David WingroveRezensionen

F/SF

F/SF

F/SF

F/SF

F/SF

F/SF

F/SF

I really enjoyed this book and the vast amount of characters involved. The world felt fleshed out and it seemed like the storyline was leading to a massive confrontation and then...the book just stopped. For such a massive tome I expected a better resolution. We'll see if the second book in the series improves upon the first.

A fun read, but possibly only interesting for fans of the Myst video game franchise.

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 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.

It really seems only fitting that a video game about books would have a series of books published in its name. For some reason when such books were first coming out I was sort of skeptical about their quality. I truly am glad I overcame this and decided to pick up the Myst books. I was an early enough adopter to be able to get all the hardcover texts and they are all beautifully designed. It's strange that a lot of books don't adopt this kind of method, because it really is eye catching and I'm glad the makers of Myst picked up on that. In terms of binding, it technically is rather cheaply done to support the mass market interest in this series. Rather than have a truly older styled binding, they have the typical style with embossed paper wrapped over the hard cover. The paper is of excellent quality and is embossed in sections, which adds a tinge of making it feel artificially handmade. I've had mine for many years now and there is barely any wear on it. However, when one inspects the design you can tell it is merely paper glued over the normal hardcover pressing and it is merely there for aesthetic appeal. The books in the game have a very old styled feel, which they should since they're all handmade books, but the makers wanted to keep that atmosphere alive with printing these books. Despite my inspection of the edition, I must say it was a great marketing idea and wish more publishers would do this rather than just adopt the typical dust jacket. That being said, the current editions more readily available to readers are the regular paperback and now the collected edition which was recently printed.

I wasn't sure what to really expect from this book when I first got it. I had beaten the game "Myst" and the game was pretty well written. However, the game had a lot of unknown elements in its story, and I'm sad to report that "The Book of Atrus" doesn't fill in all the gaps. It certainly fills in quite a bit, but not everything. This book acts as both a prequel to "Myst" and a bridge to "Riven". It's an interesting story in that regard because it tells about Atrus' childhood and goes into why the age of Riven is in dire need of our help!

At the end of Myst we find Atrus sitting at a desk in a deep cavern in place known as D'ni. We are transported there with him once we escape the island of Myst, but we are never told why he is there; just that he needs to make a decision concerning his sons. This is all well and good, but there are so many holes and questions, thus the novelization seeks to explain them. At one time Atrus lived with his grandmother, Ana, in a desert region. "The Book of Atrus" goes into detail about his life and learning there. It's almost an ideal childhood until one day his father, Gehn, returns and seeks to take him back to D'ni. See they are from a race of people who lived underground until they were all of a sudden destroyed. Ana, Gehn, and Atrus are the only decedents we are made aware of from this great society. So when Gehn was old enough he returned to the world of D'ni in search of its secrets, to see if he could find it and possibly rebuild it. Needless to say he sort of succeeded.

Gehn understands how to write in the books and knows the secret D'ni language to make different ages to create portal links between his world and others. However, he does not wield this power intelligently, but he doesn't want the knowledge to die with him, so he seeks out his son. He teaches Atrus everything, but Atrus has a keener mind for creating ages. Most of Gehn's worlds are unstable and if a world has inhabitants Gehn insists on be treated as a God. Needless to say Atrus' kindly nature has the better of him and he seeks to change this.

In this we get to see the bridge to Riven's story line. Riven had been an age linked to by Gehn, but the world was vastly unstable. So he and Atrus sought to fix it if they could. Gehn, being the overbearing man that he is, did not think most of Atrus' ideas were good ones. However, one thing would change Atrus' life forever when he got to Riven, he met Catherine there. Yes, the girl he references frequently in the first "Myst" game. Eventually she would bear his two sons Sirrus and Akenar, so as you can tell, I knew Atrus would succeed even during reading this, so I don't feel I am giving anything away. The book doesn't go into detail about the two sons growing up, so you never really know how everything started with them. Anyway, there is a solution to Atrus' problem, but I'll let the readers find that out for themselves. When we get to "Riven", the video game, there are further complications based around this story... I'll leave these mysteries to be discovered for yourself.

I don't feel I am spoiling very much of the book because it is riveting in itself. Most people who read this will undoubtedly have played the video games and already know the stories' outcomes before reading this. As any Myst player knows the interesting factor is in the details, I have left every part of these out. The book is a fascinating page turner and I really couldn't put it down at all. This book leaves a lot more mystery to the reader in the end and left us looking forward to the follow up text, "The Book of Ti'ana." I especially recommend this to any Myst fan who wants to delve deeper into the story line and world of Myst. I don't think many people would pick up Myst if they didn't already enjoy reading books to find out what new worlds they would be brought to. In that spirit these books are clearly written!

I listened to the audiobook version, and really liked the voice actors, especially of Atrus's father. The story is good, simple, and ideal to give us a background of Atrus's young ages and dive us deeper into the story of the video game. There is not over-explaination of events, however I believe this idea can expand into many stories and provide us a beautiful book series. In any case, I liked the book and recommend it to people who have played and enjoyed the game.

All good stories must end. The writing and character development are still superb in this seventh book, but the pacing has become glacial. Nothing crucial has happened for the past couple of books and it feels like the author is milking every character and subplot dry. There's nothing left of the vigorous narrative of the first three books. As much as you get curious to know what will happen to Ben Shepherd or to the brain-wiring project at some point you need to move the main plot forward. I'm sure that the patient reader will be rewarded in the end, but that end is still 13 books away and at the current pace it feels like it may take three or four books for Kim Ward to even talk to Jelka Tolonen. Life is short.

Perfect plot, pacing, world building, character development.

The pacing slows to a crawl in this fifth book. The war between the Dispersionists and the Seven barely moves forward - it’s at about the same point on page 1 and on page 278. Also, some of the characters spend too much time in boring inner monologues. Only City Africa kept me reading on.

Best post-apocalyptic sci-fi I’ve read in a while: great world-building, great character development, great pacing, really hard to put the book down.

A bit too short but if that's how I feel then I have no choice but to give it five stars. I hope Wingrove doesn't take forever to write the next one again.

Instead of moving the story towards the begginings of a conclusion Wingrove actually introduces new subplots - and this is book #11 (!). At this point I couldn’t care less about Chen’s wife and children, or even about Chen himself, I just want things to move forward, one way or another. Why introduce the whole Thousand Eyes subplot *now*? Why bother us with Ikuro or Hanna when the freaking protagonist - the T’ang of City Europe - is entirely absent from the book? Dammit man, give us some hope that this story is going somewhere eventually. Still, 4/5 stars because of the sheer brilliance of the writing and world-building.

At last a Chung Kuo book where we are not introduced to a dozen new subplots. Looks like we are finally moving towards the beginnings of what might one day be a conclusion.

2 hours 16 minutes
Great dramatization. The music makes it hard to listen at more than 1x.

Though technically the second book of the series, The Book of Ti'ana is a prequel to The Book of Atrus.

I originally read Book of Ti'ana shortly after I finished the Book of Atrus. Again, this was back in the heyday of the Myst PC games in the 1990s. Rereading Book of Ti'ana now, some 20+ years later, my opinion of it has not drastically changed. Plotwise, the story follows the character Anna (Ti'ana) a human who stumbles upon the underground civilization of D'ni. Her actions set in motion a series of events that challenges several prominent D'ni members, tears apart friendships, and threatens to upend the D'ni culture itself.

Stylistically, the writing is the same as the previous book. There's a lot of descriptions of the scenery and the characterization is somewhat uninspired. I wouldn't call the plot or characters amazing, but the writing is clearly aimed at a young adult/middle schooler audience.

That being said, I will say that the story is more epic and better paced than the Book of Atrus. In spite of being longer, I found myself reading through it much quicker. Many have said that this book is the best of the series. We'll see if I agree after I finish the next book, The Book of D'ni.

The first in a trilogy of books that fill in the lore of the Myst universe, The Book of Atrus is the story of Atrus and his tutelage in the D'ni art of world writing under his domineering father, Gehn. At it's core, it's a story of a father-son relationship that goes sour, and of the corrupting ideas of god-like power. I won't spoil it, but the story ends where the game Myst begins.

I read this book back when the Myst series of PC games were popular in the 1990s. I enjoyed it at the time, but rereading it after all these years, my opinion has naturally changed somewhat. Given that the games are so heavily based on the pre-rendered visuals and puzzle elements, the series is probably best suited to the realm of gaming. In the case of these books, there are a few illustrations scattered throughout, but most of the narrative relies on descriptions. Another change in my opinion has to do with age. That is to say, this book is more or less written as a young adult piece of fiction. Upon recently finishing the book, I didn't find the characters terribly penetrating or the personal conflicts very unique, but I've read many books over the years. For a story aimed at teens, I'd say it's decent, but as an adult, I don't find this to be a classic piece of literature.

Overall, I would say that the book serves as a good prequel to the first Myst game.

I read this a very long time ago, but I remember enjoying it.

Overall an interesting book. Learning everything as the character experienced it was new, but the ending kept it from being 5 stars, as it felt a bit rushed. Very good tie-in with the game though.

In the 4th volume of David Wingrove's rebooted Chung Kuo series, 'Ice and Fire', the consequences of the dramatic ending to Vol 3 are explores, as the Seven's policy of passivity 'wuwei' fails to deliver fruit. The Dispersionist star waxes, and in the climax, action replaces inaction to restore the balance. The tales of Kim Ward, Ben Sheppard and Li Yuan are advanced, and we are in no doubt that each has a role to play as the narrative unfolds.

Wingrove's Chung Kuo series is an overlooked classic. Sadly, the reboot has ground to a halt, with no clear idea of how the remaining volumes might be released.