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homingpigeon's review
2.0
This book is only 39 pages long, and much of that is devoted to advertisements for the next book. Kids will enjoy the quick read, but the length makes the $2.99 price seem excessive.
The story itself was actually well done. The characters' adventures (running from squids and snakes, navigating a perilous desert, etc.) were exciting and contained healthy amounts of detail:
"The small pebble rolled and landed in the water, sending small ripples out across the surface of the lake."
" 'We know...[spoiler],' Antivenom said, watching another swirl of sand disappear around his sword."
That's good. I can see those things in my head.
The two-star rating is for grammar. And it's a compliment, because one-star grammar is the norm when it comes to Minecraft fiction. King's prose is slightly above average, but he still stuffs commas into his sentences like they're pushing through his garden window from an overproductive zucchini patch.
"What is that, in the distance," Sky said, pointing.
"Is that it," Sky asked, shading his eyes...
He doesn't seem to understand that questions need...question marks. And he sticks commas between independent phrases:
"Steve tried, but no portal worked, they would have to find their way back..."
"The tentacles were long and thick, the monster they were attached too must be massive."
"Captain Sparklez slowly approached, the obsidian rock had carvings..."
Perhaps it's a conservation-of-energy thing: it could be that the author decided it was too much trouble to move his ring finger just a wee bit farther to the right and hit the period key instead. (And we won't even mention the misusage of the word "too.")
There are errors on every page, and not only does that make Lord of Ender a painful read for the average high school graduate, the errors could misinform the young readers at whom this book is aimed. Parents shell out $3.00 so their reluctant readers can have an hour's worth of reading time, and in exchange those readers receive all the wrong messages about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Many of these kids will not be reading better-quality books that would normally help to correct such false impressions.
These self-published Minecraft books may just end up widening the education gap. It's a waste, because with some disciplined re-reads on the part of the author and some professional editing, Lord of Ender could be great. The trend of Minecraft fiction in ebook form could really create a win-win situation for readers if more time and care were spent on the stories before they were rushed to market.
The story itself was actually well done. The characters' adventures (running from squids and snakes, navigating a perilous desert, etc.) were exciting and contained healthy amounts of detail:
"The small pebble rolled and landed in the water, sending small ripples out across the surface of the lake."
" 'We know...[spoiler],' Antivenom said, watching another swirl of sand disappear around his sword."
That's good. I can see those things in my head.
The two-star rating is for grammar. And it's a compliment, because one-star grammar is the norm when it comes to Minecraft fiction. King's prose is slightly above average, but he still stuffs commas into his sentences like they're pushing through his garden window from an overproductive zucchini patch.
"What is that, in the distance," Sky said, pointing.
"Is that it," Sky asked, shading his eyes...
He doesn't seem to understand that questions need...question marks. And he sticks commas between independent phrases:
"Steve tried, but no portal worked, they would have to find their way back..."
"The tentacles were long and thick, the monster they were attached too must be massive."
"Captain Sparklez slowly approached, the obsidian rock had carvings..."
Perhaps it's a conservation-of-energy thing: it could be that the author decided it was too much trouble to move his ring finger just a wee bit farther to the right and hit the period key instead. (And we won't even mention the misusage of the word "too.")
There are errors on every page, and not only does that make Lord of Ender a painful read for the average high school graduate, the errors could misinform the young readers at whom this book is aimed. Parents shell out $3.00 so their reluctant readers can have an hour's worth of reading time, and in exchange those readers receive all the wrong messages about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Many of these kids will not be reading better-quality books that would normally help to correct such false impressions.
These self-published Minecraft books may just end up widening the education gap. It's a waste, because with some disciplined re-reads on the part of the author and some professional editing, Lord of Ender could be great. The trend of Minecraft fiction in ebook form could really create a win-win situation for readers if more time and care were spent on the stories before they were rushed to market.