Media, reviews, and exhibits

Half Moon Bay Review & Pacifica Tribune •

Coastside author re-releases unique online novel

As a writing professor at Stanford University in 1995, Richard Holeton wrote a 500-word short story about Theodore Streleski, the Stanford graduate student who bludgeoned his faculty advisor to death with a hammer in the 1970s. He developed the story into a hypertext novel, “Figurski at Findhorn on Acid,” which for the last 12 years has been unavailable to the public due to outdated software — until now.
The Digital Review • electronic book review •

Dene Grigar, "The Ethics of Digital Preservation: Obligation to Future Generations"

In "When We Are No More," Abby Smith Rumsey argues that culture is a “a collective form of memory” and that memory impacts not only the survival of a species but of that species’ culture. Richard Holeton’s hypertext novel "Figurski at Findhorn on Acid," and Caitlin Fisher’s Flash net art narrative "These Waves of Girls," constitute two recent works the [Electronic Literature Lab] has saved within the parameters of Rumsey's ethic.
Electronic Literature Lab
Electronic Literature Lab, WSU-Vancouver •

Michael Tratner, "The Distinctive Quality of Holeton's Hypertext Fiction"

The wonder of this hypertext is that it rigidly sticks to an extremely complicated, even tortured, organization (in which every possible arrangement of three characters, three objects and three places occurs) and yet it is a good read — whether you mechanically follow the default route or flip around randomly, you can zip through and enjoy the pages.
Rebooting Electronic Literature, Volume 2 •

Dene Grigar, "A Man and His Shoes: Complexity and Satire in Richard Holeton's Figurski at Findhorn on Acid"

Along with its satirical treatment of contemporary culture, a hallmark of the novel is its structure: It is a massive work of 147 text spaces built around clearly-defined combinations of three characters, locations, and artifacts, with an additional 147 Notes help to further contextualize the narrative for readers, and 2001 links connecting spaces and Notes together.
Electronic Literature Directory •

Chelsea Miya, "Figurski at Findhorn on Acid"

The story follows the main character Frank Figurski’s quest to acquire a legendary mechanical pig. The encyclopedic form of the novel satirizes academic language and research culture. The scenes alternate between various genre styles, both fictional and non-fictional, including: poetry, dramatic dialogue, and email exchanges. Holeton appears especially fond of pedagogical rhetoric and both invites and pokes fun at practices of scholarly inquiry.
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