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Myst #1-3
The Myst Reader
This omnibus edition of the hugely popular Myst trilogy is published to coincide with the release of Myst Revelations, the latest in the line of the bestselling Myst interactive CD-ROM games.The award-winning Myst series is one of the most successful interactive CD-ROM computer games in history with sales of more than 12 million copies worldwide. Myst captivated the world when it was first conceived and created by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller. Its extraordinary success has gone on to spawn Riven, Myst III Exile, and most recently, Uru: The Ages Beyond Myst. Devoted fans of these surreal adventure games gather yearly at "Mysterium" (whose event sites are spreading to other countries) to exchange game strategies, share stories, and meet up with old friends.
The Myst Reader is a literary companion to the CD-ROM games and a compendium of the bestselling official Myst trilogy: The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti'ana, and The Book of D'ni. Devoted fans and new players alike will be delighted to have three books in this mythic saga together for the first time in one value-priced volume, which will be published in time to coincide with the long-awaited release of Myst Revelations.
The Myst Reader is a literary companion to the CD-ROM games and a compendium of the bestselling official Myst trilogy: The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti'ana, and The Book of D'ni. Devoted fans and new players alike will be delighted to have three books in this mythic saga together for the first time in one value-priced volume, which will be published in time to coincide with the long-awaited release of Myst Revelations.
944 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1995
166 people are currently reading
1076 people want to read
About the author
Rand Miller
8 books130 followersRand Miller (born January 17, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) co-founded Cyan (now Cyan Worlds) with brother Robyn Miller and became famous from the unexpected success of their computer game Myst, which remained the number one-selling game for the remainder of the 1990s. Rand also worked on the game's sequel, Riven, and later Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation, Myst V: End of Ages, realMyst, and Uru. The brothers also acted out parts in the game, with Robyn as Sirrus and Rand as Achenar and Atrus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
July 14, 2008
This reader is very thought provoking. The first book explores the possibilities and complexities of "creating" worlds. It helps me to believe in the truth of a creator. Atrus is learning from his father Gehn how to "write" ages or worlds. Gehn is out of control and believes that he is a God. Atrus looks at it differently that they are linking to worlds already created.
The second book is about Gehn's parents and the fall of the anciend civilization known as D'Ni. You follow how a vibrant culture can be corrupted and fall because of pride.
The third book follows Atrus as he attempts to find the remnants of the D'Ni people after the fall. This book explores the corruption of power and what can happen to a culture were there is abuse of power and slavery.
I really enjoyed these books. They are a little slower of a read, but well worth the time.
The second book is about Gehn's parents and the fall of the anciend civilization known as D'Ni. You follow how a vibrant culture can be corrupted and fall because of pride.
The third book follows Atrus as he attempts to find the remnants of the D'Ni people after the fall. This book explores the corruption of power and what can happen to a culture were there is abuse of power and slavery.
I really enjoyed these books. They are a little slower of a read, but well worth the time.
June 14, 2015
For fans of the Myst series of computer games who want to know more about the history of the D'ni and the backstory of Atrus this is great, although the beginning of The Book of Ti'ana is dry and slow going.
For those who have not played the Myst games these stories probably would not hold much interest as stand alone stories.
For those who have not played the Myst games these stories probably would not hold much interest as stand alone stories.
March 4, 2015
I agonized over what rating to give this book... I would like to give it 5 stars, because I support all things Myst and I have been obsessed with the world of Myst since the first time I sat down to play it. But I feel like I should give it 1 star, because it was just so terribly written. Seriously. I felt like I was reading bad fan fiction on the internet. So I compromised and gave it 3 stars.
A worthwhile read for Myst fans, to see the story behind the games. But for a wonderful read with deep characters, interesting dialogue, and a satisfying writing style... look elsewhere.
A worthwhile read for Myst fans, to see the story behind the games. But for a wonderful read with deep characters, interesting dialogue, and a satisfying writing style... look elsewhere.
December 14, 2023
Book 1
I’m invested in young Atrus. Abandoned as a baby by his father Gehn and raised by his grandmother in the cleft of a desert canyon after his mother dies in childbirth, she raises Atrus to be a boy of science and reason. His first experience with rain, and the death of his pet cat, ground him as a human being.
And then at age 14, his stern and overbearing father returns and takes him into the underground civilization of D’ni. His grandmother told him stories of the great kings and wonderful deeds his ancestors achieved. Now he’s been taken to where they lived. The ruins of a great civilization.
The D’ni: an ancient culture that lived underground in immense caverns. Their knowledge was so great they figured out how to create new worlds just by writing about them. D’ni writing was so profound it had the power to create Ages.
Gehn believes this made the D’ni gods, but even as he asserts his divinity on the people of the Thirty-Seventh age, he clearly has no idea what he is doing. The Age he wrote is unstable, and right before his son’s eyes, his attempt to fix it goes horribly wrong, and his father does not care. The people who inhabit this reality, created by Gehn’s own pen—are dying because of a mistake his father clearly made, and Atrus realizes that his teacher, his mentor, does not know best. His father is not divine. His father is in fact incompetent, and wants to raise his son to write more ages to rule over.
A son coming to realize his father is not someone to look up to.
That hits home, and it grounds these events in reality.
While the narrative style is often clunky and too matter-of-fact in its descriptions, the story it tells is a page-turner from the start. Atrus learning about the world under the teachings of his grandmother, and then coming to realize his father is not a good person, even as his goal of restoring D’ni culture from its ruins is noble.
Such awesome power the D’ni once had, but why did their civilization fall apart? If Gehn is an accurate sample, we can guess, and Atrus’s test of manhood is challenging his father’s views. Do the D’ni deserve to be gods of the Ages they create? Are they creating worlds, or are they merely linking to places that already exist? Does it even matter? Who should wield this power, and what happens to the people at the mercy of it?—the people who inhabit the Ages they write? His father does not care about them. They are all part of his experiments in writing Ages to rule. He is raising his son to write new Ages purely so the D’ni can rebuild as gods of thousands of worlds. Is this what Atrus should believe?
Atrus sees his father for what he truly is, and he becomes determined to stop his father. The best way to do that is to trap him somewhere he can’t harm anyone else. He finds help from an unlikely place: a woman from one of Gehn’s earlier Ages. A woman who despises living at the mercy of Gehn as much as Atrus does.
It makes for a compelling read, once you get used to the style. The reader sees Gehn for the man he really is alongside Atrus, and I gleefully watched Atrus turn away from such a man. It is not merely fanfiction, or a corporate book. This is the backstory behind Myst and Riven, the story the player jumps into the middle of, and it puts everything into perspective.
It stands very well apart from the games. You need not play Myst to enjoy it, and reading it makes the games more interesting in hindsight because the player’s intuition is correct. There really is a strong foundation holding the games up. A fully-realized world with solid rules and developed characters.
_______
Book 2
Aitrus, grandfather of the Atrus from book 1, is a young geologist for the underground civilization of the D’ni. Part one shows the reader exactly how the D’ni construct the tunnels, the advanced machinery they have, and the chemistry to recycle the debris and use it to make a sealant (nari) for the walls. Some of these machines are over 4,000 years old, carefully maintained and revered.
(It also shows us that Myst 5 was bullshit. The D’ni never had an enslaved race. It didn’t need one to do their building. The D’ni had advanced machinery and science for over 4,000 years! Blades that can pierce and shape stone. They were steampunk before antiquity!)
We also get to see how D’ni politics works. The Council has guided D’ni civilization for thousands of years. The Guilds give everyone a place and a protected specialty. We join the Surveyors Guild as they plot a course for a new tunnel. Some in the D’ni leadership desire to make contact with the surface. Others are not sure it’s worthwhile, but they go ahead with construction of a shaft that will become the hub for D’ni activity on the surface.
Or it would have if not for the earthquake.
What’s most interesting about this part is the presence of Veovis. This was the man Gehn spoke of in the previous volume of the series, who committed unspeakable crimes against the D’ni. If Gehn disliked him so much, was he really so bad? What could he have possibly done? Are we about to find out?
We meet Anna, a young woman whose father raises her as a person of science. After her father passes away, she decides to take one last look at the mysterious circle in the desert sand, and becomes the first surface-dweller to make contact with the D’ni.
For more than half the book, we get to see D’ni politics, and it drags. It’s informative, yes, but I think the narration gets too hung up on the political stuff and forgets the characters. Aitrus takes a liking to Anna, but his exact motivation for wanting to teach her about Books and Ages and D’ni Writing is unclear. He has barely spoken to her, but he wants to show her everything he knows. It’s not until after that they spend time building an Age together that Aitrus takes a liking to her, making me think parts 3 and 4 should have been switched around, as they feel like part 4 happens before part 3. Again I think it’s the result of the author(s) focusing too much on the politics and forgetting the people.
Anyway, Veovis doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like that Aitrus is treating an outsider as an equal, and he uses his political influence to ensure this becomes the policy forever. Anna was sentenced to live among the D’ni but not know anything about them? Aitrus can’t abide this, and it starts a chain reaction that tears D’ni society apart.
What brought down such an advanced, ancient society?
One nobleman who had a grievance with D’ni civilization and couldn’t handle a mixing of the races, and when he can’t get his way, he conspires to bring D’ni down. The slightest hint of progressive politics that maybe the poor are capable of handling some responsibility over their futures and their lives... some in the nobility just cannot handle the idea that there are poor people in society and maybe they do not deserve to be poor, and these questions would not have been asked if not for that WOMAN! That outsider who dared put devious ideas into the minds of men. It’s reminiscent of Metropolis: a man who was wronged vows to tear down society itself. When he recruits others, they are able to scatter D’ni society to such an extent as to make everyone feel the same pain they felt being cut off from D’ni for unjust reasons.
Wow, it takes a while to get good, but once the book starts punching, it doesn’t let up.
(edit: Regarding the progressive politics Aitrus introduces. The book misses an opportunity to show us how the common folk live. What is life really like for someone who is not in a Guild? What do the rest of the people do? Apparently, the D’ni government has no representative for the commoners in D’ni society, and Aitrus merely introduces some measure that would give them a voice. Veovis can’t stand the idea that the people might want to have a say in what happens to them, and this is what pushes him over the edge. It would have been nice to see Anna venturing from the high districts and seeing the lower parts of the city, and then pushing Aitrus to do the same. I think showing how the non-noblemen live would have been more engaging than spending half the book on D’ni politics, and it would have given Veovis’ decision to partner with a disgraced Guildsman in a plot to take down the Guilds more meaning.)
D’ni society worked so long as nothing changed. Veovis didn’t end it. He revealed a critical flaw: the D’ni could not adapt to someone being equal to themselves, and not everyone agreed with the decisions of the Council. A handful of people who did not think the Council knew best was able to destroy everything.
How fragile civilization is.
_______
Book 3
Taking place after the events of Myst and Riven, Catherine and Atrus venture into the D’ni ruins for the first time since settling in the age of Myst. Anna passed away some 30 years ago, and now Atrus faces the ghosts of his past as he and Catherine search for survivors of the cataclysm that destroyed D’ni and scattered its people.
They brought with them a team of young helpers from another Age to collect and catalog D’ni Books. After much exploration, they do find survivors, and some of them are willing to return to the caverns and try to rebuild.
In the process of restoration, they break through a floor and find a hidden chamber. It leads to a sealed door, which leads to a tunnel that leads to another sealed door, which leads to another chamber that holds ancient Books written in some earlier form of D’ni.
Taking a great risk, Atrus links to one of these Ages himself, and what he finds is astonishing: a thriving civilization that rivals even the greatest achievements of the D’ni. Even the analytical Atrus is smitten by this place. Everything is grand, and all people enjoy a life of luxury.
Here the book drags while I waited for some kind of revelation. Who are these people, and why would the D’ni seal them off and erase all record of them? It’s all too perfect—something bad is about to happen—there must be a payoff.
And there is. All is not well in this Age, and Atrus inadvertently sets off a chain of events that throws society into chaos. He and his party feel obligated to make it right and help the people of this ancient age begin anew.
It’s a grand climax that hints at the direction D’ni might have gone had more people thought like Gehn.
I’m invested in young Atrus. Abandoned as a baby by his father Gehn and raised by his grandmother in the cleft of a desert canyon after his mother dies in childbirth, she raises Atrus to be a boy of science and reason. His first experience with rain, and the death of his pet cat, ground him as a human being.
And then at age 14, his stern and overbearing father returns and takes him into the underground civilization of D’ni. His grandmother told him stories of the great kings and wonderful deeds his ancestors achieved. Now he’s been taken to where they lived. The ruins of a great civilization.
The D’ni: an ancient culture that lived underground in immense caverns. Their knowledge was so great they figured out how to create new worlds just by writing about them. D’ni writing was so profound it had the power to create Ages.
Gehn believes this made the D’ni gods, but even as he asserts his divinity on the people of the Thirty-Seventh age, he clearly has no idea what he is doing. The Age he wrote is unstable, and right before his son’s eyes, his attempt to fix it goes horribly wrong, and his father does not care. The people who inhabit this reality, created by Gehn’s own pen—are dying because of a mistake his father clearly made, and Atrus realizes that his teacher, his mentor, does not know best. His father is not divine. His father is in fact incompetent, and wants to raise his son to write more ages to rule over.
A son coming to realize his father is not someone to look up to.
That hits home, and it grounds these events in reality.
While the narrative style is often clunky and too matter-of-fact in its descriptions, the story it tells is a page-turner from the start. Atrus learning about the world under the teachings of his grandmother, and then coming to realize his father is not a good person, even as his goal of restoring D’ni culture from its ruins is noble.
Such awesome power the D’ni once had, but why did their civilization fall apart? If Gehn is an accurate sample, we can guess, and Atrus’s test of manhood is challenging his father’s views. Do the D’ni deserve to be gods of the Ages they create? Are they creating worlds, or are they merely linking to places that already exist? Does it even matter? Who should wield this power, and what happens to the people at the mercy of it?—the people who inhabit the Ages they write? His father does not care about them. They are all part of his experiments in writing Ages to rule. He is raising his son to write new Ages purely so the D’ni can rebuild as gods of thousands of worlds. Is this what Atrus should believe?
Atrus sees his father for what he truly is, and he becomes determined to stop his father. The best way to do that is to trap him somewhere he can’t harm anyone else. He finds help from an unlikely place: a woman from one of Gehn’s earlier Ages. A woman who despises living at the mercy of Gehn as much as Atrus does.
It makes for a compelling read, once you get used to the style. The reader sees Gehn for the man he really is alongside Atrus, and I gleefully watched Atrus turn away from such a man. It is not merely fanfiction, or a corporate book. This is the backstory behind Myst and Riven, the story the player jumps into the middle of, and it puts everything into perspective.
It stands very well apart from the games. You need not play Myst to enjoy it, and reading it makes the games more interesting in hindsight because the player’s intuition is correct. There really is a strong foundation holding the games up. A fully-realized world with solid rules and developed characters.
_______
Book 2
Aitrus, grandfather of the Atrus from book 1, is a young geologist for the underground civilization of the D’ni. Part one shows the reader exactly how the D’ni construct the tunnels, the advanced machinery they have, and the chemistry to recycle the debris and use it to make a sealant (nari) for the walls. Some of these machines are over 4,000 years old, carefully maintained and revered.
(It also shows us that Myst 5 was bullshit. The D’ni never had an enslaved race. It didn’t need one to do their building. The D’ni had advanced machinery and science for over 4,000 years! Blades that can pierce and shape stone. They were steampunk before antiquity!)
We also get to see how D’ni politics works. The Council has guided D’ni civilization for thousands of years. The Guilds give everyone a place and a protected specialty. We join the Surveyors Guild as they plot a course for a new tunnel. Some in the D’ni leadership desire to make contact with the surface. Others are not sure it’s worthwhile, but they go ahead with construction of a shaft that will become the hub for D’ni activity on the surface.
Or it would have if not for the earthquake.
What’s most interesting about this part is the presence of Veovis. This was the man Gehn spoke of in the previous volume of the series, who committed unspeakable crimes against the D’ni. If Gehn disliked him so much, was he really so bad? What could he have possibly done? Are we about to find out?
We meet Anna, a young woman whose father raises her as a person of science. After her father passes away, she decides to take one last look at the mysterious circle in the desert sand, and becomes the first surface-dweller to make contact with the D’ni.
For more than half the book, we get to see D’ni politics, and it drags. It’s informative, yes, but I think the narration gets too hung up on the political stuff and forgets the characters. Aitrus takes a liking to Anna, but his exact motivation for wanting to teach her about Books and Ages and D’ni Writing is unclear. He has barely spoken to her, but he wants to show her everything he knows. It’s not until after that they spend time building an Age together that Aitrus takes a liking to her, making me think parts 3 and 4 should have been switched around, as they feel like part 4 happens before part 3. Again I think it’s the result of the author(s) focusing too much on the politics and forgetting the people.
Anyway, Veovis doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like that Aitrus is treating an outsider as an equal, and he uses his political influence to ensure this becomes the policy forever. Anna was sentenced to live among the D’ni but not know anything about them? Aitrus can’t abide this, and it starts a chain reaction that tears D’ni society apart.
What brought down such an advanced, ancient society?
One nobleman who had a grievance with D’ni civilization and couldn’t handle a mixing of the races, and when he can’t get his way, he conspires to bring D’ni down. The slightest hint of progressive politics that maybe the poor are capable of handling some responsibility over their futures and their lives... some in the nobility just cannot handle the idea that there are poor people in society and maybe they do not deserve to be poor, and these questions would not have been asked if not for that WOMAN! That outsider who dared put devious ideas into the minds of men. It’s reminiscent of Metropolis: a man who was wronged vows to tear down society itself. When he recruits others, they are able to scatter D’ni society to such an extent as to make everyone feel the same pain they felt being cut off from D’ni for unjust reasons.
Wow, it takes a while to get good, but once the book starts punching, it doesn’t let up.
(edit: Regarding the progressive politics Aitrus introduces. The book misses an opportunity to show us how the common folk live. What is life really like for someone who is not in a Guild? What do the rest of the people do? Apparently, the D’ni government has no representative for the commoners in D’ni society, and Aitrus merely introduces some measure that would give them a voice. Veovis can’t stand the idea that the people might want to have a say in what happens to them, and this is what pushes him over the edge. It would have been nice to see Anna venturing from the high districts and seeing the lower parts of the city, and then pushing Aitrus to do the same. I think showing how the non-noblemen live would have been more engaging than spending half the book on D’ni politics, and it would have given Veovis’ decision to partner with a disgraced Guildsman in a plot to take down the Guilds more meaning.)
D’ni society worked so long as nothing changed. Veovis didn’t end it. He revealed a critical flaw: the D’ni could not adapt to someone being equal to themselves, and not everyone agreed with the decisions of the Council. A handful of people who did not think the Council knew best was able to destroy everything.
How fragile civilization is.
_______
Book 3
Taking place after the events of Myst and Riven, Catherine and Atrus venture into the D’ni ruins for the first time since settling in the age of Myst. Anna passed away some 30 years ago, and now Atrus faces the ghosts of his past as he and Catherine search for survivors of the cataclysm that destroyed D’ni and scattered its people.
They brought with them a team of young helpers from another Age to collect and catalog D’ni Books. After much exploration, they do find survivors, and some of them are willing to return to the caverns and try to rebuild.
In the process of restoration, they break through a floor and find a hidden chamber. It leads to a sealed door, which leads to a tunnel that leads to another sealed door, which leads to another chamber that holds ancient Books written in some earlier form of D’ni.
Taking a great risk, Atrus links to one of these Ages himself, and what he finds is astonishing: a thriving civilization that rivals even the greatest achievements of the D’ni. Even the analytical Atrus is smitten by this place. Everything is grand, and all people enjoy a life of luxury.
Here the book drags while I waited for some kind of revelation. Who are these people, and why would the D’ni seal them off and erase all record of them? It’s all too perfect—something bad is about to happen—there must be a payoff.
And there is. All is not well in this Age, and Atrus inadvertently sets off a chain of events that throws society into chaos. He and his party feel obligated to make it right and help the people of this ancient age begin anew.
It’s a grand climax that hints at the direction D’ni might have gone had more people thought like Gehn.
October 7, 2013
So here's a fun story: I actually ordered this book by mistake, having got it confused with From Myst to Riven. I was more than a little thrown when this brick arrived instead...
It took me a while to get through the whole trilogy - mainly because the second installment dragged to hell and back - and having finally finished it, I am glad I read it. Though I would still rather have got From Myst to Riven.
The Book of Atrus: Definitely my favourite of the three, it's the story of Atrus's childhood, his adolescence, and the events that led him to write the Age of Myst. It's full of great backstory for the games, with some history for the D'ni and an especially vital backstory for Gehn and the Age of Riven. But it's also a pretty decent fantasy novel in its own right, with a strikingly unconventional hero in Atrus, intellectual, studious non-action guy.
The Book of Ti'ana: And conversely my least favourite. The Book of Ti'ana is largely an expansion of the backstory alluded to in The Book of Atrus: how Anna became the first human to visit D'ni and inadvertently caused its destruction. I appreciate knowing more about D'ni and it's fall, but I really can't help but think it might have been better to retain an air of mystery. As horrific as the fall of D'ni is, nothing could quite match up to the picture painted in The Book of Atrus.
I also kind of expected, based on the title, that it would be about Anna/Ti'ana, who was one of the strongest and most vivid characters in The Book of Atrus. But it's really the story of Aitrus, her husband, and I wonder if her name is in the title mainly to prevent repetition.
The Book of D'ni: I have very mixed feelings about this book. There are some sections, mostly early in the book, which do a great job of replicating how it feels to play a Myst game. But then they reach Terahnee and it becomes something else entirely.
The Terahnee section of the novel - which is most of the novel - troubles me on a number of levels. The D'ni characters gradually become redundant in their own novel. It descends into high fantasy-esque wars and battles which don't really fit in a Myst novel and which Miller does not handle very well. The ending is rushed. And the treatment of slavery is at best hit and miss, at worst uncomfortable. The imagery has a lurid quality that honestly shocked me - though, given that I was spoiled for the twist, I don't know what I was expecting.
All in all, I'd say: if you're a Myst fan, it's definitely worth giving the Book of Atrus a read. The rest I could take or leave.
It took me a while to get through the whole trilogy - mainly because the second installment dragged to hell and back - and having finally finished it, I am glad I read it. Though I would still rather have got From Myst to Riven.
The Book of Atrus: Definitely my favourite of the three, it's the story of Atrus's childhood, his adolescence, and the events that led him to write the Age of Myst. It's full of great backstory for the games, with some history for the D'ni and an especially vital backstory for Gehn and the Age of Riven. But it's also a pretty decent fantasy novel in its own right, with a strikingly unconventional hero in Atrus, intellectual, studious non-action guy.
The Book of Ti'ana: And conversely my least favourite. The Book of Ti'ana is largely an expansion of the backstory alluded to in The Book of Atrus: how Anna became the first human to visit D'ni and inadvertently caused its destruction. I appreciate knowing more about D'ni and it's fall, but I really can't help but think it might have been better to retain an air of mystery. As horrific as the fall of D'ni is, nothing could quite match up to the picture painted in The Book of Atrus.
I also kind of expected, based on the title, that it would be about Anna/Ti'ana, who was one of the strongest and most vivid characters in The Book of Atrus. But it's really the story of Aitrus, her husband, and I wonder if her name is in the title mainly to prevent repetition.
The Book of D'ni: I have very mixed feelings about this book. There are some sections, mostly early in the book, which do a great job of replicating how it feels to play a Myst game. But then they reach Terahnee and it becomes something else entirely.
The Terahnee section of the novel - which is most of the novel - troubles me on a number of levels. The D'ni characters gradually become redundant in their own novel. It descends into high fantasy-esque wars and battles which don't really fit in a Myst novel and which Miller does not handle very well. The ending is rushed. And the treatment of slavery is at best hit and miss, at worst uncomfortable. The imagery has a lurid quality that honestly shocked me - though, given that I was spoiled for the twist, I don't know what I was expecting.
All in all, I'd say: if you're a Myst fan, it's definitely worth giving the Book of Atrus a read. The rest I could take or leave.
July 8, 2019
If I could rate these seperately I would give them
Atrus: 4/5
Ti'ana: 1/5
D'ni: 2/5
The world created in the Book of Atrus is one of the most interesting fantasy settings I've explored. Unfortunately the character and plot that stretches through the second and third books are both very weak. It is also a challenging book to get through because the writing is choppy. It feels obviously written by Video Game writers and not professional fantasy authors. At least that is what it felt like to me.
Atrus: 4/5
Ti'ana: 1/5
D'ni: 2/5
The world created in the Book of Atrus is one of the most interesting fantasy settings I've explored. Unfortunately the character and plot that stretches through the second and third books are both very weak. It is also a challenging book to get through because the writing is choppy. It feels obviously written by Video Game writers and not professional fantasy authors. At least that is what it felt like to me.
April 1, 2022
**Disclaimer I Read the abridged audio book version of this trilogy. I've tried to get all names to their correct spelling, and there may be some plot points that have been left out**
So I’ll spare you how I found Myst when I was a kid, seeing it on the store shelves as some great big and heavy box...hearings it’s content thud around inside... looking over the back artwork and in game screens as my mind raced as to how this game would enrapture me. I wouldn’t come to actually play it until years later, but I was still very young. The lore of the game I wouldn’t really get or even know the concept of, until years and years after that. I saw the Book of Myst at Barnes and Noble one day, and I had mentally checked it off as something I’d look into soon... It wasn’t on the shelves long, or maybe buried away. Whatever the case maybe, I didn’t return to the isle of Myst until briefly in about 2011 or 2012. I had just gotten very much into cyber culture, reading the works of Douglas Rushkoff and his book “Cyberia”, watching and being inspired by the animated series “Serial Experiments: Lain” and the like. It did bring me heavily back into the early 90’s computer world where Myst was a popular game. As I said when I first played it it was already aging and it didn’t offer any high speed, action, blood pumping gameplay. During that time I also had an N64 and a PC with games that left it in the dust technically. And the fact that it was point and click further turned me off....Oh how silly I was....
I think I was too middle of the road for Myst. If I was younger and had that sense of wonder and awe or if I were older and had that sense of lore and appreciation of story and setting, I’d have stuck with it, but in that in between age, it was more something that I knew should be respected, but I didn’t care to actually play it.
Now I have the books ready to dive into the land and what actually happens in the game and what’s with the damn books!
It’s all part of a very unique...fantasy based yet partially futuristic setting. There’s an underground world apart from where we humans live and it’s made up of a part of fairly reclusive people...from the sound and look of it they look human by all account... but these are the D’ni. We meet Atrus who is a young boy raised by his grandmother Anna. He own son Gehn leaves Atrus with her upon the death of his wife and he goes off in this made obsession with the D’ni... (We find out later he was actually born in D’ni. There’s a history that Anna is keeping from Atrus, about herself, Gehn and the world of the D’ni.
We go on this long trip with Gehn as he returns into Atrus’ life and takes him away to D’ni. He begins teaching him the way of the D’ni and the all important art of creating Ages. An Age is basically creating a sub world inside a book where you can go and enter into. Most of these worlds are sprawling nature scapes that resemble alien worlds, dreamscapes and lands bordering on surreal in beauty. Gehn has one Age he’s been working on himself, the 37th Age. The problem is that Gehn seems to have gone quit made with power and presents himself as a god to his Ages and it’s inhabitants.
What I love though is the tie in’s to the game world. So we know the game “Riven” is the sequel to Myst, and in the book, Riven is the name of the 5th age created by Gehn. It’s also the place where he meets Katran (Catherine) and falls in love.
The book ends with a double twist and ultimately was satisfying., I liked the science and real thought put into how the worlds link together and the relationships set up. It does feel a bit like it drags and is padded at times but maybe it’s because I”m familiar with the games, it does enough to make me interested in hearing what else I can pick out from the games. What I also enjoy is how it ends... the end of the book tee’s up the rest of the games...so Atrus and Catherine are free, on Myst and Gehn is trapped in Riven and the end of the book’s verse is exactly how the game Myst opens.
The Second book is also interesting as it goes back in time a generation and we get the history of who Anna was, how she met her love Aitrus...note the ‘i’... This book however gets a big bogged down by a convoluted plot of double crossing and the since of wonder is sort of lacking. It just gives another story with the same setting...just with a prior generation. It does give us world building I”ll fully admit, like the whole tunneling project of the D’ni. They initially were eager to make contact with the ‘upstairs’ world of humans, but the project is abandoned after an incident. However Anna finds her way down and finds her way into the world of the D’ni. This book has a lot of court intrigue and politics, which I usually love but it’s just a tad dull here. I liked the relationship between Anna and Aitrus as they craft worlds together, and I like the small stuff like Aitrus giving Anna a D’ni name, Ti’ana... We see Gehn born, but he’s not part of the story which is nice, we don’t want him overshadowing this specific story as his comes later...
Book III The Book of D’ni The book follows Atrus' attempts to rebuild D'ni. This book has turned out to be a real interesting turn of events... We get what I feel is quite the social commentary of immigrants, slavery, and something that really resembles a Star Trek episode...So Atrus, Catherine and their kids stumble upon the land in the Age of the Terahnee. So it’s a age that seems to have been written by...Gehn? At first they seem like long lost cousins of the D’ni...however under the surface is a culture of exploitation, slavery and servitude by a group or ‘sub race’ of people. It’s so bad that the ‘upper class’ doesn’t even see the slaves...literally it’s hard for them to perceieve them when they’re around...regulated to a subterranean area to live. Interestingly (and very apt for the time that I’m reading this) Atrus and his D’ni friends, accidently introduce a virus into the Terahnee land which kills upper and lower classes. The one thing that I can’t seem to square though...is that the D’ni are the ones who create the books that have different Ages...and the Terahnee is an Age in one of these books... so I’m not sure why the Terahnee are being looked at as simply cousins or equals to the D’ni. And if the Terahnee people can also create ages,.. how deep can this inception like Age writing go? The D’ni are seeking to move into the lands of the Terahnee... but that’d be like the creators going and living forever in one of their creations.
Any who the book itself was fine. I really enjoyed the social class warfare and racial struggle that it presents. I’m not sure how logistically it worked, in that which civilization was reliant on who... but the concept of them owning slaves and having a separate sub race and how the D’ni who are desperate to reunite and rebuild have to react is really interesting. Definitely not a ‘fun’ story but one that does world building and opens the door (book?) a bit more to see just how this world works. I was sort of hoping the last book would be a bit more establishing in seeing the D’ni actually get some movement on their own instead of their story being so intertwined with this brand new race of the Terahnee. It sort of became their book completely.
So I’ll spare you how I found Myst when I was a kid, seeing it on the store shelves as some great big and heavy box...hearings it’s content thud around inside... looking over the back artwork and in game screens as my mind raced as to how this game would enrapture me. I wouldn’t come to actually play it until years later, but I was still very young. The lore of the game I wouldn’t really get or even know the concept of, until years and years after that. I saw the Book of Myst at Barnes and Noble one day, and I had mentally checked it off as something I’d look into soon... It wasn’t on the shelves long, or maybe buried away. Whatever the case maybe, I didn’t return to the isle of Myst until briefly in about 2011 or 2012. I had just gotten very much into cyber culture, reading the works of Douglas Rushkoff and his book “Cyberia”, watching and being inspired by the animated series “Serial Experiments: Lain” and the like. It did bring me heavily back into the early 90’s computer world where Myst was a popular game. As I said when I first played it it was already aging and it didn’t offer any high speed, action, blood pumping gameplay. During that time I also had an N64 and a PC with games that left it in the dust technically. And the fact that it was point and click further turned me off....Oh how silly I was....
I think I was too middle of the road for Myst. If I was younger and had that sense of wonder and awe or if I were older and had that sense of lore and appreciation of story and setting, I’d have stuck with it, but in that in between age, it was more something that I knew should be respected, but I didn’t care to actually play it.
Now I have the books ready to dive into the land and what actually happens in the game and what’s with the damn books!
It’s all part of a very unique...fantasy based yet partially futuristic setting. There’s an underground world apart from where we humans live and it’s made up of a part of fairly reclusive people...from the sound and look of it they look human by all account... but these are the D’ni. We meet Atrus who is a young boy raised by his grandmother Anna. He own son Gehn leaves Atrus with her upon the death of his wife and he goes off in this made obsession with the D’ni... (We find out later he was actually born in D’ni. There’s a history that Anna is keeping from Atrus, about herself, Gehn and the world of the D’ni.
We go on this long trip with Gehn as he returns into Atrus’ life and takes him away to D’ni. He begins teaching him the way of the D’ni and the all important art of creating Ages. An Age is basically creating a sub world inside a book where you can go and enter into. Most of these worlds are sprawling nature scapes that resemble alien worlds, dreamscapes and lands bordering on surreal in beauty. Gehn has one Age he’s been working on himself, the 37th Age. The problem is that Gehn seems to have gone quit made with power and presents himself as a god to his Ages and it’s inhabitants.
What I love though is the tie in’s to the game world. So we know the game “Riven” is the sequel to Myst, and in the book, Riven is the name of the 5th age created by Gehn. It’s also the place where he meets Katran (Catherine) and falls in love.
The book ends with a double twist and ultimately was satisfying., I liked the science and real thought put into how the worlds link together and the relationships set up. It does feel a bit like it drags and is padded at times but maybe it’s because I”m familiar with the games, it does enough to make me interested in hearing what else I can pick out from the games. What I also enjoy is how it ends... the end of the book tee’s up the rest of the games...so Atrus and Catherine are free, on Myst and Gehn is trapped in Riven and the end of the book’s verse is exactly how the game Myst opens.
The Second book is also interesting as it goes back in time a generation and we get the history of who Anna was, how she met her love Aitrus...note the ‘i’... This book however gets a big bogged down by a convoluted plot of double crossing and the since of wonder is sort of lacking. It just gives another story with the same setting...just with a prior generation. It does give us world building I”ll fully admit, like the whole tunneling project of the D’ni. They initially were eager to make contact with the ‘upstairs’ world of humans, but the project is abandoned after an incident. However Anna finds her way down and finds her way into the world of the D’ni. This book has a lot of court intrigue and politics, which I usually love but it’s just a tad dull here. I liked the relationship between Anna and Aitrus as they craft worlds together, and I like the small stuff like Aitrus giving Anna a D’ni name, Ti’ana... We see Gehn born, but he’s not part of the story which is nice, we don’t want him overshadowing this specific story as his comes later...
Book III The Book of D’ni The book follows Atrus' attempts to rebuild D'ni. This book has turned out to be a real interesting turn of events... We get what I feel is quite the social commentary of immigrants, slavery, and something that really resembles a Star Trek episode...So Atrus, Catherine and their kids stumble upon the land in the Age of the Terahnee. So it’s a age that seems to have been written by...Gehn? At first they seem like long lost cousins of the D’ni...however under the surface is a culture of exploitation, slavery and servitude by a group or ‘sub race’ of people. It’s so bad that the ‘upper class’ doesn’t even see the slaves...literally it’s hard for them to perceieve them when they’re around...regulated to a subterranean area to live. Interestingly (and very apt for the time that I’m reading this) Atrus and his D’ni friends, accidently introduce a virus into the Terahnee land which kills upper and lower classes. The one thing that I can’t seem to square though...is that the D’ni are the ones who create the books that have different Ages...and the Terahnee is an Age in one of these books... so I’m not sure why the Terahnee are being looked at as simply cousins or equals to the D’ni. And if the Terahnee people can also create ages,.. how deep can this inception like Age writing go? The D’ni are seeking to move into the lands of the Terahnee... but that’d be like the creators going and living forever in one of their creations.
Any who the book itself was fine. I really enjoyed the social class warfare and racial struggle that it presents. I’m not sure how logistically it worked, in that which civilization was reliant on who... but the concept of them owning slaves and having a separate sub race and how the D’ni who are desperate to reunite and rebuild have to react is really interesting. Definitely not a ‘fun’ story but one that does world building and opens the door (book?) a bit more to see just how this world works. I was sort of hoping the last book would be a bit more establishing in seeing the D’ni actually get some movement on their own instead of their story being so intertwined with this brand new race of the Terahnee. It sort of became their book completely.
February 15, 2008
Fantastic! This is one of the BEST books I have ever read! It is a book you will read again and again!
Read
June 8, 2022Although it took me 14 years to finish them all, the wait was worth it
When I began this series I was but 24 years old. I finished the first series quickly, although what I learned from reading it would haunt me for years after. I started the second series at age 26...but I was too young to fully grasp the subtleties of the story, and so I put the books away in the back of my kindle collection for 11 years. I finally grew up enough as a person...enough to realize that bad things simply happen, whether or not we stop take the time to recognize, accept or learn from them. So I went back to series 2 and I finished it. I read series 3 quickly and steadily; almost as a way to make up for the 11 years of time lost to me when I was growing older, but at the same time Not growing wiser. The finishing of all 3 series has left me with a lingering bitter sweet feeling, all at once inexpressible and renewing, and opened my soul back up to life in all its bitter sweet glory. I realize that this didn't tell those reading my review anything at all about the books, but the lessons learned from these books have very little to do with the stories set inside of them, and everything to do with how you read them. Not unlike Robin Hobb's books...in that the feelings they leave you with make at the end of them make YOU into a better person for having read them. I highly encourage you to begin now.
When I began this series I was but 24 years old. I finished the first series quickly, although what I learned from reading it would haunt me for years after. I started the second series at age 26...but I was too young to fully grasp the subtleties of the story, and so I put the books away in the back of my kindle collection for 11 years. I finally grew up enough as a person...enough to realize that bad things simply happen, whether or not we stop take the time to recognize, accept or learn from them. So I went back to series 2 and I finished it. I read series 3 quickly and steadily; almost as a way to make up for the 11 years of time lost to me when I was growing older, but at the same time Not growing wiser. The finishing of all 3 series has left me with a lingering bitter sweet feeling, all at once inexpressible and renewing, and opened my soul back up to life in all its bitter sweet glory. I realize that this didn't tell those reading my review anything at all about the books, but the lessons learned from these books have very little to do with the stories set inside of them, and everything to do with how you read them. Not unlike Robin Hobb's books...in that the feelings they leave you with make at the end of them make YOU into a better person for having read them. I highly encourage you to begin now.
May 5, 2020
Whew! Finally got through this doorstopper. I loved playing the Myst games growing up, and the best part of this book is that it makes me want to go play them again.
As to the stories here. They are a cool insight into the culture that created the ability to pass through the worlds in the games, but are never really seen. That said, the books aren't that...interesting. I could think up a lot of thrilling plots dealing with dashing through books, discovering new Ages, and writing beauty that becomes deadly. Instead we have the history of Atrus' father in the first book, the history of Atrus' grandfather in the second (the first half of which deals more with geology than a story) and then finally Atrus looking for new worlds and rebuilding D'ni in the third book...except nope it's back to the history of the (now dead) D'ni. If I rated them separately, I'd gave given them 4/5, 2/5, and 3/5 stars.
As to the stories here. They are a cool insight into the culture that created the ability to pass through the worlds in the games, but are never really seen. That said, the books aren't that...interesting. I could think up a lot of thrilling plots dealing with dashing through books, discovering new Ages, and writing beauty that becomes deadly. Instead we have the history of Atrus' father in the first book, the history of Atrus' grandfather in the second (the first half of which deals more with geology than a story) and then finally Atrus looking for new worlds and rebuilding D'ni in the third book...except nope it's back to the history of the (now dead) D'ni. If I rated them separately, I'd gave given them 4/5, 2/5, and 3/5 stars.
May 20, 2020
Second time around reading this, and still enjoy it very much. It is a fun and simple story, that pulls you into a fantasy world, bordering on, if not even stepping into science fiction. Sure, the language is not complex and the storyline easy to follow, but keep in mind this was mainly aimed towards the youth market.
For fans of fantasy and science fiction, this is good fun. Though knowledge of the game and characters is not necessary, it does help with picturing what the world(s) and customs of the D'ni look like. I even feel the stories have aged quite well, and are as relevant now as they ever were. Even the book of D'ni, which I felt was the weakest of the three, to the point of having to duck a star.
But I must admit, in the end, all I wanted was to play the games again, to step into that world one more time. Maybe that's what the books were hoping to do the whole time?
For fans of fantasy and science fiction, this is good fun. Though knowledge of the game and characters is not necessary, it does help with picturing what the world(s) and customs of the D'ni look like. I even feel the stories have aged quite well, and are as relevant now as they ever were. Even the book of D'ni, which I felt was the weakest of the three, to the point of having to duck a star.
But I must admit, in the end, all I wanted was to play the games again, to step into that world one more time. Maybe that's what the books were hoping to do the whole time?
May 15, 2019
The first story (The Book of Atrus) about Atrus, the key character in the Myst series, is honestly very engaging and good. However, the second story -- (The Book of Ti'Ana) -- suffers from its mary sue protagonist Anna, who I really wanted to like... but she is a brilliant genius who is perfect in every way and also learns a complex language fluently over a few months stuck in a cell without someone to translate for her, and then proceeds to turn the entire civilization on its head somehow. I love strong female protagonists, but that was a little much. I read that up until Gehn, the antagonist of Myst 2: Riven was born, and I just had no desire to read further.
One of these days, I'll read the third story, but probably not.
One of these days, I'll read the third story, but probably not.
January 1, 2022
Maravilloso. Una historia que te sumerge en el mundo de myst, un mundo misterioso y mágico donde se crean mundos a través de describirlos en libros mágicos. El protagonista irá conociendo esta técnica de la mano de su padre y viviendo aventuras dentro de esos mundos, hasta descubrir un horrible secreto. Fácil de leer. Espectaculares las descripciones de los diferentes mundos en los que a través de la imaginación puedes sumergirte y vivirlos como si estuvieras allí. A pesar de ser una trilogía, la agilidad de la trama hace que vayas avanzando con agilidad y que no se te haga pesada la lectura.
June 15, 2022
Being an avid fan of the MYST universe, I found The Myst Reader to be a great read. It helped to clarify so many things regarding the history and lore associated with the MYST universe. At the suggestion of a friend, I read them in the order in which they occured - The Book of Ti'ana, The Book of Atrus, and then The Book of D'ni. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about Ti'ana, Atrus, Gehn, and the D'ni civilization. The books are well-written, and I feel that they would be entertaining to anyone who enjoys reading historical fantasy fiction.
October 23, 2024
A book based on such a simple video game shouldn’t by all rights be this good. I grew up on the myst franchise and this book took me right back to “I realized the moment I fell into the fissure that the book would not be destroyed as I had planned.”
The first two books were very cohesive. The last painted a great landscape of the origin of the d’ni but felt like fast travel at times in a way that only video games can achieve. Like abrupt cut scenes important moments seemed skipped over.
Still, I love it and 100% recommend.
The first two books were very cohesive. The last painted a great landscape of the origin of the d’ni but felt like fast travel at times in a way that only video games can achieve. Like abrupt cut scenes important moments seemed skipped over.
Still, I love it and 100% recommend.
November 28, 2017
I was, and still am, a Huge Myst fan. Upon seeing The Myst Reader in a book store, I bought it but didn't read it for a while. When I did begin, I found that the more I read into it, the harder it was to put it down. I got to travel to other worlds and meet new characters, and also read about their history. Anyone who enjoyed Myst, definitely should read this anthology!
March 22, 2020
An exciting adventure of mystery and exploration! This trilogy is about a few people that can write books that create worlds. There is love, drama, intrigue, and action in this book. What more could you ask for?
January 20, 2025
To this date, this is the only book out of the HUNDREDS I've ever read that the moment I finished it, I flipped it over and started reading it again. This is a heartbreaking series and absolutely breathtaking. I more than adore it and the games.
May 30, 2018
The first two books were interesting. You need to be a myst fan to enjoy this.
January 4, 2019
Leí (y tengo) la edición en castellano de Círculo de lectores.
August 20, 2019
I enjoyed the concepts explored. Its well written though of the three books I liked Atrus the most and Ti'ana the best. So much interesting information and such a careful grasp of creation.
April 15, 2020
I'm a huge Myst fan - completed all the games and I am now revisiting them on Steam. This was my second time through the novels. Lovely story and back story to the game. What a fascinating world.
December 6, 2021
Segunda parte de la maravillosa trilogia de Myst en que se mejora y amplia la historia. No te esperas el final.
August 9, 2024
I wanna go back to the CD ROM games I played as a kid, this shit is too real for me man. Please don't turn me into lead Atrus, I'll be a good boy
December 14, 2012
The Myst Reader: Book 2 Ti’ana
All three of the Myst books were written by Robyn Miller, the book of Atrus, The book of Ti;ana, and the book of D’ni. The second in the series is what this review focuses about. The genre of the book is hard to depict. There are many fantasy elements but the author dives deep into science fiction as well. All three books are focused around a video game sires made in 1991 entitled Myst. There were three other games to fallow in its path of success. The books focus more on the story of how everything came to be, as the games were about the after math.
To start out, the book is set in the city of D’ni, which is located deep underground housing a massive population among thousands not counting the many more spread out over the various ages. These ages are what D’ni civilization is founded on. The people of D’ni and the people who choice to learn, can write ages. This art is used to establish a link to another world. The D’ni people trained and who have mastered the art can write in a certain book, a description of the world. If it is possible that is will exsist at any point in time and space, the link can be made.
The First book was set in the future, after the fall of the D’ni, the second tells the story of what happened. The story takes place during a time of peace, everything was calm and no wars or fights have accord in hundreds of years. That is until Ti’ana shows up, She is from the suffice. At that time the D’ni were thinking about breaking contact and trying to meet the people living there every day lives here. While they were drilling up, the commotion was not unnoticed. Ti’ana and her father lived in a remote area and they began to notice large divots and holes appear almost overnight. They began to investigate but sadly thing tool a turn for the worst. When she began to explore a large cave that had expanded she fell and discovered the massive civilization. I am going to skip ahead around a year in time. This is when Veovis gets involved.
Veovis was a very good friend to Atrus, a friend since childhood. Tensions had begun to rise between the two. A seed of mistrust had been planted and things were escalating. A man who I will not name had started to use Veovis for his own good. He convinced Veovis that there society was crumbling and they had to do something about it. After gaining his trust he then cleverly framed Veovis of murder and the trade of forbidden age books. In the eyes of the D’ni this was enough to kill him, but oddly Ti’ana vogue for him and convinced the council to make a prison age for him with no way back. In the end this fails but I cannot say why as this would give way to the ending.
The book was fantastic, although in the beginning it did seem a bit slow the book never ceased to amaze me in the end. The story was very well displayed and laid out in a neat fashion. The buildup of something massive was suspending as you could tell something was going to go down. Some of the flaws of this book as I have noticed is that at some of the more suspenseful moments they seemed to go by very fast and often left me wanting more detail at that part. Although at some points it seemed slow the story overall wonderful. I would recommend this book and the series to anyone looking for a good fantasy and sci-fi mix. Overall I give this book four out of five stars. The lake of the last star is due to some parts that seemed to either be dragged on or simply speed by.
All three of the Myst books were written by Robyn Miller, the book of Atrus, The book of Ti;ana, and the book of D’ni. The second in the series is what this review focuses about. The genre of the book is hard to depict. There are many fantasy elements but the author dives deep into science fiction as well. All three books are focused around a video game sires made in 1991 entitled Myst. There were three other games to fallow in its path of success. The books focus more on the story of how everything came to be, as the games were about the after math.
To start out, the book is set in the city of D’ni, which is located deep underground housing a massive population among thousands not counting the many more spread out over the various ages. These ages are what D’ni civilization is founded on. The people of D’ni and the people who choice to learn, can write ages. This art is used to establish a link to another world. The D’ni people trained and who have mastered the art can write in a certain book, a description of the world. If it is possible that is will exsist at any point in time and space, the link can be made.
The First book was set in the future, after the fall of the D’ni, the second tells the story of what happened. The story takes place during a time of peace, everything was calm and no wars or fights have accord in hundreds of years. That is until Ti’ana shows up, She is from the suffice. At that time the D’ni were thinking about breaking contact and trying to meet the people living there every day lives here. While they were drilling up, the commotion was not unnoticed. Ti’ana and her father lived in a remote area and they began to notice large divots and holes appear almost overnight. They began to investigate but sadly thing tool a turn for the worst. When she began to explore a large cave that had expanded she fell and discovered the massive civilization. I am going to skip ahead around a year in time. This is when Veovis gets involved.
Veovis was a very good friend to Atrus, a friend since childhood. Tensions had begun to rise between the two. A seed of mistrust had been planted and things were escalating. A man who I will not name had started to use Veovis for his own good. He convinced Veovis that there society was crumbling and they had to do something about it. After gaining his trust he then cleverly framed Veovis of murder and the trade of forbidden age books. In the eyes of the D’ni this was enough to kill him, but oddly Ti’ana vogue for him and convinced the council to make a prison age for him with no way back. In the end this fails but I cannot say why as this would give way to the ending.
The book was fantastic, although in the beginning it did seem a bit slow the book never ceased to amaze me in the end. The story was very well displayed and laid out in a neat fashion. The buildup of something massive was suspending as you could tell something was going to go down. Some of the flaws of this book as I have noticed is that at some of the more suspenseful moments they seemed to go by very fast and often left me wanting more detail at that part. Although at some points it seemed slow the story overall wonderful. I would recommend this book and the series to anyone looking for a good fantasy and sci-fi mix. Overall I give this book four out of five stars. The lake of the last star is due to some parts that seemed to either be dragged on or simply speed by.
May 26, 2014
Tenía curiosidad por leer este libro a raíz de que conocí la existencia del juego (del último para ser más preciso), si bien no comprendía la dinámica del juego la historia se me hizo interesante pero no había conseguido los libros, hasta que por practicidad los conseguí en formato electrónico.
Admito que como lector visual, tantos detalles me pierden porque requiero ejemplos visuales para ubicarme mejor, en esa parte el libro me perdió un poco (como en el caso de el señor de lo anillos). Pero no evitó que me interesara por la historia principal.
En cuanto al libro de Atrus, me agradó aunque me dejó con muchas preguntas que esperaba ver respondidas en el siguiente tema.
Posteriormente el libro de Tianna, creo que fue el que más me gustó, posiblemente porque algunas preguntas se responden de manera velada y porque se entienden los sucesos del primer libro (pero no todos).
El 3er libro, se me hizo "bien", me mantuvo en intriga por saber lo que estaba pasando pero como que quedaron muchas cosas por resolver y fue tan apresurada la manera en que se resolvieron los eventos y se da el desenlace, que me dejó con otras preguntas.
Los epílogos ayudan pero no son suficientes.
Buscando por internet leí algunas conjeturas sobre el origen Dni, que hizo que apreciara lo que estaba leyendo, pero hubiera sido genial que esto se explicara en el libro para darle un cierre más adecuado a la historia y su concepto.
Es un buen libro, y posiblemente relea algunas partes, pero sí es un poco cansado (para mí) por tanto detalle. Posiblemente sea conveniente darme la oportunidad de jugar los videojuegos de la serie, pero... siento que no tendría mucha paciencia para juegos de acertijos.
Sería genial que se hiciera una película pero tendrían que cuidarse muchos detalles de la historia para que no se haga una mala adaptación.
Admito que como lector visual, tantos detalles me pierden porque requiero ejemplos visuales para ubicarme mejor, en esa parte el libro me perdió un poco (como en el caso de el señor de lo anillos). Pero no evitó que me interesara por la historia principal.
En cuanto al libro de Atrus, me agradó aunque me dejó con muchas preguntas que esperaba ver respondidas en el siguiente tema.
Posteriormente el libro de Tianna, creo que fue el que más me gustó, posiblemente porque algunas preguntas se responden de manera velada y porque se entienden los sucesos del primer libro (pero no todos).
El 3er libro, se me hizo "bien", me mantuvo en intriga por saber lo que estaba pasando pero como que quedaron muchas cosas por resolver y fue tan apresurada la manera en que se resolvieron los eventos y se da el desenlace, que me dejó con otras preguntas.
Los epílogos ayudan pero no son suficientes.
Buscando por internet leí algunas conjeturas sobre el origen Dni, que hizo que apreciara lo que estaba leyendo, pero hubiera sido genial que esto se explicara en el libro para darle un cierre más adecuado a la historia y su concepto.
Es un buen libro, y posiblemente relea algunas partes, pero sí es un poco cansado (para mí) por tanto detalle. Posiblemente sea conveniente darme la oportunidad de jugar los videojuegos de la serie, pero... siento que no tendría mucha paciencia para juegos de acertijos.
Sería genial que se hiciera una película pero tendrían que cuidarse muchos detalles de la historia para que no se haga una mala adaptación.
October 5, 2012
I never actually played the Myst games. I owned a PC version, but could never figure out how to work out the first puzzle. And I don't mean solve, but actually work. No matter what buttons I pressed or image I clicked, nothing happened. :/
But I know people speak highly of world, and I'd been eyeing individual books in the series for awhile. Getting the trilogy just made sense.
D'ni certainly is an intense world, full of history and great characters. I'm rather envious of the ability to Write, though I'm totally happy I live under the sun instead of under rock.
I had the same problem with each of the books though, they were very slow going. For the first book, I wasn't really connected to the story until it was almost over. And for the second, until half way through. The third captured my attention sooner, about a 1/3 of the way in. While most of the characters are the same or at least related, it took me that long to settle into the writing and absorb their stories.
The books are greatly crafted, excelent visiual detail in the words and the illustrations help a lot. But this is a book I had to remind myself to read, and I started and finished several other books between the first and last page.
But I know people speak highly of world, and I'd been eyeing individual books in the series for awhile. Getting the trilogy just made sense.
D'ni certainly is an intense world, full of history and great characters. I'm rather envious of the ability to Write, though I'm totally happy I live under the sun instead of under rock.
I had the same problem with each of the books though, they were very slow going. For the first book, I wasn't really connected to the story until it was almost over. And for the second, until half way through. The third captured my attention sooner, about a 1/3 of the way in. While most of the characters are the same or at least related, it took me that long to settle into the writing and absorb their stories.
The books are greatly crafted, excelent visiual detail in the words and the illustrations help a lot. But this is a book I had to remind myself to read, and I started and finished several other books between the first and last page.
May 3, 2011
I think for all the books that I cannot recall the date I read them, I'm using January 1, 2010. I read this trilogy in while I was in high school after playing the first Myst game. Reading the books later inspired me to play Riven which was also a challenging and fascinating game. I really enjoyed these books. My favorite was the book of T'iana, which is chronologically first. That one provides much of the back story on D'ni culture and setting up their world. She is also my favorite character. I tend to favor the clever, resourceful, just ones. The Book of D'ni was my second favorite, chronologically last. It advanced the character's story while casting some light on the ultimate origins of the D'ni people. The social commentary was a little heavy sometimes though. My least favorite was the Book of Atrus. I still enjoyed it, but I did not like the characters as much, which made it difficult to empathize and given the state of the world at that time, the story was very focused on the main characters.
January 12, 2014
Overall, I did enjoy this book and if there were further books about the D'ni world I would probably read them. However, I do have some criticisms. Potential spoilers ahead.
Read
November 20, 2010Very enjoyable if you're a fan of the Myst video games. This was my second time through the Story of Atrus, the first time when I was much younger, and while I remembered a few key plot elements, it was largely new to me as I either didn't get it the first time around or I've forgotten most of it since then.
The story was very interesting and ends at the beginning of the first video game, Myst. It gives us the back story of Atrus, beginning with his birth and early years being raised by his grandmother, Anna. When Atrus is a teenager, his father, Gehn, returns and whisks him off to D'ni to begin to learn to Write, an ancient process by which the D'ni people discovered they could link to all manner of other worlds. The rest of the story is the tale of the relationship between Gehn, a man bent on restoring the D'ni and ruling their empire, and his son who struggles to understand his father and learn the ways of the great civilization from which he is descended.
The story was very interesting and ends at the beginning of the first video game, Myst. It gives us the back story of Atrus, beginning with his birth and early years being raised by his grandmother, Anna. When Atrus is a teenager, his father, Gehn, returns and whisks him off to D'ni to begin to learn to Write, an ancient process by which the D'ni people discovered they could link to all manner of other worlds. The rest of the story is the tale of the relationship between Gehn, a man bent on restoring the D'ni and ruling their empire, and his son who struggles to understand his father and learn the ways of the great civilization from which he is descended.
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