Index

The Book

A Bit of Barthes

Modernism

Postmodernism

Decentred

Author Options

Hypertechniques

Bibliography

The ending of a hyperbook necessarily problematizes the very notion of narrative closure. At the simplest level, however, a hyperbook can be said to have ended when the reader exits from the programme. There are many options available to the hypertext writer.

The reading path terminates at a node that announces "the end" and does not allow further readings. Of course, there may be more than one such node. This is the method used most by interactive fictions. Another option is the complete absence of an "end" here the path never ends, but eventually begins recycling nodes. After a time, the reader will tire of the repetition. This option is put to effective use in such hyperfictions as Victory Garden.

The path returns to the first node, completing an obviously cyclic narrative. The path concludes by oscillating between two nodes (as in Hopscotch) or cycling among an obviously finite number of nodes. The reader's perception of concluding a work is strongly influenced by how much information they have at their disposal. A table of contents or other map allows a reader to ensure that they have read all of the text, thus "finishing" the book. At the other end of the spectrum is a hyperfiction like Afternoon, which has branching reading paths and no maps by which a reader can measure their progress.

Built by Scott Spicer. [email protected]