Prison Books are an artifact in the fictional computer-gaming world of Myst.

Prison Books were Linking Books to desolate Ages, and no other Linking Books to return. The D'ni used this to punish and isolate unwanted persons. Atrus used them, their Gateway Image sometimes being altered to show rich and flourishing worlds to lure greedy explorers. Sirrus and Achenar were 'prisoners' in Spire and Haven.

Gehn also was trapped in one, thinking that he would link to D'ni.

Trap Books

In the scenario of the two first games, we are told that Atrus discovered that with some slight modifications, Linking Books could not link the Age traveller to their destination, thus trapping him in the void between the Ages (see Star Fissure). The Gateway Image seemed normal, showing the supposedly destination. The modifications that 'harmed' the link were so slight, that even a knower of the Art who would read the book, could miss them. Atrus then decided to use them as traps for greedy explorers who would want to visit his Ages.

An interesting property of the Trap Books was that when someone tried to link to an already occupied Trap Book, the persons would switch positions, thus freeing the 'prisoner'.

According to the Myst scenario, the Red and Blue Books are Trap Books, and after Atrus left for D'ni, Sirrus and Achenar had eventually been trapped in the inter-Age void, while looking for more Ages to rule. According to the Riven scenario, Gehn was trapped also in a similar Trap Book.

After the production of Riven, Cyan Worlds decided for some reasons that Trap Books are not canonical and cannot exist. Instead, the simplified concept of Prison Books was real.

This retcon however is inconsistent with the first two games: There is thus no logic behind the switching places between the Stranger and the brothers, since the books are now normal. In Riven, Atrus' journal makes an analysis of what Trap Books are, and an essential puzzle for trapping Gehn, includes this switching of places. These events are explained by Cyan Worlds as artistic license, as well as the communication through the Gateway Image.

For this reason, the fans didn't like the retcon and preferred to think of the Trap Books and the events concerning them as 'actual'. Some theories tried to reconcile these: At the end of the Myst game, it is believed that the brothers were indeed trapped in the void, but Atrus before burning the trap books, corrected the link, and the brothers finally linked each to his own prison Age. The switching of places though could not be explained.

In Myst IV: Revelation, the Red and Blue books appear again, being linking books to Spire and Haven. We are told that Atrus' family linked to them and visited their sons, and the Stranger also can link to them normally. The dates of the journals indicate that the brothers were always trapped in their respective Ages during the events of the first Myst game, and not in the void, thus obsoleting totally the concept of Trap Books.