Rand Miller

Needless to say after finishing "The Book of Atrus" I had fairly high expectations for this series going forward. At the end of "The Book of Atrus" we think the story is going to continue forward from that point, but there is a major story that has not been told yet. The fall of D'ni. This tale is frequently alluded to in the game and the prior book. In fact most of the prior book is trying to rework what was lost during the fall of the D'ni Empire.

Journey with us to a long ago time when show more Atrus' grandmother was a lot younger and originally known as just Ana. Unlike the other Myst stories so far, this book deals on the level of an entire society. Most areas in Myst that we've visited have been fairly desolate and uninhabited, except for one section in "Riven", but we never interacted with the native population. Well in this book you get to see the height of the D'ni Empire. This story is actually pretty epic in scope and it starts during a time when D'ni was expanding their empire. They knew they were underground and politically there were some people pushing for a way to the surface of the world they were on. You get really involved in all of this political intrigue and that's what makes the book really exciting. I must point out here that as a reader I typically don't enjoy this type of thing and I go more for the action or mystery based types of books. "The Book of Ti'ana" has the perfect blend of political intrigue and mystery as far as I'm concerned.

So the book starts off with the digging teams working their way to the surface and this is where Aitrus (Atrus' grandfather) is introduced into the story. Something happens and the political winds change and the project is put to a halt. At this point you're brought further into the D'ni culture and Aitrus' background story. The D'ni culture is so fascinating that I honestly couldn't stop reading the book. However, going in tandem to this world underground is also a surface world where Ana and her father survey the land areas that haven't been used yet. The surface culture is also on the expanse and often Ana and her father are commissioned to go and explore.

Honestly, I can see how some people would think the book is sort of dry at first because there isn't that much intrigue and it is more based on character development. Such as the introducing of Aitrus' powerful friend Viovus and so on. He becomes a very integral part of the story in the future, but at the beginning you don't know that, nor do you suspect anything... but that is the whole point! One day everything changes in the D'ni society when Ana shows up in their world. Not only that but she can learn language and the D'ni society was haughty enough to think they were the only culture on this world possible for such words and technology. Granted the D'ni technology far exceeded that of Ana's knowledge, but her ability to learn astounded them.

I don't want to give too much away, but that's just a taste for what you can expect to see in this astounding novel. Eventually the story turns into a sort of fate styled meeting for two lovers, Aitrus and Ti'ana (the "ti" was added onto her name in D'ni). They are simply destined to be together. However, this is also the tragic tale of a lost friendship which eventually leads to the fall of an entire empire. In the end it's a rather sad tale, but an incredible background story of Atrus' forefathers and why his father Gehn was so obsessed with D'ni. Let's just say, I now know why he was so captivated with that world.

I simply can't recommend these books to people enough. They're simply shocking! Of all the video game based books I have read, these are probably the best in my collection. They are superbly written and they literally bring you into another world, just like the video game series can do! They are made in the spirit of Myst with small drawings and notations about what is being described in the book, so it has a bit of a journal feel just like we get in the game! I've actually read these books twice now and that's the first time I've ever done that with a book, that's how good these novels actually are. show less

With the title "The Book of D'ni" and the last book, "The Book of Ti'ana", I half expected them to go even further back in D'ni's history. Maybe a story about the inception of D'ni! Which, that would be a great tale in itself. Despite this expectation, and not getting it, this still ended up being, probably, my favorite in the trilogy. "The Book of D'ni" picks up where "The Book of Atrus" leaves off and brings us into a world of struggle, rebuilding, and astonishing beauty.

I will make this show more an uncommonly brief review because this book just grabbed me at every turn I do not want to give away much of anything. Basically Atrus has learned a great deal more about D'ni and its writings. With some natives from other ages he's seeking to, essentially, rebuild D'ni to its former glory, much like his father Gehn was trying to do, rather unsuccessfully by himself. While they were clearing away debris in one area they uncovered a sealed library that must've been there about as long as D'ni has. He had people look through them to see if any of the Ages seemed stable and decided to go visit one. I'm going to leave it there, the mystery and beauty will give away far too much of the story line.

I think readers will be very pleased with this book because it is everything we love about Myst. It has the beautiful worlds, the mysterious intrigue, everything we could possibly want! At this point I could only hope that this would be a continued novel series, but as I write this in June, 2008, that doesn't seem to be the case. A "Book of Miriam" was supposed to be in the works and we got a taste of a first part in the Limited Edition version of Myst V: The End of Ages. So the series was intended to continue! Unfortunately I recently found that "The Book of Miriam" has been pulled and it will not be released. I can only relay how dismayed I am and I will still hold out hope that someone will pick it up and eventually publish the book. With the success Blizzard's video games have had in the world of novels, why can't Myst, a game about books, maintain a solid foothold for the reading public. These three books are held in very high acclaim by readers and fans, so it only seems prudent to me that one should continue with this amazing storyline. That's my piece, if you're already a Myst fan I do not think this book will disappoint in the least. show less

During the Christmas of 1996, I sat down to my first Windows computer. I took it back to college with me that January, and I still remember sitting in my dorm room with the lights off, the speakers cranked up, clicking through the ages of Myst. Later on, I did the same with Riven, only pausing to trade out discs between CD-ROM drives.

Those feelings were evoked in bucketfuls when I read this book. The mystery and the enchantment were in full evidence, but along with it was a surprising depth, show more something that I don't expect from the usual video game tie-in book. In fact, it joins up seamlessly to both games, and makes me want to dig out those old discs and play through again. I will definitely be reading the next two volumes. show less

The second in the Myst series, but in reality a prequel to the first, I throrough enjoyed the Book of Ti'ana. Enjoyed it, that is, with a few reservations. If this book were a linking book, then it would be beautiful, but a little off, and perhaps not entirely stable.

First off, it tied in quite seamlessly with its predecessor. This speaks of the amount of preparation that must have gone into the development of this world. It accomplishes what most prequels cannot, telling a story whose show more ending we already know in an interesting way, and perhaps showing us that we don't know as much as we think. The characters' motivations were all grounded in actual human emotions, and never felt like paper cutouts simply being manipulated by the author.

Except, that is, for the character of Veovis. At first, I felt that the author wanted us to dislike him. Then, it seemed that we were supposed to like him, but to rue his inevitable fall into evil and betrayal. Finally, we were expected to respect him and forgive him as one who allowed emotion to sway his better judgment.

I never really bought any of this. The shape of the story was strong, a friendship torn apart by different beliefs that had never theretofore been challenged. But since the friendship never felt real, neither did the drama, and that whole plot thread was just lacking for me.

Still, I ranked this book higher than its predecessor, and I did so because it showed me an interesting and intriguing world, through the lens of a mostly compelling story. I look forward to getting to the third in the series, and would have started it already if it were not several states away at the moment. show less