Minecraft: The Island: An Official Minecraft Novel

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I talked with Max about how he found a great story in the clash of Guy and Summer’s personalities, and why that story is important in our pandemic-ridden times. But I had to first ask about what in the Overworld Guy is thinking when he decides to set out on his boat at the start of the book.

Alex: Sobering stuff! But when they get together, we realize their two personalities work together well. Alex: As a book writer, you must be used to working alone. Did you draw on your own experience for The Mountain ? His growth comes from the struggles that is his forced to endure, either through outside forces or his own actions. Once he restores the topmost island, surface issues, he is left with the harder task of correcting the rotten underground, which are symbolic or hidden personal issues. He must grow beyond his more basic faillings to deal with the tasks of cleaning the tunnels.This was a moderately entertaining primer on Minecraft couched as a story. I could see how a 9-year old nerd-child might be enticed to read a book using the lure of their Minecraft gaming addiction. I’ve played many hours of the game, although not recently. The story kindled some very vivid memories, and I learned a few ‘better ways’ I could have done things. The author did a good job at describing the joy of Mindcraft world building. The unnamed protagonist’s battles with game zombies were as good as the author’s World War Z combats, although less graphic. Toward the end, the author was less detailed in his descriptions and it became less useful as a learning experience for the game. A large problem I had was that, the author did not make a children’s book that would be consistently entertaining to adults. This is possible by interleaving two or more levels of meaning in the narration. That wasn’t accomplished. I don't think it was attempted? Sometime after the midpoint, despite my interest in the game, the story become boring. I know GoodRead’s members who thrive on reading children’s books. Perhaps my inner child is too deeply concealed? In summary, this was moderately entertaining in the beginning due to my interest in the game's world building. However, it did not go the distance for me. The main character was an unnamed man, possibly a young man. (I like unnamed protagonists.) He was the only character in the book other than the game's NPCs. At its heart, this was a Man Against Nature story, with an internal and external arc-of-discovery. The main antagonists are the vintage 2017 hostile Minecraft mobs. The mobs are a vaguely supernatural group of entities. The protagonist only encounters a small number of the game’s mob cadre for its Survival Mode of play. As surprised as I am to admit it, Minecraft: The Island ended up being very good. Much of the enjoyment came from listening to the audiobook, I am sure (which I will go into later), but I was overall quite impressed with how the author managed to dramatize the new player experience, making even the most mundane tasks feel like a race against time. Brooks also did a great job capturing the spirit of the game, perfectly portraying that giddy sense of excitement whenever you make a new discovery, or even that satisfying feeling of accomplishment when you survive your first night without being killed by a zombie.

When he was writing the novel, Brooks was given creative freedom for everything except the protagonist's physical traits. Mojang wanted readers to picture themselves in the novel, and were, according to Brooks, "very hands on when it came to inclusiveness". [1] Plot [ edit ] The top priority is finding food. The next is not becoming food. Because there are others out there on the island... like the horde of zombies that appear after night falls. Crafting a way out of this mess is a challenge like no other. Who could build a home while running from exploding creepers, armed skeletons, and an unstoppable tide of hot lava? Especially with no help except for a few makeshift tools and sage advice from an unlikely friend: a cow. The top priority is finding food. The next is not becoming food. Because there are others out there on the island . . . like the horde of zombies that appear after night falls. Crafting a way out of this mess is a challenge like no other. Who could build a home while running from exploding creepers, armed skeletons, and an unstoppable tide of hot lava? Especially with no help except for a few makeshift tools and sage advice from an unlikely friend: a cow. The man wakes up lost, alone, afraid, like we all are in life. His first experiences are simply pain and fear, no one is good at first nor does everyone have a plan for life, without the vital knowledge of learning though experiences.His friends are simply his mind speaking subconsciously. They impart the wisdom that going it alone his very hard. That destroying conections with outside people. Despite the fact that the man cannot communicate fully and completely to his friends, which by human nature is impossible, they stand by him and provide moral, ethical and physical support. Later that same man's actions will be harm to his friends and he must endure pain and suffering to save them. This is symbolic of the fact your friends cannot only give aid to you but will need help from you too. More than a business transaction, it is a relationship built on compassion and loyalty. Max Brooks: Research is very important to me in everything I do. I don’t write that many books because I have to spend years researching. With something like Minecraft, I live under the fear of someone saying, “That would never happen!” So I played thousands of hours of Minecraft, making sure the physics of the game work in the book. Plus, there are certain things that just happen in Minecraft that you could never think of on your own. In The Island, my character shoots his last arrow at a creeper and hits a bat that happens to fly by. That really happened when I was playing Minecraft! Prose was OK. There was a single POV. The author has traditionally used an informal, style. That continues here, although it’s obvious he’s using a simpler more straightforward narration than in previous books. There was almost no dialog, given the story’s Robinson Crusoe-like premise. The protagonist’s inner narrative could be amusing at times, although I felt he was too pious. Descriptions are very detailed in the beginning. The book was a Primer on aspects of the game. However, the descriptions become less detailed as the story gets long. Action sequences were good, although not too complicated. Pacing was fine throughout.