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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first official Minecraft novel! The author of World War Z tells the story of a hero—stranded in the world of Minecraft—who must unravel the secrets of a mysterious island in order to survive.
“A rollicking adventure yarn; Robinson Crusoe for the digital age.”—NPR Washed up on a beach, the lone castaway looks around the shore. Where am I? Who am I? And why is everything made of blocks? But there isn’t much time to soak up the sun. It’s getting dark, and there’s a strange new world to explore! 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 appears after nightfall. 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. In this world, the rules don’t always make sense, but courage and creativity go a long way. There are forests to explore, hidden underground tunnels to loot, and undead mobs to defeat. Only then will the secrets of the island be revealed. Collect all of the official Minecraft books: Minecraft: The Island Minecraft: The Crash Minecraft: The Lost Journals Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress Minecraft: Guide to Exploration Minecraft: Guide to Creative Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End Minecraft: Guide to Redstone Minecraft: Mobestiary Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames Minecraft: Guide to Farming Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure Minecraft for Beginners
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first official Minecraft novel! The author of World War Z tells the story of a hero—stranded in the world of Minecraft—who must unravel the secrets of a mysterious island in order to survive.
“A rollicking adventure yarn; Robinson Crusoe for the digital age.”—NPR Washed up on a beach, the lone castaway looks around the shore. Where am I? Who am I? And why is everything made of blocks? But there isn’t much time to soak up the sun. It’s getting dark, and there’s a strange new world to explore! 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 appears after nightfall. 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. In this world, the rules don’t always make sense, but courage and creativity go a long way. There are forests to explore, hidden underground tunnels to loot, and undead mobs to defeat. Only then will the secrets of the island be revealed. Collect all of the official Minecraft books: Minecraft: The Island Minecraft: The Crash Minecraft: The Lost Journals Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress Minecraft: Guide to Exploration Minecraft: Guide to Creative Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End Minecraft: Guide to Redstone Minecraft: Mobestiary Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames Minecraft: Guide to Farming Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure Minecraft for Beginners
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the book
CHAPTER 1
NEVER GIVE UP
Drowning!
I woke up underwater, deep underwater, and this was my first conscious thought. Cold. Dark. Where was the surface? I kicked in all directions, trying to find my way up. I twisted and turned, and then I saw it: a light. Dim, pale, and far away.
Instinctively I shot for it, and quickly noticed that the water around me was growing brighter. That had to be the surface, the sun.
But how could the sun be . . . square? I must be seeing things. Maybe some trick of the water.
Who cares! How much air do I have left? Just get to it. Swim!
My lungs ballooned, little bubbles escaping from my lips, racing me for the distant light. I kicked and clawed the water like a caged animal. Now I could see it, a ceiling of ripples coming closer with each desperate stroke. Closer, but still so far away. My body ached, my lungs burned.
Swim! SWIM!
Crack!
My body writhed as a sudden jolt of pain shot from toes to eyes. My mouth opened in a choked scream. I reached for the glow, grabbing for breath, for life.
I exploded into the cool, clean air.
I coughed. I choked. I wheezed. I laughed.
Breathing.
For a moment, I just savored the experience, closing my eyes and letting the sun warm my face. But when I opened my eyes, I couldn’t believe them. The sun was square! I blinked hard. The clouds, too? Instead of round puffy cotton balls, these thin, rectangular objects floated lazily above me.
You’re still seeing things, I thought. You hit your head when you fell off the boat and now you’re a little dazed.
But did I fall off a boat? I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember anything, in fact; how I got here, or even where “here” was.
“Help me!” I shouted, scanning the horizon for a ship or a plane or even a speck of land. “Please, somebody! Anybody! HELP!” All I got was silence. All I could see was water and sky.
I was alone.
Almost.
Something splashed inches from my face, a flash of tentacles and a thick, black and grayish head.
I yelped, kicking backward. It looked like a squid, but square like everything else in this strange place. The tentacles turned to me, opening wide. I gazed right into a yawning red mouth ringed with white razor teeth.
“Get outta here!” I hollered. Mouth dry, heart pounding, I splashed clumsily away from the creature. I didn’t have to. At that moment, the tentacles closed, blasting the squid in the other direction.
I floated there, frozen, treading water for a few seconds, until the animal disappeared into the deep. That’s when I let out a long, throaty, tension-draining “ughhh.”
I took another deep breath, then another, then a whole lot more. Finally, my heart settled down, my limbs stopped jerking, and, for the first time since I woke up, my brain switched on.
“Okay,” I said aloud. “You’re way out in a lake or ocean or whatever. No one’s coming to save you, and you can’t tread water forever.”
I did a slow, 360-degree turn, hoping to see some thread of coastline I’d missed before. Nothing. In desperation I tried one last scan of the sky. No planes, not even a thin white trail. What sky doesn’t have those trails? One with a square sun and rectangle clouds.
The clouds.
I noticed they were all moving steadily in one direction, away from the rising sun. Due west.
“As good as anywhere,” I said, giving another deep sigh, and started swimming slowly...
About the Author-
Max Brooks is an author, public speaker, and nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. His bestselling books include The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, which was adapted into a 2013 movie starring Brad Pitt. His graphic novels include The Extinction Parade, G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds, and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Harlem Hellfighters.
Reviews-
"Same as it ever was...."These are the lyrics to the classic Talking Heads song that keeps repeating in the mind of the narrator, who has awakened underwater and surfaced in the world of Minecraft. Stumbling onto dry land, the narrator realizes that its body is not human but rather made head to toe of blocks. It has no memory of how it arrived in this world and finds itself in a moment-to-moment survival adventure. The world is Earth-like, with trees, seeds, and fruit. There's a grazing area for blocky farm animals the narrator calls Disappointment Hill, where it befriends a cow that it later deems a best friend. The stranded protagonist is not alone, as no Minecraft world is without enemies, including stalker zombies and skeleton archers who lurk and strike with no real purpose other than to antagonize the anonymous protagonist. Each chapter title is a life lesson learned by the main character as it imagines its way to survival. Unlike Robinson Crusoe, whose castaway protagonist's existential journey has a history that leaves readers invested in his survival, this tale loses its punch in the tedious, mundane details of Minecraft worldbuilding that are best suited to devotees of the video game. Upon reading the list of life lessons presented after the epilogue, readers may well feel that it may be far more interesting to play the actual video game than to read about it.For Minecraft fans whose game consoles are broken. (Fantasy. 12-16)
COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (Online Review)
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Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
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