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A review by moonflowermandy
Myst: The Book of D'ni by Rand Miller, David Wingrove
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I was excited to return to Atrus as a main character, and happy to meet more people from other Ages. I loved Marrim! As with the other two, it took quite some time to get the story moving-- Miller spent a lot of time setting up the return to D'ni and introducing characters who didn't truly matter to the main conflict of the book.
The main conflict of the book and especially its resolution left a sour taste in my mouth. It felt very much like a white savior narrative. The attempt to excuse it via lore was done halfheartedly and unconvincingly. I had to really remember that it's a product of its time and this was probably pretty standard for what you'd expect from stories like this.
The new characters, however, were a treat with a broad range of personalities and viewpoints. I appreciated the diversity in opinion that the characters presented, making the conflict a little more nuanced than it could have been. Another appreciation I have for it is that even though it's set after the events of the video game (at least Myst, I'm not as sure about the others), it doesn't spoil anything.
All in all, I am glad I read the book, but the trilogy could have been left as a duology and would have been much better that way, in my opinion.
The main conflict of the book and especially its resolution left a sour taste in my mouth. It felt very much like a white savior narrative. The attempt to excuse it via lore was done halfheartedly and unconvincingly. I had to really remember that it's a product of its time and this was probably pretty standard for what you'd expect from stories like this.
The new characters, however, were a treat with a broad range of personalities and viewpoints. I appreciated the diversity in opinion that the characters presented, making the conflict a little more nuanced than it could have been. Another appreciation I have for it is that even though it's set after the events of the video game (at least Myst, I'm not as sure about the others), it doesn't spoil anything.
All in all, I am glad I read the book, but the trilogy could have been left as a duology and would have been much better that way, in my opinion.