![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MystTiAna.jpg?resize=179%2C300&ssl=1\")
by Rand Miller and David Wingrove\nHyperion Books. \u00a91996
\nISBN: 978-0786889204
\nMass Market Paperback, 592 pages.\n
<\/p>by Rand Miller and David Wingrove
\nHyperion Books. \u00a91996
\nISBN: 978-0786889204
\nMass Market Paperback, 592 pages.\n
Anna lives with her father, conducting geological surveys in the desert. When his death leaves her alone, Anna sets off for the nearest town, but decides to make one last exploration of tunnels in the extinct volcano, discovered by her father just days before his death.<\/p>\n
Deep beneath the surface of the caldera, the civilization of D\u2019ni has thrived for thousands upon thousands of years. At the moment, its citizens once again engage in a long-standing debate: whether or not to venture to the surface and possibly make contact with its inhabitants. One faction says yes; as long as we\u2019re cautious, we ought to know what other lifeforms inhabit our world. The other says no; in a society as rich with tradition and as steeped in study and honor as the D\u2019ni, what could surface dwellers have to offer? Surely they would be little more than animals, not burdened with higher reasoning or any sort of intelligence.<\/p>\n
When Anna gets lost in her exploration of the tunnels, two worlds collide. Anna\u2019s encounter with the D\u2019ni guardians set off a chain of events that shakes the ancient civilization to its very foundations.<\/p>\n
The Book of Ti\u2019Ana is the second volume in a trilogy that covers the story of the D\u2019ni, a subterranean race of builders, excavators, scientists and artisans who also happen to hold the amazing talent of Writing, that is, the art and science of writing Books that link to strange and fascinating Ages, worlds where anything\u00a0can\u2014and sometimes does\u2014happen. In the Book of Atrus, we saw the city of D\u2019ni after its great Fall, with buildings abandoned and collapsed, no living residents remaining. Here, we see it thriving in the last years of its prime. Great guildhouses and homes cling to the walls of a cavern miles wide and so tall one cannot see the ceiling. As in The Book of Atrus, the writers give us vivid and colorful descriptions of Ages both beautiful and horrific. The main setting, the great underground city of D\u2019ni, is as complex and detailed as you might expect in any major fantasy novel. Social conventions and traditions are a bit dated (remember when this was published), but believably told.<\/p>\n
Characterizations are well-done, though there are a great many more characters in this story than there were in the first book, with a complex web of interactions between them. Neither Atrius nor Anna (later Ti\u2019Ana), the protagonists, are perfect, which I liked. Nor is the antagonist purely evil. In fact, it isn\u2019t clear in the beginning just who the antagonist will be; unless you read the first book (The Book of Atrus), you might not know him at first glance. But even those who know his name may be fooled in the beginning, for his character starts out good and develops through time and bitterness into a formidable enemy. I found the twist of this character\u2019s nature entirely believable.<\/p>\n
The Book of Ti\u2019Ana could easily be read first, before The Book of Atrus, but I wouldn\u2019t recommend it. Even though it\u2019s backstory, I agree with the authors\u2019 decision to place this second in the trilogy. Just as with part one, this is a good story on many levels. The Book of Ti\u2019Ana is a fantasy about the conflict between exclusivity and inclusivity, between tradition and evolution, where hostility and suspicion holds the power to destroy it all, for both sides. It\u2019s also a tale that is relevant to our own world, our own time, for the very same reasons. The inhabitants of D\u2019ni face the same sorts of questions we do: whether inalienable rights extend to all or only a privileged few, whether purity of blood is essential to one\u2019s relevance in society, and whether someone who is not \u201clike us\u201d deserves compassion and fair treatment.<\/p>\n
As I said of The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti\u2019Ana is probably not up to the most discriminating standards where fiction-writing is concerned. Nevertheless, it was easy to lose myself in the story. I found myself rooting for Ti\u2019Ana and Atrius throughout, sharing their joys and sorrows from beginning to end.<\/p>\n
The Myst\u00a0trilogy, of which this is the second volume, was written specifically\u00a0to the fan\u00a0base of the wildly popular computer games Myst (released 1993), Riven (1997), Exile (2001), Revelation (2004), and End of Ages (2005). If you played any or all of these games, but haven\u2019t yet read the books, you\u2019re missing out. Still, even if you didn\u2019t play the computer games, give them a try. The Myst trilogy is recommended fantasy for anyone who enjoys a good tale well-told.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Rand Miller and David Wingrove Hyperion Books. \u00a91996 ISBN: 978-0786889204 Mass Market Paperback, 592 pages. Anna lives with her father, conducting geological surveys in the desert. When his death leaves her alone, Anna sets off for the nearest town, but decides to make one last exploration of tunnels in the extinct volcano, discovered by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-4a","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":251,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/17\/myst-1-the-book-of-atrus\/","url_meta":{"origin":258,"position":0},"title":"Myst I: The Book of Atrus","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rand Miller, Robyn Miller and David Wingrove Hyperion Books. \u00a91995 ISBN: 978-0786881888 Mass Market Paperback, 422 pages. 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