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. 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!Īt the end of Myst we find Atrus sitting at a desk in a deep cavern in place known as D'ni. This book acts as both a prequel to 'Myst' and a bridge to 'Riven'.

It certainly fills in quite a bit, but not everything.

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. I had beaten the game 'Myst' and the game was pretty well written. I wasn't sure what to really expect from this book when I first got it. That being said, the current editions more readily available to readers are the regular paperback and now the collected edition which was recently printed. 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. 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. 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. I've had mine for many years now and there is barely any wear on it. The paper is of excellent quality and is embossed in sections, which adds a tinge of making it feel artificially handmade. Rather than have a truly older styled binding, they have the typical style with embossed paper wrapped over the hard cover. In terms of binding, it technically is rather cheaply done to support the mass market interest in this series.

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. I was an early enough adopter to be able to get all the hardcover texts and they are all beautifully designed. I truly am glad I overcame this and decided to pick up the Myst books. For some reason when such books were first coming out I was sort of skeptical about their quality.

It really seems only fitting that a video game about books would have a series of books published in its name.

The book of atrus