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A review by irraya
Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks
4.0
This book was a fun read. I know nothing about minecraft, the game, except that it has square figures and you build stuff. The only reason I wanted to try this is because I love World War Z.
The premise of this book is that a character (either male or female, entirely up to you) is stranded on an island with a different set of rules than our world. S/he has to figure out how to survive in that world, and figure out the rules there.
It's a nice introduction to the game world and an interesting way to lay out the workings of the game. I am now interested in trying out the game, and that is probably what the book is aiming to do - get more people playing the game.
The story is pretty funny, with a fair bit of violence in it. Violence of the game variety, but there is blood and guts.
I loved how the character had conversations with the animals - a nice way to move the story ahead with the explanations and thought process of the character.
This book might be most suitable for young teens.
The story is sort of a mix of the Lego movies and survivor or maybe a PG rated The Valley of Horses (The Earth's Children)
Audibook - since the character is ambiguous, there are two different versions of this book. There is a choice of two different narrators, Jack Black and Samira Wiley (The Handmaid's Tale, so that the reader can imagine the character as either male or female.
I couldn't find the female version of the recording, but I hope to listen to it one day. So I listened to the Jack Black version.
Now I'm not a fan of Jack Black, as I find him a bit over dramatic. So I was unsure of how his narration would be. When I started, I found the narration to be how a parent would tell a story to very young kids. I wasn't too happy with that. However, I got used to it, and it wasn't too bad overall.
There is a lot of music and sound effects throughout the book. I really enjoyed that. The animal sounds were so funny, and my favourite bits in the book.
I do want to listen to Samira Wiley's version, not so much as a comparison, but more to see how a female character will be like.
This audiobook was a fun experience.
Edit: May 30, 2018
I just finished reading Hatchet by Gary Paulson. It's so similar to this book that I feel that Max Brooks might have taken a similar route. Do read Hatchet if you enjoyed this book.
The premise of this book is that a character (either male or female, entirely up to you) is stranded on an island with a different set of rules than our world. S/he has to figure out how to survive in that world, and figure out the rules there.
It's a nice introduction to the game world and an interesting way to lay out the workings of the game. I am now interested in trying out the game, and that is probably what the book is aiming to do - get more people playing the game.
The story is pretty funny, with a fair bit of violence in it. Violence of the game variety, but there is blood and guts.
I loved how the character had conversations with the animals - a nice way to move the story ahead with the explanations and thought process of the character.
This book might be most suitable for young teens.
The story is sort of a mix of the Lego movies and survivor or maybe a PG rated The Valley of Horses (The Earth's Children)
Audibook - since the character is ambiguous, there are two different versions of this book. There is a choice of two different narrators, Jack Black and Samira Wiley (The Handmaid's Tale, so that the reader can imagine the character as either male or female.
I couldn't find the female version of the recording, but I hope to listen to it one day. So I listened to the Jack Black version.
Now I'm not a fan of Jack Black, as I find him a bit over dramatic. So I was unsure of how his narration would be. When I started, I found the narration to be how a parent would tell a story to very young kids. I wasn't too happy with that. However, I got used to it, and it wasn't too bad overall.
There is a lot of music and sound effects throughout the book. I really enjoyed that. The animal sounds were so funny, and my favourite bits in the book.
I do want to listen to Samira Wiley's version, not so much as a comparison, but more to see how a female character will be like.
This audiobook was a fun experience.
Edit: May 30, 2018
I just finished reading Hatchet by Gary Paulson. It's so similar to this book that I feel that Max Brooks might have taken a similar route. Do read Hatchet if you enjoyed this book.