Virgil Dreamond, Who Now Dreams of Plugging Us Into the Computer
Elena Pavlova has been writing for as long as she can remember. Gamebook fans know her by the pen name Virgil Dreamond, the author of 25 of the masterful reads in this literary phenomenon. Why can’t she wait for the technology that will read our minds, where has science fiction disappeared to, and why did Bulgarian writers and translators end up without money even for bread?
02Gamebooks: The Phenomenon That Taught a Generation to Read
Gamebooks are a purely Bulgarian cultural phenomenon, and there is a lot to learn from them. They show how the wild early years of the “transition” had not only mutri, the thick-necked gangsters of the era, but also a peculiar, meaningful literature that woke a love of books in an entire generation. If this story is familiar to you, it is worth learning how it continues today: one of the beloved authors, a knight of the gamebook, is fighting to give the phenomenon a new life. If you have never heard of it… then it is time, because this is something rarely talked about, and it was one of a kind. We go back to tell the story of the phenomenon and its six great authors, then turn to what the beloved writers do today, and finally look ahead to the gamebooks that will soon return in full force.
03What's the Rush?
“Our hectic daily lives” is a cliché we repeat every day. Perhaps because it is unconditionally true. There is never enough time; they've started making the days far too short. The minutes slip away, leaving no time for quiet moments with family and friends, for a book, simply for reflection or complete relaxation… How could it be otherwise? Today, in a single day, we can take in more information than people only a few generations ago absorbed in months, even in a lifetime. Where does this constant feeling come from? Are the generations different, is there more work? Or is there simply something that keeps us under pressure? Something that keeps scaring us that we're missing the moment, even when there is no reason at all…
