Editing Minecraft: The Island

{{Short description|2017 novel by Max Brooks}}
{{Infobox book
| author            = [[Max Brooks]]
| isbn              = 9780399181771
| pub_date          = July 2017
| publisher         = [[Del Ray Books]]
| genre             = Fiction
| language          = English
| pages             = 288
| image             = Minecraft The Island.jpeg
}}

'''''Minecraft: The Island''''' is a novel by [[Max Brooks]], published in 2017 by [[Del Ray Books]]. 

== Background == 
Brooks' interest in the [[sandbox video game]] ''[[Minecraft]]'' began around 2012 when a friend introduced him to the game. In 2015, he was asked by [[Mojang]] to write a novel centered around the game. By the time his contract with Mojang had been completed, Brooks had finished a manuscript.<ref name="nyt" />

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".<ref name="nyt" />

== Plot ==
Written for a young-adult audience,<ref name="nyt" /> the book is divided into chapters that each teach a specific life lesson.<ref name="npr" /> It begins with an unnamed narrator, whose gender Brooks does not identify,<ref name="nyt" /> arriving at a deserted island and finding that they are stuck in the world of ''Minecraft''. They are forced to learn how this unfamiliar world works.<ref name="npr" />

== Publication history ==
''Minecraft: The Island'' was published in July 2017 by [[Del Ray Books]]. Two audiobooks, one narrated by [[Jack Black]] and the other narrated by [[Samira Wiley]], were commissioned by Mojang in order to give listeners the option to choose between a male and female voice.<ref name="nyt" />

== Reception == 
Jason Sheehan of [[NPR]] was intrigued by Brooks' ability to create a story that adhered to the restrictions imposed by ''Minecraft''{{'s}} game mechanics, calling the novel "a master's thesis on internal consistency in genre literature".<ref name="npr" /> Tim Martin of ''[[1843 (magazine)|1843]]'', however, found the novel to be uninteresting.<ref name="1843mag" /> Though describing the plot as "ha[ving] a mechanical feel",  John Peters of ''[[Booklist]]'' wrote that the book contained "useful hints and strategies".<ref name="booklist" />

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
  <ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |last=Alter |first=Alexandra |date=July 26, 2017 |title=‘Minecraft: The Island’ Blurs the Line Between Fiction and Gaming |volume=166 |page=B1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |issue=57671 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/business/media/minecraft-the-island-novel-video-game.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827160642/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/business/media/minecraft-the-island-novel-video-game.html |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
  <ref name="1843mag">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Tim |date=July 10, 2017 |title=The first Minecraft novel...or is it a self-help book? |url=https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/07/10/the-first-minecraft-novelor-is-it-a-self-help-book |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727190455/https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/07/10/the-first-minecraft-novelor-is-it-a-self-help-book |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=[[1843 (magazine)|1843]] |publisher=[[The Economist Group]]}}</ref>
  <ref name="booklist">{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=John |date=October 4, 2017 |title=Review: ''Minecraft: The Island'' |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Minecraft/pid=8920832 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815045029/https://www.booklistonline.com/Minecraft/pid=8920832 |archive-date=August 15, 2023 |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=[[Booklist Online]]}}</ref>
  <ref name="npr">{{Cite web |last=Sheehan |first=Jason |date=July 22, 2017 |title=Life Lessons (With Zombies) In 'Minecraft: The Island' |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/22/536892650/life-lessons-with-zombies-in-minecraft-the-island |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731235618/https://www.npr.org/2017/07/22/536892650/life-lessons-with-zombies-in-minecraft-the-island |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=August 14, 2023 |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref>
}}

{{Minecraft}}

[[Category:2017 American novels]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]