Introduction

The hypertext work I have chosen is Sister Stories, by the authors Carolyne Guyer, Rosemary Joyce and Michael Joyce. Carolyne Guyer is the author of Quibbling, a hypertext fiction published on disk by Eastgate in 1992. Her other hypertexts include the first published collaborative fiction, Izme Pass, with co-author Martha Petry, published by Writing on the Edge in 1991; and Lasting Image with co-author Michael Joyce, published on the web by Eastgate. She was the founder and coordinator of HiPitched Voices, a women's hypertext collective which was best known for helping to launch the Hypertext HotelMOO, located at Brown University. She also created the web project Mother Millennia that intends to link thousands of stories and works from all over the world on the subject of "mother." Guyer has also contributed to the theoretical work surrounding the use of hypertext.

The aim of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of Sister Stories, a hypertext work. This genre of literature offers an alternative to traditional reading formats. The advantage of the hypertext is that, in contrast to traditional texts, which the reader must follow page by page so as not to lose the thread if the subject matter is complicated, this new format, in my view, always allows the reader to leave and return to the text at will by clicking on the links provided. With a view to analyzing Sister Stories, I have researched this work via a network of other hypertexts on the Internet, and, in truth, it is not clear just how many such hypertexts exist until you enter this world. The options are unlimited, some more complicated than others. Yet even so, with appropriate use of the tools available you never get lost: it transports you to the fascinating world of the Aztec culture. I can vouch that you will never get lost- it makes for simply compelling reading.

Furthermore, I consider the structure of this work to be of noteworthy interest, both in terms of its web design, as a resource to engage the reader, and in terms of its aforementioned system of links. We should not forget that this is a hypertext, a work whose plot or storyline is altered by the freedom that this format offers the reader in providing the option to choose from a series of itineraries or courses proposed by the author- the most important active factor. Despite its complexity, the work presents a navigational guide on each and every one of its pages, located at both the top and bottom, which helps you to continue reading should you get lost or require help.

Sister Stories provides us with an insight into Aztec culture, more specifically into its peoples, traditions, its history, its calendar, its trades and crafts, and an endless number of aspects related to this world.

If you wish to visit my page, I have provided the following links which will take you to the various points of this work.

INTRODUCTION HYPERTEXT STRUCTURE TOOLS CONCLUSION SECOND PAPER

Universitat de València Press

Photo: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/aztec.GIF