The Myst Reader#Book of Atrus

The Book of Atrus is the first of three previous novels, which together with the computer game Myst series by Cyan Worlds an epic.

In 1994, Ryan Miller wrote a rough draft, which his brothers Rand and Robyn and Richard van drew up the turn, some time later to a comprehensive concept. David Wingrove was asked then to write out of a novel, which was published in English and German language in 1995.

The Book of Atrus contains a lot of background information about the culture of the D' ni and the characters that appear in the computer games. The main character is Atrus, son of Gehn. The D' ni were a millennia-old civilization in the interior of the earth and had mainly a highly developed culture of writing: With the help of special magical books they were able to write connection books to other worlds, to travel with their help between infinitely many ages was what justified the enormous wealth and wisdom of the D'ni culture.

Chronological classification

Although the parts of the book and the book Ti'ana D' ni according to the Book of Atrus appeared, they are handlungschronlogisch rearranging: The Book Ti'ana contains the "oldest" history from the sinking of the D'ni culture and plays in Atrus ' birth, the Book of Atrus begins with Atrus ' birth and includes the immediate history of the first two computer games Myst and Riven, and the Book of D' ni tells the continuation of the story of Atrus and his attempts to D' ni rebuild.

Summary of the action

The book begins with Atrus ' birth and is about his childhood and early youth with his grandmother Anna at the surface. Up to the age of 14 she teaches him " the laws of the earth and the stars, the laws of science and nature, what is good and deserves respect, truths that are unshakable and eternal. " ( Quote from The Book of Atrus ). As a result, Atrus is a full respect for life, nature and cultures and also a progressive and analytical mindset and learned to some extent the culture of the D' ni language, philosophy and history.

Also Atrus learns the story of the end of the D' ni: In their narratives Anna was a woman named Ti'ana the blame for the downfall, since those have made ​​their own conscience before the question of what would have been the best for D' ni. However, they hid shyly, that she was Ti'ana. This story is told in the second book of the series The Book Ti'ana.

One day Atrus ' father, Gehn resurfaces. He has spent the last 14 years the underground remains of D' ni explores culture and experimented with the technique of writing books. He thus continuing his teaching in the Guild of Writers, which was abruptly ended by the demise of the D'ni empire. He now insists that Atrus with him going into the earth to D' ni. Gehn is by no means interested in his son as a man, but needs him only as an assistant to implement his crazy plan.

Initially leads Atrus the uncouth and rugged nature of his father to the many years in solitude and wondered why that Gehns knowledge differed from that which he derived from the learned of Anna. But then it is clear that Gehn has the culture and philosophy of the D' ni did not understand: Not the respect for life and the sensitive handling of the science of the world joining dominate his actions, but the insane quest for power and the desire to be God.

Its goal is the kingdom of D' ni to revive - but with himself as god same ruler over millions of worlds and civilizations. However, he is not able to create stable worlds with this wrong approach. He wrote on the principle of trial and error a world after the other, hoping to eventually find a stable era that produced a suitable for his purposes civilization. The people in the worlds he created, he subjugated, disobeyed their cultures and histories, was celebrated and worshiped as God.

Atrus is horrified. This self-elevation to a divine level is a crucial cause of the dysfunctional relationship between the two. Atrus now knows that he must stop his father from his plan to prevent the destruction of many ages. A Murder of Gehn comes for him out of respect for life and from the knowledge that nothing good can come out of evil, not in question. It locks instead his father for the Protection of all worlds in the fifth era - Riven - one that you can travel in the eponymous computer game.

In this context, Atrus also met his future wife Katharina know. Catherine and Atrus grandmother Anna also forge a plan because Atrus ' plan involves the risk that he would be trapped forever. So Catherine Atrus by her and Anna presented a written era called Myst, which was to be the new home of Atrus and Catherine. The world Myst is the venue of the first computer game in the Myst saga.

Catherine produced in a large Erdspalt Riven, the so-called star gap. It manages to imprison Gehn in Riven, and escape via a connecting point from there to Myst. In order for the connection point does not remain on Riven, Atrus can fall into the star gap and used the book in free fall Myst.

The compound book fell further into the Star divide and will eventually one interested players fall at the feet ... The computer game Myst can begin ( the falling book is visualized in the opening credits of the computer game and the last paragraph of the book corresponds to the words in the opening credits of the game).