Has anyone ever read "hypertext fiction" and liked it?

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I think my main problem is that I never have any good reason for clicking this word rather than that word. And I have the nagging sensation that in making the choice I'm leaving some tasty nubbin behind forever.

I remember word.com having some promising examples but they were all linear I believe.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

new answers and suggestions, please!

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

It's going strong at eastgate as some sort of specialty backyard industry. I think the hype just went away when ppl. realised the true possibility of fancy technology wasn't text at all, but PRETTY PICTURES.

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

At 3rd Bed they have some pretty decent hypertext poetry. I have never read any hypertext fiction.

― Mandee, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I read a book that started life as Hypertext Fiction, before be pulled down and printed. It was very bitty and makes an excellent bog book.

― Nathan Barley, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

i thought 253 worked well, although i read it as a book first.

― maura, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

do 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books count?

― michael, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

An old college friend of mine was involved with THE UNKNOWN which a lot of people seem to think is the granddaddy of the whole genre. It certainly won a lot of prizes. I find it a bit fruitless, though. You can read books IN THE BATH, IN BED and ON THE BUS! Why people would think the future of Lit would be something you have to read on a screen I have no idea.

― The Ghastly Fop, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

no michael because they are not hifalutin enough hahaha stupid academics

I seem to remember the norton anthology of postmodern american fiction (phew!) saying 'afternoon' was the grandaddy. but I really don't remember anything about it, except that the original came as computer software. I checked out some of that hypertext authoring (for literature, too fancy to use the usual stuff those snobs) software once, and it seemed like too much trouble. there were lots of people bigging in up but I would think that having something accessible to readers is more important than giving authors more control over their text when writing it. surely a web app like blogger could be written now to make ht authorship easy though.

julio cortazar's 'hopscotch' is 'proto-hypertext' and can be good at times. it's only proto- because of its choose your own adventureness though.

― Josh, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I didn't like afternoon but maybe I was too young at the time or maybe it just wasn't very good. Victory Garden had some striking passages however.

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

253 was the very book I read. Not bothered with the hypertext version. I know what happens, for starters.

― Nathan Barley, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Didn't someone hypertext-up Pound's Cantos & call them "hypervortexts" or something equally PaulDMiller-esque?

― Ess Kay, Wednesday, 12 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I read WUTHERING HEIGHTS online, also Bram Stokers DRACULA! Does that count?

― Sarah, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

No Sarah ruining your eyes by reading 72dpi text does not instantly make you hypertextual. I doubt you will ever join our elite ranks.

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

H4h4h4 j00 w1ll n3xx0r be as 3733+ as m3, l4m3r!!

― Sarah, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

The William Burroughs biog that was done in hypertext which has now sadly vanished from the net used to be fantastic. Does anyone know if it is still out there - it think it used to be at bigtable.com

― Lynskey, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

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