Wingrovism
 | This article is written from an OOC point-of-view. Events and elements in the D'ni Universe are regarded as fictional. |
A wingrovism (or wingroveism) is a misleading or entirely inaccurate passage in one of the Myst novels. The term has been coined after the last name of the books' coauthor, David Wingrove, who allegedly inserted such passages in an effort to make the books more appealing to a broader audience to the genre as a whole, rather than fans of the Myst Universe in particular[citation needed].
According to Wingrove himself, all such passages were agreed upon – after long discussions – by Rand and Robyn Miller, Richard Vander Wende and Chris Brandkamp.[1]
Some known Wingrovisms[edit | edit source]
Cleft location[edit | edit source]
In some cases, wingrovisms have actually served to confuse fans in an arguably beneficial manner, in heightening the intrigue – perhaps even deliberately so. For example, based on the books' descriptions, most had assumed the Cleft (and therefore, the Lodge, the volcano as well as the D'ni caverns) to reside in the Middle East (i.e., in the north east of Africa, or the south west of Asia), when in fact Uru's rendition of the Cleft revealed it to be in a county of the United States, in southwestern North America. When the first draft of The Book of Atrus was discussed, RAWA asked to make the Cleft location more vague, but was overruled.[2]
Requirements for writing a Linking Book[edit | edit source]
The novels imply that, in order to write a Linking Book, knowledge of the Age's Descriptive Book is required. In fact, the only requirement is for the linking book to be written at the location it is meant to point to.[3]
Cavern description[edit | edit source]
Features of the Cavern, such as the stalagmite in the middle of Tokotah Courtyard and the Arch of Kerath are described as larger and taller than they appear in Uru. The Arch of Kerath is also depicted with a different shape. Many locations known to be on Ae'gura are placed on the cavern wall in the novels.
D'ni language[edit | edit source]
Although actual D'ni writing is alphabetic, the descriptions in the novels are more consistent with a logographic system of complex symbols. In The Book of Ti'ana, Ti'ana learns spoken D'ni but is unable to read or write without the Rehevkor dictionary.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Interview With David Wingrove (Part 2)", Vaguely Circular, accessed April 30, 2022. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020.
- ↑ RAWA. Where is the cleft?.
- ↑ RAWA. July 20, 1998 Lyst post.
