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A review by oddrots
Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I do have good things to say about Minecraft: The Island. The writing is good, it's written by Max Brooks for goodness' sake. It inspired me to redownload Minecraft (with new-to-me shaders that I'm pretty excited about), which.. maybe that's part of the reason this book exists. And the best part is that it gave me new ways to think about my own future playthroughs of the game.
But ultimately I didn't enjoy reading The Island very much. Despite being written mostly for existing fans of Minecraft, I think you'll enjoy this story more if you don't have any previous Minecraft experience. This book was so poorly paced that I found it difficult to stick with but maybe that would have been okay for those without any existing expectations. Most of the action happens in the last 1/3 of the book, which okay, that's kind of how Minecraft works--you start with nothing and work tirelessly to sustainably protect and feed yourself--but it didn't work for me in book form. That first 2/3 of the book moves like molasses, while the remaining portion flows like molten lava.
I also want to mention that there is a strong focus on teaching life lessons throughout the book, 36 life lessons to be exact! And while I appreciated the effort made to impart knowledge on young readers it was just TOO MUCH INFORMATION. If the book I'm reading teaches me two or three lessons, I'm good. My eyes have probably completely glazed over at the dozen life lessons mark.
In the end, Minecraft: The Island is yet another book that just isn't for me, but it's certainly a decent, adventurous middle-grade read.
But ultimately I didn't enjoy reading The Island very much. Despite being written mostly for existing fans of Minecraft, I think you'll enjoy this story more if you don't have any previous Minecraft experience. This book was so poorly paced that I found it difficult to stick with but maybe that would have been okay for those without any existing expectations. Most of the action happens in the last 1/3 of the book, which okay, that's kind of how Minecraft works--you start with nothing and work tirelessly to sustainably protect and feed yourself--but it didn't work for me in book form. That first 2/3 of the book moves like molasses, while the remaining portion flows like molten lava.
I also want to mention that there is a strong focus on teaching life lessons throughout the book, 36 life lessons to be exact! And while I appreciated the effort made to impart knowledge on young readers it was just TOO MUCH INFORMATION. If the book I'm reading teaches me two or three lessons, I'm good. My eyes have probably completely glazed over at the dozen life lessons mark.
In the end, Minecraft: The Island is yet another book that just isn't for me, but it's certainly a decent, adventurous middle-grade read.