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| Author | Max Brooks |
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| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Del Ray Books |
Publication date | July 2017 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9780399181771 |
Minecraft: The Island is ayoung adultisekai novel byMax Brooks, published in July 2017 byDel Rey Books. It was followed by two direct sequels:Minecraft: The Mountain (published in March 2021) andMinecraft: The Village (published in October 2023).
Brooks' interest in thesandbox video gameMinecraft began around 2012 when a friend introduced him to the game. In 2015, he was asked byMojang to write a novel centered around the game. By the time his contract with Mojang had been completed, Brooks had finished a manuscript.[1]
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]
Written for a young-adult audience,[1] the book is divided into chapters that each teach a specific life lesson.[2] It begins with an unnamed narrator from the real world, whose gender Brooks does not identify,[1] arriving at a deserted island and finding that they are stuck in the world ofMinecraft. They are forced to learn how this unfamiliar world works.[2]
Minecraft: The Island was published in July 2017 byDel Ray Books. Two audiobooks, one narrated byJack Black and the other narrated bySamira Wiley, were commissioned by Mojang in order to give listeners the option to choose between a male and female voice.[1]
Jason Sheehan ofNPR was intrigued by Brooks' ability to create a story that adhered to the restrictions imposed byMinecraft's game mechanics, calling the novel "a master's thesis on internal consistency in genre literature".[2] Tim Martin of1843, however, found the novel to be uninteresting.[3] Though describing the plot as "ha[ving] a mechanical feel", John Peters ofBooklist wrote that the book contained "useful hints and strategies".[4]
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