader.advance()? {
+                    // duplicate keys are forbidden.
+                    assert!(!delta_reader.suffix().is_empty());
+                    readers.push(delta_reader);
+                }
+            } else {
+                readers.push(delta_reader);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if let Some(value_merger) = empty_key_values {
+        delta_writer.write_delta(0, &[], &value_merger.finish())?;
+    }
+
+    let mut queue = Queue::with_capacity(readers.len());
+
+    for (idx, delta_reader) in readers.iter().enumerate() {
+        queue.register(0u32, delta_reader.suffix()[0], idx);
+    }
+
+    let mut current_ids = Vec::with_capacity(readers.len());
+    while let Some(heap_item) = queue.pop(&mut current_ids) {
+        debug_assert!(!current_ids.is_empty());
+        let (tie_ids, others) = pick_lowest_with_ties(
+            &readers[..],
+            |reader| reader.suffix_from(heap_item.common_prefix_len()),
+            &mut current_ids[..]);
+        {
+            let first_reader = &readers[tie_ids[0]];
+            let suffix = first_reader.suffix_from(heap_item.common_prefix_len());
+            if tie_ids.len() > 1 {
+                let mut single_value_merger = merger.new_value(first_reader.value());
+                for &min_tie_id in &tie_ids[1..] {
+                    single_value_merger.add(readers[min_tie_id].value());
+                }
+                delta_writer.write_delta(heap_item.common_prefix_len(),
+                                         suffix,
+                                         &single_value_merger.finish())?;
+            } else {
+                delta_writer.write_delta(heap_item.common_prefix_len(),
+                                         suffix,
+                                         first_reader.value())?;
+            }
+            for &reader_id in others {
+                let reader = &readers[reader_id];
+                let reader_suffix = reader.suffix_from(heap_item.common_prefix_len());
+                let extra_common_prefix_len = common_prefix_len(reader_suffix, suffix);
+                let next_byte = reader_suffix[extra_common_prefix_len];
+                queue.register(heap_item.common_prefix_len() as u32 + extra_common_prefix_len as u32, next_byte, reader_id)
+            }
+        }
+        for &tie_id in tie_ids {
+            let reader = &mut readers[tie_id];
+            if reader.advance()? {
+                queue.register(reader.common_prefix_len() as u32, reader.suffix()[0], tie_id);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    delta_writer.finalize()?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::pick_lowest_with_ties;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_pick_lowest_with_ties() {
+        {
+            let mut ids = [0,1,3,2,5,4];
+            assert_eq!(pick_lowest_with_ties(&[1,4,3,7,1,3,5], |el| *el, &mut ids),
+                       (&[0,4][..], &[3,2,5,1][..]));
+        }
+        {
+            let mut ids = [5,3,2,1,4];
+            assert_eq!(pick_lowest_with_ties(&[1,4,3,7,1,3,5], |el| *el, &mut ids),
+                       (&[4][..], &[2,3,1,5][..]));
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/merge/heap_merge.rs b/sstable/src/merge/heap_merge.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1af307ed9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/merge/heap_merge.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+
+use {SSTable, Reader, Writer};
+
+use super::SingleValueMerger;
+use super::ValueMerger;
+use std::io;
+use std::collections::BinaryHeap;
+use std::cmp::Ordering;
+use std::collections::binary_heap::PeekMut;
+
+struct HeapItem<B: AsRef<[u8]>>(B);
+
+impl<B: AsRef<[u8]>> Ord for HeapItem<B> {
+    fn cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Ordering {
+        other.0.as_ref().cmp(self.0.as_ref())
+    }
+}
+impl<B: AsRef<[u8]>> PartialOrd for HeapItem<B> {
+    fn partial_cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Option<Ordering> {
+        Some(other.0.as_ref().cmp(self.0.as_ref()))
+    }
+}
+
+impl<B: AsRef<[u8]>> Eq for HeapItem<B> {}
+impl<B: AsRef<[u8]>> PartialEq for HeapItem<B> {
+    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        self.0.as_ref() == other.0.as_ref()
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn merge_sstable<SST: SSTable, W: io::Write, M: ValueMerger<SST::Value>>(
+    readers: Vec<Reader<SST::Reader>>,
+    mut writer: Writer<W, SST::Writer>,
+    mut merger: M) -> io::Result<()> {
+    let mut heap: BinaryHeap<HeapItem<Reader<SST::Reader>>> = BinaryHeap::with_capacity(readers.len());
+    for mut reader in readers {
+        if reader.advance()? {
+            heap.push(HeapItem(reader));
+        }
+    }
+    loop {
+        let len = heap.len();
+        let mut value_merger;
+        if let Some(mut head) = heap.peek_mut() {
+            writer.write_key(head.0.key());
+            value_merger = merger.new_value(head.0.value());
+            if !head.0.advance()? {
+                PeekMut::pop(head);
+            }
+        } else {
+            break;
+        }
+        for _ in 0..len - 1 {
+            if let Some(mut head) = heap.peek_mut() {
+                if head.0.key() == writer.current_key() {
+                    value_merger.add(head.0.value());
+                    if !head.0.advance()? {
+                        PeekMut::pop(head) ;
+                    }
+                    continue;
+                }
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        let value = value_merger.finish();
+        writer.write_value(&value);
+    }
+    writer.finalize()?;
+    Ok(())
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/merge/mod.rs b/sstable/src/merge/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6a8bda876
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/merge/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+mod fast_merge;
+mod heap_merge;
+
+pub use self::fast_merge::merge_sstable;
+pub use self::heap_merge::merge_sstable as merge_sstable_heap;
+
+
+pub trait SingleValueMerger<V> {
+    fn add(&mut self, v: &V);
+    fn finish(self) -> V;
+}
+
+pub trait ValueMerger<V> {
+    type TSingleValueMerger: SingleValueMerger<V>;
+    fn new_value(&mut self, v: &V) -> Self::TSingleValueMerger;
+}
+
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct KeepFirst;
+
+pub struct FirstVal<V>(V);
+
+impl<V: Clone> ValueMerger<V> for KeepFirst {
+    type TSingleValueMerger = FirstVal<V>;
+
+    fn new_value(&mut self, v: &V) -> FirstVal<V> {
+        FirstVal(v.clone())
+    }
+}
+
+impl<V> SingleValueMerger<V> for FirstVal<V> {
+    fn add(&mut self, _: &V) {}
+
+    fn finish(self) -> V {
+        self.0
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct VoidMerge;
+impl ValueMerger<()> for VoidMerge {
+
+    type TSingleValueMerger = ();
+
+    fn new_value(&mut self, _: &()) -> () {
+        ()
+    }
+}
+
+impl SingleValueMerger<()> for () {
+    fn add(&mut self, _: &()) {}
+
+    fn finish(self) -> () {
+        ()
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+
+    use VoidSSTable;
+    use SSTable;
+    use super::VoidMerge;
+    use std::str;
+    use std::collections::BTreeSet;
+
+    fn write_sstable(keys: &[&'static str]) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut buffer: Vec<u8> = vec![];
+        {
+            let mut sstable_writer = VoidSSTable::writer(&mut buffer);
+            for &key in keys {
+                assert!(sstable_writer.write(key.as_bytes(), &()).is_ok());
+            }
+            assert!(sstable_writer.finalize().is_ok());
+        }
+        buffer
+    }
+
+    fn merge_test_aux(arrs: &[&[&'static str]]) {
+        let sstables = arrs.iter()
+            .cloned()
+            .map(write_sstable)
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        let sstables_ref: Vec<&[u8]> = sstables.iter()
+            .map(|s| s.as_ref())
+            .collect();
+        let mut merged = BTreeSet::new();
+        for &arr in arrs.iter() {
+            for &s in arr {
+                merged.insert(s.to_string());
+            }
+        }
+        let mut w = Vec::new();
+        assert!(VoidSSTable::merge(sstables_ref, &mut w, VoidMerge).is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_merge() {
+        merge_test_aux(&[]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a"]]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a","b"], &["ab"]]); // a, ab, b
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a","b"], &["a", "b"]]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[
+            &["happy", "hello",  "payer", "tax"],
+            &["habitat", "hello", "zoo"],
+            &[],
+            &["a"],
+        ]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a"]]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a","b"], &["ab"]]);
+        merge_test_aux(&[&["a","b"], &["a", "b"]]);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/value.rs b/sstable/src/value.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0d3168385
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/value.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+use std::io;
+use BlockReader;
+
+pub trait ValueReader: Default {
+
+    type Value;
+
+    fn value(&self) -> &Self::Value;
+
+    fn read(&mut self, reader: &mut BlockReader) -> io::Result<()>;
+}
+
+pub trait ValueWriter: Default {
+
+    type Value;
+
+    fn write(&mut self, val: &Self::Value, writer: &mut Vec<u8>);
+}
+
+
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct VoidReader;
+
+impl ValueReader for VoidReader {
+    type Value = ();
+
+    fn value(&self) -> &Self::Value {
+        &()
+    }
+
+    fn read(&mut self, _reader: &mut BlockReader) -> io::Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct VoidWriter;
+
+impl ValueWriter for VoidWriter {
+    type Value = ();
+
+    fn write(&mut self, _: &Self::Value, _: &mut Vec<u8>) {}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sstable/src/vint.rs b/sstable/src/vint.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4d398c7f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sstable/src/vint.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+const CONTINUE_BIT: u8 = 128u8;
+
+pub fn serialize(mut val: u64, buffer: &mut [u8]) -> usize {
+    for (i, b) in buffer.iter_mut().enumerate() {
+        let next_byte: u8 = (val & 127u64) as u8;
+        val = val >> 7;
+        if val == 0u64 {
+            *b = next_byte;
+            return i + 1;
+        } else {
+            *b = next_byte | CONTINUE_BIT;
+        }
+    }
+    10 //< actually unreachable
+}
+
+// super slow but we don't care
+pub fn deserialize_read(buf: &[u8]) -> (usize, u64) {
+    let mut result = 0u64;
+    let mut shift = 0u64;
+    let mut consumed = 0;
+
+    for &b in buf {
+        consumed += 1;
+        result |= u64::from(b % 128u8) << shift;
+        if b < CONTINUE_BIT {
+            break;
+        }
+        shift += 7;
+    }
+    (consumed, result)
+}
+
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use vint::serialize;
+    use vint::deserialize_read;
+    use std::u64;
+
+    fn aux_test_int(val: u64, expect_len: usize) {
+        let mut buffer = [0u8; 14];
+        assert_eq!(serialize(val, &mut buffer[..]), expect_len);
+        assert_eq!(deserialize_read(&buffer), (expect_len, val));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_vint() {
+        aux_test_int(0u64, 1);
+        aux_test_int(17u64, 1);
+        aux_test_int(127u64, 1);
+        aux_test_int(128u64, 2);
+        aux_test_int(123423418u64, 4);
+        for i in 1..63 {
+            let power_of_two = 1u64 << i;
+            aux_test_int(power_of_two + 1, (i / 7) + 1);
+            aux_test_int(power_of_two, (i / 7) + 1 );
+            aux_test_int(power_of_two - 1, ((i-1) / 7) + 1);
+        }
+        aux_test_int(u64::MAX, 10);
+    }
+}
+