Myst: The Book of Atrus

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: 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.

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Summary: Myst The Book Of Atrus
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: Simply fascinating
Review: Having played all 3 games of the MYST serie, it is easy to "see" the characters evolve in the mind's eye, and even hear them. It also reminds us a bit not only to know "how" to make an experiment, but also "why" and to ask oneself what would be gained and whom it would benefit (notions forgotten nowadays). It is hard to put down once you started reading, the story becoming a "Linking book" itself.

Enjoy.

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: Best book in the series
Review: Myst: Book of Atrus has to be the best book in the series. I originally picked up this book prior to playing the games, just to read the story behind the immensely popular game. I became hooked and quickly bought the games, as well. This book gives the entire background history of Atrus as a child growing up with his grandmother and eventually with his father, Gehn. Any Myst fan interested in learning more about Atrus and the D'ni should read this book, as well as the equally awesome Myst: Book of Ti'ana.

Rating:
Summary: Myst : The Book of Atrus
Review: The Book of Atrus is a fantasy Sci-Fi novel. It is about how Atrus battles the strong will of his father, Ghen. These two people are the last remaining survivors of D'ni, a great race of people.

Until Atrus' father came, he had been living with is grandmother, who had been a very influential D'ni. Atrus however did not have any idea of his heritage. Ghen takes Atrus away from his home and into the ruins of D'ni to teach him of the D'ni ways.

The D'ni are an ancient people that were great for there ability to "write" worlds. That is to creat a linking book to a world that fits the description. The worlds are refered to as both being created by the writer of the linking book and just being found by the creator of the linking book.

The Book of Atrus teaches us a lot about the need for knowledge and patience. Ghen, in his haste and stupidity ends up destroying cultures and worlds. Atrus then goes back and cares for the unstable worlds his father created. The book portrays Atrus as the model D'ni. He is patient, caring, understanding, and knowledgeable. For those are the traits needed to create stable worlds.

The book was created as background for the game and the majority of the people who have read the book, it read because they enjoyed the game. For those who have played the game the book answers many questions and raises more. Anyone could enjoy this book though. The tale of Atrus is one that needs no background information to understand. Though when your done reading it you might just want to go out and buy the game too.

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: Shoes too big to fill...
Review: This is a review for the cassette version of the story of Atrus, simply because I can't find a review for it here. I purchased this a few months back and have to admit that, as yet, I havn't actually reached the end. The problem is that this dramatisation (of a startlingly unique and engrossing story) into audio is over-dramatised. Let me explain...

All the characters (and there aren't even that many) feel completely over-blown. The actors must have thought they were on the stage or something, because they project their voices way too much and try to imbue every line with an inappropriate vigour, which clashes with the narrative and also means that the subtelty of the book is completely missed. I, at least, do not think it is necessary to make Anna sound decrepit, or Gehn utterly nuts or Atrus immature. These are aspects of character that should be revealed in the plot, as the book does so brilliantly and not with such obvious voices as these.

Maybe my reading of the book was different from the makers of this tape, because to me this just doesn't bear any resemblance to the book I very much enjoyed- the magic is gone and in trying so hard to get it right, my impression is that the makers failed miserably to reproduce any aspects of what made the book great.

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!