Invasion of the Overworld: A Minecraft Novel by Mark Cheverton

Author: Mark Cheverton
Goodreads
Pages: 153
Release date: 29th July 2013
Publisher: Smith Publicity

Synopsis. (Goodreads) 

Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, reveled in building fabulous structures, playing on servers, creating custom maps, but most of all, he loved to grief. As the self-proclaimed King of the Griefers, Gameknight played the game for himself at the expense of everyone else, keeping the list of his friends in the game short, extremely short. But when one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure within the digital world of Minecraft. Unsure if he would respawn if killed in the game . . . maybe he’d just disconnect . . . or maybe he’d really die . . . Gameknight must play the game with all of his skill and knowledge in order to avoid the sharp claws of zombies and pointed fangs of spider. While living out this terrible and painful adventure, he discovers the most well-kept secret about Minecraft, something not even the programmers realize; the creatures within the game are alive! 

His emergence into the game triggers a war that threatens to consume all of Minecraft and possible the physical world as well. Gameknight must fight through the electronic world, with his new NPC friend, Crafter, and his only user friend, Shawny, as he fights epic battles, the mobs on the server seeking to destroy everything, stuffing out all life, everywhere. Gameknight is the key to salvation for all the electronic lives in Minecraft and possibly in the physical world as well . . . or maybe he’d not the key at all, maybe he’s the fuse to destruction.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

My 9 year old son is a HUGE fan of Minecraft so I was eager for him to read a novel based on his favourite game and despite a few moments of disinterest because 'I already know that', it kept him entertained and questioning certain aspects throughout the book.

The characters were exciting and the overall story entertaining and filled with action packed moments, My son was able to read and understand it with very little help although it did take a little while for him to get through it. Mr Cheverton's writing was crisp and engaging.

As a parent, I didn't understand a lot of the terminology used so it was a learning experience for me as well. It was great to be able to listen to my son read a book with enthusiasm and hope that there would be more books in the series to come on a subject matter he enjoys.

Thank-you to Mark Cheverton and Smith Publicity for the opportunity to read The Invasion of the Overworld.

Master 9's thoughts - Some things were fun but other stuff I already knew. I didn't think Gameknight999 was a very nice character at the beginning of the book. It was a great adventure.

About the author: Mark Cheverton grew up in Southern California, going through high school, and college. After college, Mark taught high school physics and math for many years. While teaching, he earned a Master's degree in Physics and conducted research on planetary atmospherics. After moving to the east coast, he started doing research for a Fortune 100 company in the fields of machine vision and additive manufacturing. His first book, The Algae Voices of Azule, was released in 2012, followed by the sequel shortly after.

He recently released the first book in his Minecraft series, Invasion of the Overworld: A Minecraft Novel, which is expected to be followed by the sequel, Battle for the Nether, in early 2014.