Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, deeply captivating story.....
Review: The Book of Atrus is the fascinating prequel to the exciting CD-ROM game called MYST. The book begins in the desert on earth with Atrus being raised by his grandmother Anna, after being abandoned by his father, Gehn, the last of the race of D'ni. Anna spends many years teaching Atrus the Art, the D'ni craft of linking to other worlds through the descriptive art of writing in special books. For the most part, Atrus thought these stories and teachings were only ancient legends of the D'ni. Then his time came to explore the magnificent underground realm of D'ni. When Atrus is fourteen years old, Gehn takes him from Anna to D'ni where Gehn teaches him more properly the Art, and even gives him books in which he may begin his own Ages. In time, however, Atrus realizes that his father does not understand the power of the Art. His fathers Ages are unstable and weak. He also sees the obsession of power in his father, wanting thousands of Ages to be "lord" over, regardless of how he does it. In this book, beauty and intrigue, mystery and betrayal, good and evil meet. The Book of Atrus is a tale of son against father; of truth versus evil, and of love and redemption. One will travel to wonderful new Ages and experience many awesome things. This story ends where the surrealistic world of MYST begins.
Rating:
Summary: Ahhh, now I get it!
Review: After having played "Myst" and beginning to play "Riven", I discovered the "Myst" novels. I began reading "The Book of Atrus" and just couldn't put it down. The writing of this book was just as beautiful as the graphics in the game, perhaps even more so. The pictures painted with the words draw such wonderful scenes in one's imagination! The story of Atrus was just as intriguing as the game of "Myst". Some parts of the game just never clicked with me before I read this book. I found myself saying, "Ahhhh, now I get it!" as I discovered the history behind the characters. What a wonderful adventure for the mind this book was! It is not only a must-read for any "Myst" game fans, but a great story to read even for those who've never played the game.
Rating: 
Summary: Myst: The Book of Atrus
Review: Adventure/ PC Game Based Ok, for the most part, this book was awesome. It gave some great creativity to the story and kept the plot going. Some more simple words may have helped the visual progress but for the most part, this book was easy to picture. My best +'s for the book is how the authors described the sceneries of the worlds or as the call them, Ages. Also, the story was too fascinating to pass up! (About creating your own worlds by writing in a special, ancient D'Ni book. You know, become a god of your favorite place!) The combination of the two really brought out the true excitement of reading Myst. [read up on the summary] The only - of the book was that the words were a little complicated to understand. More of a 15 and up age group I suppose. It's kinda hard to follow when you don't know where in the book it is trying to describe. I loved how the end of the book ended! I think that it changed how you thought it would end a thousand times over(that's sarcasm FYI) before you finally knew what really happened. It really kept reading you until the book was over. The best part is that it's based off of the PC game Myst! I know all you gamers out there aren't heavy readers but if you are a fan of Myst, this is the book for you! If you like the story behind the game, you'll really like the book! Thanks for the time! Check out the summary here or whatever to get a better idea. It's a good adventure book to look into. N3T0NIC .:blue:.
Rating:
Summary: Myst BoA: A review by ToM
Review: Played Myst? Finished Riven? Want to know more about the history of Atrus, Gehn, and Catherine? Here's your ticket: Myst: the Book of Atrus. This book covers Atrus's life from when he was born to his escape from Riven and Gehn. The storyline was fascinating, and though I would not consider myself an avid reader, I finished it in about 3 days. I seriously could not put it down. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 for a couple reasons. The beginning was rather dry (literally! :)), and the ending was rather confusing. I had to re-read it a couple times to understand what really happened at the end. Other than that, the plot was great, and it screamed for a prequel (Book of Ti'ana), which I'm reading now. Great job guys!! :) Shorah, ToM
Rating:
Summary: Great book, rich with details, but has a confusing begining.
Review: If you enjoyed the richness of detail in the game Myst, then I urge you to read this book. The Book of Atrus has the same painstaking detail that Rand Miller used when designing Myst. However, despite the rich detail, the begining of the story is, frankly, uninteresting and boring. I almost gave up reading it by the end of the 10th page, but when I reached the middle of the book, I was genuinely glad I didn't. As the story begins with Atrus living with his grandmother in a small mountain crevice, the reader gets to "see" Atrus grow up rapidly. The story gets more interesting when his father, Gehn, appears takes him to the secret world of D'ni. There, Atrus learns The Art, a method of creating worlds using special books and inks. He then sees how evil his father truly is, and at that point, the story really gets exciting. Another part that makes this book worth reading is the confrontation between Atrus and Gehn at the end. I wont give away anything else about the ending, but trust me when I say that the story is worth the investment of money and time if you ever want to make sense of the games Myst and Riven.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent stories
Review: These stories (Myst The Book of Atrus/Ti'Ana/D'ni) are very good. Not the most exciting you will ever read, or the most well written, but they are very good. You will no doubt enjoy them more if you have played the games (Myst and Riven)and wanted to know more of the story.
They cover the events of Atrus' grandparents and his fathers life. Atrus' life as a child and an adult. And they go into great detail about the D'ni civilation. By the time you finish the novels, any questions you had left over from the game(s) will be answered.
While not for everyone, these books are a must have for any Myst fans book shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, beautiful
Review: This is an amazing book. I've never even played the games, but the characters, the locations, the fantastic places the characters see...I loved it. The book starts with Gehn leaving Atrus with Ana, his grandmother. Atrus grows up in some lost desert land, where he has never even seen rain. Gehn returns after about a decade or so, and takes Atrus with him, to rebuild the broken civilization that was the D'Ni. The rest of the story is about Gehn's tenuous grasp on the ideas behind making the D'Ni "portal-books," and the rivalry between father and son. Gehn is a self-absorbed fool who doesn't really know what he's talking about, while Atrus is a humble master of the language of D'Ni. The sheer fantasy and lovely imagery of this story was enough, although it plays out rather slowly. But the beauty of the book itself was astounding. The paper was patterned, and the embossed patterns on the cover were pretty. The drawings are gorgeous, and illustrate the richness of D'Ni culture very well. All in all, this is one of the greatest books I've read. And the story continues!
Rating:
Summary: Myst The Book Of Atrus
Review: This book is a great fiction book. It shows greed, anger, and love all rolled into one. The first time i read this book it was a little confusing but the second time i read it I fell in love with it. This series is the best out there. You should get this book if you haven't read it yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't read like a game
Review: As Howard Cosell titled his autobiography, "I never played the game." I don't even have a CD-ROM drive yet. But I would have had to have been living in a fissure in the earth to be totally clueless about MYST, the phenomenally popular CD-ROM game that has become multimedia's first bestseller and first classic. From people who have played it, I know that MYST is more than a game, it is an experience--an immersion into another world, where things are strange and wonderful. The game works, they say, because it is as rich in its complex storyline as it is in its state-of-the-art graphics. MYST is more than a game in another respect as well now, with the publication of Myst: The Book of Atrus written by the game's authors, Rand and Robyn Miller, in collaboration with David Wingrove (author of the Chung Kuo series of science fiction novels). A novel based on the game was inevitable, given the rich source material. The fact that the Millers chose to write the book themselves rather than sharecrop it to a third party showed an extreme level of hubris. Doubtless the y realized this, and approached Wingrove as an expert novelist, to help them accomplish a seamless transition from computer game to novel. Myst: The Book of Atrus is a story that details the background behind the story of the CD-ROM, much like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion is the background behind The Lord of the Rings. The comparison is particularly apt--the brothers Miller, like Tolkien, are meticulous craftsmen and took the time to build the myths and legends of their world, creating a much more complex and involving tale in the process. Atrus, the protagonist of this novel, is the father of the two brothers upon which the story of the CD-ROM is based. The story itself is not that unusual for fantasy--a young boy is orphaned by the death of his mother and the disappearance of his father. Raised by his grandmother, he comes to value her teaching but longs for more than the simple life that she has made for herself. Then the father returns, demanding his son to follow him to help reestablish their noble race, the D'Ni. But as any reader knows, it is not the simple plot that defines a book, but the details that embellish a novel, and the Millers and Wingrove have provided not only the embellishment, but the exhilaration of wonder necessary for a genre novel. The conflict between authoritarian parents and inquisitive children, between goals and means, are the basic building blocks of any good work of fiction, and the authors do not neglect it. But it is in the description and workings of The Art, the "science" behind the world creation of the D'Ni, that brings to the book its driving interest and captivation. I am sure it is no accident that The Art, with its emphasis on the power of the written word, of the proper placement of description, also describes the process of novel creation itself; in academic circles, this self-reflection is called metafiction, and the authors here carry it off with panache if not subtlety. What is interesting is that this description of The Art can be broadened to include any act of creation, with a special nod to the creation of an artificial world such as those portrayed in novels, movies, and multimedia computer games. I thought it would be interesting to read Myst: The Book of Atrus and see if it was a self-contained piece of fiction that could be enjoyed by those of use who remain CD-ROM challenged. Does Myst: The Story of Atrus stand alone? Yes, and surprisingly well. I have no doubt that this would have been well received without the phenomena of the game behind it. And, unlike Tolkien's The Silmarillion, this was a book that the authors had the opportunity to polish and prepare for their audience. Tolkien's masterpiece spawned the modern fantasy industry, of which some novels barely masked their inspiration. Myst has already inspired several productions similar in nature--as well as a couple of parodies, the next sincerest form of flattery. The publication of this pre-history will only further cement its seminal nature on the burgeoning multimedia industry.
Rating:
Summary: A book that will take your breath away!
Review: I loved this book! as soon a I read it I went out and baught all 3 books! When you read THe Book of Atrus it's like you are there in the book right along with Atrus! I fell in love the the story and the plot! The Book painted wonderful pictures in my head. Even if you never played any of the Myst games you will still love this book. Never in my life have I found such a great plot and story! You HAVE to get thins book *^_^* It's the best fiction story out there!
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