When I was a kid, maybe 15-19 years ago but possibly more, my Dad printed off chapters of an online story for me. I can't remember much about it, or what it was called. I think the puzzles were beyond me at the time, but I'd like to find it and attempt them again.
Things I remember:
- It was a fantasy story that included magic heavily.
- It was being released online, one chapter a week (or perhaps my Dad simply presented it to me that way).
- The main character, a girl, had a reversed memory. She remembered her future, but not her past.
- There were puzzles for the reader to solve in the story. I can't remember what form they took, but I believe there was one larger puzzle across the whole story the smaller puzzles were required to solve.
- Each chapter included a single, circular illustration with lots of detail. This picture had elements you needed to spot, perhaps to solve the puzzles. The imagery was quite dark.
- The girl had a number of companions. Perhaps they accumulated over the course of the story?
- I remember one image had glass jars of things suspended in formaldehyde (it sticks out because it was the first time I ever heard the word).