A blocky review of Minecraft: The Island book

It’s finally out! The first ever official Minecraft novel – Minecraft: The Island, written by the one and only Max Brooks, bestselling author of World War Z. Below is a quick but detailed review I did after reading this novel.

”I wouldn’t except you to believe the world I’m about to describe, although your reading these words means you’re already here. Maybe you’ve been in this world for a while but just discovered this island. Or maybe, like it was for me, the island is your introduction to this world. If you’re alone, confused, and scared out of your mind, then you’re exactly where I was on my first day. This world can seem like a maze and, sometimes, like a bully. But the truth is that it’s a teacher and it’s trials are just lessons in disguise. That’s why I’ve left this book behind – so my journey can help you with yours.”

Minecraft: The Island

Having spawned in a strange, blocky world, we find the main character confused and scared. With no food or safety, and trying not drawn at the same time, there’s really nowhere to go, is there? But as he finds the island and descends into its deepest and highest points, his heart fills with hope. He slowly learns what it really means to survive alone in this blocky world. Because, well, how hard can it be? Very as it turns out, with hordes of monsters taking over the whole island at night…

This breath-taking novel will bring you back to your earliest memories of your first days in Minecraft. It perfectly captures the confusion and fright of your first night or the joy of crafting your first ever weapon. It has a great, easy to follow storyline, and with 22 chapters you do get a lot for your money! (Price = £12.99 or around $14, but can be lower)

This is a great fun-packed book for unexperienced Minecraft players to learn from, or for professional players to enjoy, but whichever you are and however old you are, you are sure to enjoy it. It’s an up-to date guide for your first few days of Minecraft, and you’re sure find out something new about the game when reading this novel. It’s Minecraft action-packed and has a few funny moments, while realistically describing someone’s journey through Minecraft.

Having read it myself I really do like the way the story unfolds to reveal even more solutions – but also problems! It’s got great examples of what can but also cannot be done in the world of Minecraft. It really stands out from its brothers Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and a few others. This is partly due to it’s easy to understand, modern day language. Although one of the very few drawbacks would be the fact that actually, unless you know Minecraft well, some of the words in this book might be a bit confusing!

So considering how good this novel is, I’m hoping that many of you would have read it. (Or want to do so in the near future. It is a blog about Minecraft after all!) If so, then if you’ve got any issues or comments about the book, feel free to leave your own review of the book in comments – I might even include some of your points in this post if your review is good!

Oh, and one last thing – this post was all about the book, not it’s author. If you’d like to see an interview with the author, you can visit this webpage.

Cover image: including interview with author https://www.minecraft.net/de-de/article/interview-max-brooks

• Related: Minecraft The Island Audiobook (youtube.com)
• Related: Part 2 Minecraft: The Mountain (youtube.com)