The Myst Reader

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The Myst Reader
Author	Rand Miller Robyn Miller David Wingrove
Publisher	Hyperion
Publication date	September 1, 2004
ISBN	1-4013-0781-7

The Myst Reader is a collection of three books in the Myst franchise, and was published on September 1, 2004.^[1] The collection combines The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti'ana, and The Book of D'ni, which were previously published as separate novels; The Book of Atrus in 1995, The Book of Ti'ana in November of 1996, and The Book of D'ni in November of the following year.

Each novel centers of the family of Atrus, a scientist and explorer who has the ability to write special books which serve as links to other worlds, known as Ages. This ability, known as the Art, was practiced extensively by an ancient civilization known as the D'ni, who were only mentioned briefly in the original Myst game.

Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 2.1 Book of Atrus 2.2 Book of Ti'ana 2.3 Book of D'ni 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Background

Myst co-creators Rand and Robyn Miller were always creating their own worlds and stories as young children.^[2] Their vision was refined by the works of fantasy and science fiction writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov; Star Wars offered them a glimpse at an exciting, fully realized fictional world.^[2] Younger brother Robyn began working on a children's novel called Dunnyhut; though he never completed the work, elements from the story influenced aspects of Myst's story.^[3]

The Millers began the game's development by sketching out puzzles and each individual world the player would explore in the game. As the brothers were conceptualizing the various worlds, they also wrote down pieces of the story.^[3] At some point in the development of these bits of story, Robyn explained in an interview, "We started realizing this story is actually something we thought the public would enjoy, so we started pressing to make [the novel] happen."^[3] Buoyed by strong sales of the video game, publisher Hyperion signed a three-novel, US$1 million deal with the brothers.^[4]

The Miller brothers eventually wrote the entire first novel, but were unsatisfied with the result. Hyperion recruited author David Wingrove to assist with the project; the Millers ended up giving Wingrove a detailed draft, and the author rewrote the entire book.^[3]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Book of Atrus

The Book of Atrus serves as a prequel to the events of the eponymous first game in the Myst series, and introduces both new characters and old characters seen in the games. The book's protagonist is Atrus. Atrus is raised by his grandmother Anna after his mother dies and his father abandons him. Eventually, Atrus' father Gehn returns from his explorations of the ruins of the D'ni empire and enlists Atrus to come follow him back to the fallen city. Gehn teaches Atrus the Art, a skill the D'ni used to create special books which allow transport between worlds known as Ages. Atrus is awed by the Art at first, but he is horrified when he witnesses Gehn's manipulation and dismissive attitude to the inhabitants of the Ages. He also comes to understand Gehn's selfish, cold cruelty and his own power-hungry nature; Gehn believes that he creates the Ages he writes, instead of creating links to preexisting universes. Gehn destroys Atrus' first Age, Inception because it does not follow Gehn's style of writing. After attempting to escape his father, Gehn traps Atrus in a locked chamber in D'ni, with the only escape Gehn's own Age of Riven. On Riven Atrus falls in love with a villager named Catherine.

Catherine and Atrus hatch a plan to trap Gehn on Riven. Gehn is stranded when Atrus and Catherine destroy all linking books on Riven, escaping by using a book Ti'ana wrote for them, leading to the Age of Myst. Atrus drops the Myst linking book into a massive disturbance on Riven known as the Star Fissure; the book falls through the fissure to be picked up by the Stranger in Myst. The closing words of the book are the opening narrative from the video game.^[5]

[edit] Book of Ti'ana

The Book of Ti'ana takes place earlier than The Book of Atrus. The first part of the book focuses on life of Atrus' grandfather Aitrus with his parents Kahlis and Tasera, Aitrus' meeting with Ti'ana, and the birth of their son Gehn. The book also explains the destruction of the D'ni civilization. Two D'ni, Veovis and A'Gaeris, plot to destroy their civilzation, which they believe has been corrupted. Veovis and A'Gaeris create a plague which wipes out many of the D'ni and follows them through the Ages. Veovis is murdered by A'Gaeris for refusing to write an Age where the two of them would have been worshipped as gods, and Aitrus sacrifices himself in order to lure A'Gaeris to an unstable Age, killing them both.

[edit] Book of D'ni

In The Book of D'ni, Atrus opens the crumbled exit of the room in K'veer, where he had been imprisoned by Gehn, and gains access to the rest of D'ni. Atrus and his team set out to find linking books and search for D'ni survivors. Eventually, Atrus and the rest of the D'ni plan on rebuilding the civilization, but this plan is put to a halt when a book leading to a great lost Age called Terahnee is found. Terahnee is a sister Age to D'ni and is populated by descendants of the same ancestors as the D'ni.

At first sight, Terahnee seems like a Utopia. Everyone lives in sumptuous palaces, and nobody goes hungry; in reality, the society is run by slave labor. After Writing new Ages, the Terahnee people capture the inhabitants to use as slaves, considering themselves gods over their Ages. The Terahnee people are taught not to 'see' the slaves; only the servants interact with the lower orders. The Terahnee are suddenly stricken by a plague the D'ni brought with them; Atrus and his companions help the Age's slaves recover and create a new society before returning to D'ni and sealing up the path to Terahnee.

[edit] Reception

Reception to the Myst novels have been mixed. Sybil Steinberg of Publishers Weekly reviewed The Book of Atrus and stated that Wingrove's achievement of a "rollicking adventure tale" was improbable, given that previous game-to-book attempts had failed horribly.^[6] Booklist also gave the book a positive review, stating that the plot was predictable but the book served its purpose "to either introduce readers to the game, or supply players with back stories".^[7] Other reviewers felt that the novel could not stand on its own, and relied on the games to maintain relevancy. ^[8] Also giving the novel a mediocre score was Albert Kim of Entertainment Weekly, who said the main issue that doomed The Book of Atrus was that it removed the mystery from Myst. "Much of the game's charm is derived from its eeriness, a haunting aura that is lost in the text," Kim wrote.^[9]

Steinberg later stated that with the books "bereft of the game's dazzling graphics and its hypnotic interactive dimension", the novels plodded along with boring prose.^[10] On the other hand, the series sold well; The Book of Atrus reached a top spot of 176 on USA Today's Best-Selling Books list.^[11]

A fourth and fifth Myst novel are also being planned. The first, entitled Myst: The Book of Marrim, will be released on a date. A preview of it was packaged in the Myst V: End of Ages special edition.^[12] A group of independent filmmakers has also begun adapting The Book of Ti'ana into a screenplay, with the blessing of the Millers.^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e Myst franchise and related topics Myst series Myst · Riven · Myst III: Exile · Myst IV: Revelation · Myst V: End of Ages Uru series Uru: Ages Beyond Myst · Untìl Uru · Myst Online: Uru Live · Ages Novels The Myst Reader · The Book of Marrim Fiction and information Characters of Myst · Myst canon · The Stranger