The Waiter: An Interactive Story (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781454972440)

An interactive fiction debut where readers enter their world as an unnamed worker navigating a society on the brink of collapse.

In a future London, the rich hoard wealth and Waiters do the menial jobs no one else has time for. The city is being swallowed into the ground by "maws," gaping holes that appear and disappear without explanation--no one knows how or why they form, only that they seem to manifest wherever will cause the most chaos.

Occasionally, a maw will leave behind a person: someone who wakes up without memories or any understanding of how they came to be swallowed up by the darkness.

You are one of them. As an unnamed Waiter, you must select your jobs carefully or risk losing work credits, while also trying to keep your humanity intact. Meanwhile, a desire to understand yourself creeps in: Who were you before this? Who might you become?

​A bold reimagination of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel, this book offers a world of possibilities, with 11 different endings and countless journeys towards them. A unique, voice-driven literary experience, this is a novel that prompts readers to wrestle with our agency and our desires in a world feels like it's coming apart at the seams.

Author: Kwan Ann Tan
ISBN-10: 1454972440
ISBN-13: 9781454972440
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Language: English
Published: 11/03/2026
Pages: 144
Format: Paperback
Size: 7.75h x 5.00w x 0.36d