Myst: The Book of Atrus by Rand Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you’ve ever enjoyed the Myst games, you will appreciate this book, which tells the background of how the Myst island came to be. The authors go very in-depth as to how world writing works, the mistakes that can be made, and the incredible stable worlds that can exist beyond what you can imagine.
I really enjoyed the fantastical idea of writing worlds into existence. The way they linked back and forth also has a touch of digital aspect, although that probably wasn’t intended. The descriptions of the worlds were very in depth, so if you like detailed descriptions of the surrounding areas, you’ll enjoy this.
Gehn was an easily hatable character, while Atrus maintains the good morals and ideals instilled in him by Anna. Even with poor leadership, he determines for himself what’s right and what’s wrong instead of being manipulated by Gehn. Gehn sort of represents the outside world that can taint a person who grew up with a very happy childhood and in idyllic but controlled surroundings.
In the end, everything is brought full circle, but I did find that some implausibility had to be used to make that happen. I’m sure not everyone felt that way, but I did.
Another slight weak point to me was that there was SO much description in some places that wasn’t necessary, at least for me, and then too little focus on some emotional areas of the book, which left a bit of emptiness in the character and relationship development, especially toward the end.
All in all, I would read the next book in the series and I would recommend this book to anyone who liked the Myst games or who enjoys fantastical worldbuilding.
(By the way the hardcover is gorgeous and well worth purchasing!)
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