Minecraft: The Mountain

Wandering a vast, icy tundra, the explorer has never felt more alone. Is there anything out here? Did I do the right thing by leaving the safety of my island? Should I give up and go back? So many questions, and no time to ponder—not when dark is falling and dangerous mobs are on the horizon.

Gurgling zombies and snarling wolves lurk in the night, and they’re closing in. With nowhere to hide, the lone traveler flees up a mountain, trapped and out of options... until a mysterious figure arrives, fighting off the horde singlehandedly. The unexpected savior is Summer, a fellow castaway and master of survival in these frozen wastes.

Excited to find another person in this strange, blocky world, the explorer teams up with Summer, whose impressive mountain fortress as a safe haven... for now. But teamwork is a new skill for two people used to working alone. If they want to make it home, they must learn to work together—or risk losing everything.

You know, I imagined there’d be a sequel as I wrote it, because I figured that learning how to live with yourself is just the first part of growth. But writing The Island was actually a lot tougher than The Mountain. I must have done ten rewrites because the character was initially a Robinson Crusoe, and I wrote my first draft in the voice of Daniel Defoe, which is very dry and boring! (Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe in 1719!) I had to figure out a way of writing someone alone on an island with their thoughts, and so I invented Guy's animal friends – all the conversations with Moo are basically his thoughts projected onto this cow. The Mountain was a lot easier because I could have the back and forth of real conversation!