Atrus grows up in a desert cleft with his grandmother Anna until his father Gehn turns up and takes him down into the ruined cavern city of D'ni. Gehn teaches him the Art of writing books that link to other worlds, and he has large plans for what the two of them will do with it.
What this adds if you've played the games
If you read one Myst novel, read this. You meet Gehn years before Riven, see how Atrus learned the Art and why he came to distrust his father, and find out where Atrus and Catherine meet. The desert cleft Atrus grows up in is the same one Uru starts in. The last pages run straight into Myst's opening narration, so it works as a bridge between the first two games. It's short and moves quickly, and it makes Riven's world feel lived in before you set foot in it.
Where it fits
- Read beforeMyst
Set in the years before Myst, and its final pages are Myst's opening narration. It doesn't touch the brothers' mystery, so it works before or after the game.
- Read beforeRiven: The Sequel to Myst
The novel covers how Gehn came to be on Riven and where Atrus met Catherine. Riven's opening gives away how the book ends, so read it before starting Riven.
- Comes afterMyst: The Book of Ti'ana
Ti'ana is set two generations earlier, with Atrus's grandparents. You already know D'ni falls; this is how. It reads best once you've met Anna in The Book of Atrus, so read it second, as published.
Editions
Voice paperback
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