Sebastien is a huge fan of Minecraft, and he gives this book 5 stars. I would normally give it 2 stars based on my actual opinion of the book, but I'm giving it 3 stars for its motivating-kids-to-read factor. (The author is a GENIUS for being the first to corner this niche market!) Sebastien, however, technically didn't read this book himself; I read it aloud to him.
The writing is dry and matter-of-fact and lacks any kind of style. A lot of sentences are explanatory rather than narrative. On the one hand, I wonder if the author purposely wanted to make the book sound like something its target audience (kids in grades 1 to 7) would write. On the other hand, shouldn't published books serve as examples of good writing, rather than be reflections of what the book's intended audience can write themselves?
Mostly, though, I was bothered by how the events in the book do not adhere to the "rules" of Minecraft. For example, at one point, a zombie snatches a sword out of Steve's hands. I don't think that's possible in the game. Also, the characters find 40 diamonds in one place. Again, I'm no expert in the game, but that doesn't sound right. There are all sorts of examples like these, but admittedly, Sebastien - who arguably is a Minecraft expert! - didn't mind the inconsistencies at all.
Finally, I found the mistakes in editing to be distracting. Page 2 refers to "iron ignots". On page 14, one line reads, "...there was one only way to escape," and on page 39, a character shouts, "Looks a cave!"
On the plus side, there is actually some nice character development. The main character Steve is a homebody, but when his villager friends get attacked by zombies, he is motivated to go exploring in order to acquire a diamond sword, which will help him to defeat the zombies and save his friends. Steve meets new people, makes new friends, and learns to be brave and adventurous.
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