Received an e-ARC via NetGalley. Really enjoyed this one (which was my first Minecraft novel) and can't wait to read the others!

E ARC provided by Netgalley



Stax Stonecutter lives a quiet and uneventful life in his family's home (in the world of Minecraft), and runs the stone mining business that his grandmother started. When he is visited by the rude Fougue Tempro, he is persuaded to give the man a tour, but is rather shocked when the man shows up the following week with raiders who not only strip the mine and house, but take Stax hostage and sail off with him. Tempro's ship has some difficulties, including zombies (creepers) in the waters, and Stax manages to escape and lands on an island with a tower, which he repairs. He eventually decides to leave, and sails off, lands, and decides to build a cabin and eat kelp. He meets several people, including Ramoa, who shows up several other times during the book, and Hejira Tenbooks, who encourages him to hunt down the Champion to help him find Tempro and bring him to justice. The Champion, however, decides not to help. Stax continues on his journey, which includes time spent in another mine and some riding with Ramoa's caravan. Eventually, he comes across Tempro, manages to subdue him and put him in a prison that is built just for him. Stax then goes home, thanks the people who helped to run the family business in his absence, and opens up his home for people to visit, after he renovates the property.

Strengths: I admire Dey Rey Books for capitalizing on a science fiction/fantasy gaming trend and assembling a very impressive array of middle grade authors to put their own spins on books to appeal to players of Minecraft. Mr. Fry is clearly very invested in this game, and his attention to details will be appreciated by those who play it. The story has a plot, character development, and a variety of different well-described settings, as well as decent supporting characters, making it a huge improvement on books (from a literary perspective) like Wimpy Kid.
Weaknesses: For someone whose only experience with Minecraft is starting a game and being unable to move the swimming pigs out of the quarry-style pool, this was a tough, tough go. The play-by-play style that must follow a video game is weird and unsettling. A lot of eating kelp and building things. And getting a lot of gold and jewels? Just not my thing.
What I really think: I will probably purchase it, and it's good to have read these so that I can recommend the different books in the series, which are not alike at all. The whole time I was reading this, however, I felt like I was missing a huge back story.