Reviewed by Douglas Eyman CFCC

Electronic Zen Taro Ikai       Ikai's "Electronic Zen" is an interesting personal exploration of Zen Buddhism--followed sequentially, the reader is treated to lexia which contain what I think of as "Zen moments"--poems, images, or short descriptions that seem to echo the stillness that is at the heart of the practice of zen. The links are mostly lexia to lexia and don't seem to branch much; although the reader may take control via the lexia map, following the links without thinking also echoes the Zen precept of wu wei (as the Chinese called it), generally going with the natural flow. Unfortunately, Ikai breaks up a stream of "Zen moments" with lexia which consider technology and media, or the use of storyspace, and this breaks the calm Zen mood induced by the other lexia. Upon re-reading, I marked the disruptive lexia so I could skip them the next time around; however, the interruptions may be useful if one perceives the entire hypertext as a meditation on Zen/Not Zen. . . Contents: The Optics Carlos D. Aizenmann-Stern Simulations: Baudrillard through Hypertext Ethan Fiks Circular Voice(s) John P. Garland Electronic Zen Taro Ikai Ultramundane Tom McHarg Breath of Sighs and Falling Forever Nathan Marsh The Dead Letter Office David Mayer Plateaus Tom Meyer Food for Thought Jane Park An Evening at Roy's Roy Perlis Bodily Writing Anne Pycha The Hero's Face Joshua Rappaport Rhizome Maggie Skodon Freud Web David B. Stevenson LBJ Timothy Taylor Adam's Bookstore Adam Wenger Contact the Reviewer!