Browsing Spotify last weekend I came across something exciting: a free audio book called Don’t Let Go. The story is unusual for a couple of reasons – it’s split into short sections found by typing in a unique code, and puts the listener at the centre of the action.

At the end of each chapter, you are given a choice between two decisions, and the outcome of the story depends on how you decide to act. Your decision will determine which chapter you are directed to next- giving you power to influence the narrative to some extent.

It wasn’t the way I’d planned to spend my Saturday, but I ended up taking a long time exploring the various paths I could choose (my first attempt did not end particularly successfully, but I won’t spoil it for you). It’s an eerie and quite beautiful creation, immersing you in events by forcing you to take part.

A friend and I often debate the merits of books versus video games, and the only point on which I ever concede that games are better is their ability to have flexibile storylines, for the path you take to be affected by how you act (the game Fallout 3 is a particularly good example of this, in which you can develop your character into someone either good or evil, and others will treat you accordingly). The only stories that I can remember attempting to do something similar are the choose-your-own-adventure game books I used to read when I was younger, sadly now long gone.

Don’t Let Go, a collaboration between novelist Joe Stretch and electro-pop duo Hurts (and a very clever way to market Hurts’ new album Happiness), reminded me of these books and got me hoping that this could be the beginning of a wave of rolling-dice narratives aimed at adults. Streaming services like Spotify make this sort of thing possible for the first time, and when the service becomes accessible through wireless music systems as well as computers, you’ll be able to listen to stories curled up on the sofa, or in bed.

So I wonder immersive audio novels are something that could catch on, or if they ask too much of readers? Would you take the time to play one, or do you prefer traditional linear narratives?

(If you’ve got Spotify search for A5M4 to listen to the first chapter of Don’t Let Go)


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