Once upon a time (don’t all good stories start that way?), young adult readers of the mid-to-late 80s had far more power than they have now. They had the power to determine the fates of the characters in the books they read. I won’t name the franchise of books that foolishly gave these young readers so much power, but let’s just say the reader was asked several times during the course of the story to “make a choice” regarding the direction of the “adventure.”
Now that we have grown up, we find ourselves stripped of power and slave to the whims of the writers who think they know better than us what should happen next in a story. Don’t tell me there haven’t been times you’ve put a book down and wished the author would have called you and consulted with you about that fork in the road. If only that had happened, the book wouldn’t have sucked so bad, think you.
Well, I think it’s time, finally, to give you back the power to make the next call.
Choose or Die is just that place – but wait, before you become too jubilant and drunk on your own remembered power, there are a few things you should know.
• Majority rules. You’ll be introduced to a new story, and, of course, at a particularly heady junction in the action, you’ll be asked to make a choice. But you aren’t alone. Your fellow readers are also making choices. Lo and behold, you are now engaged in a battle of wills. The more people that choose the option you favor, the better chance you have to see your option advanced in the story. However, if your favorite choice is not preferred by the majority, you will suffer the disappointment of the loser.
• If you lose, you die. You won’t always win. Don’t worry. The losing choices will be addressed, too – but not the way you want. Beware the pitfalls of being in the minority, because grisly fates await. Of course, you can always recruit more readers to slant the voting your way . . .
• There are a lot of Scribblers here. Every episode, you’ll be introduced to a different Scribbler, a writer chosen for their propensity towards the humorous and ridiculous. The style may be a little different from day to day. We like to keep things interesting around here.
• It’s very likely that multiple tales are being told. Don’t get lost. Again, we like to keep things interesting, and Scribblers don’t appreciate standing around, waiting on majority rule.
I would say that if you accept these conditions, then you are free to get involved in the story – but let’s be honest. Now that you’re here, you don’t want to look away. Strange adventure waits, as well as carnage at every turn. So, now that you’re here . . .Choose or Die.
