Book Review; Minecraft, The Island by Max Brooks

Hi readers, 

For those of you who don't know I'm a massive Minecraft fan. So, when I saw that a fiction novel set in the Minecraft world was coming out, I knew I had to read it! It was expecting a fantasy style story but instead The Island is half an introduction/guide on playing the game and half a person's experience of playing the game for the first time. I'm feeling torn about liking it and disappointed that it wasn't what I was hoping for. 

The book is aimed at children and written in a simple way which could mean that older teens and adults might lose interest. I liked the easy style though because the previous book I read was long and heavy (that review coming soon!) There wasn't much of a plot though, it basically was; man wakes up on Island, has to survive, learns lots of lessons then decides to leave the Island to discover more about himself. 

The way it comes across though is good, with the man realising how things are different in the Minecraft world and what he needs to do to 'instantly' make things. I also liked how he made friends with the animals, since there was no one else; a cow called Moo, three sheep called Flint, Cloud and Rainy and some chickens. However, when he's translating the mooing of the cow into conversation it did start to bug me. Kids might find that funny though. The fighting scenes were well described and good too and I enjoyed reading about the battles with the zombies, skeletons and creepers, which for any Minecraft players out there you'll get on board with. 

This book feels like the wisdom of life a way which was something that came to me about 50 pages in when I realised how full the pages were getting with like cliche positive quotes; 'Take life in steps,' 'keep going, never give up,' 'books make the world bigger,' even though these are applied to events that happened with the Minecraft world, they can easily be applied to things in the real world. Which then makes me wonder if that's what Minecraft is a metaphor for? Anyway, I can see these positive messages being good for kids. 

Towards the end of the book, the details of crafting and guide like style do move over for a bit more plot which allows the main character to grow and realise what he must do. I like when he finds the abandoned mine and meets and Enderman! They've always been the scariest monsters for me. He manages to overcome all the problems that face him in the mine, even using some techniques I didn't know about! Afterwards, he reflects he was just using the exploring and fighting as an excuse to put off the one thing he needed to do. So, he leaves the Island to try and figure out even more. The book ends with him saying he's leaving it behind as a guide for the next person. 

Overall, I like this book for what it actually is; a novelized guide to playing Minecraft from a player's point of view but I'm still disappointed because I feel it could have been a lot more. Like the Minecraft Story Mode games which I'm slowly getting into. Will there be any more Fiction Minecraft novels? I don't know but it would be interested to read someone else take on the Minecraft world.          

Thanks for reading and see you next time. 

Please check out my other blog; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/ where I write a short story everyday. 

September Life Update; Losing My Job

As a new season arrives and nature begins to change, I have to face the realty that my life is about to also under go a dramatic transformation. Come this time in two weeks, I will have lost my full time job on reception at the youth center. It's a blow I wasn't quite expecting, so I'm in shock and very emotional. 

I've been volunteering and working there for close to five years now as I started a few months after The Factory opened. Since then, I have worked with so many great people and good young people, I have passed on my skills and helped some children by being a friendly, trustworthy person who'd listen to them. I have learned so much, changed as a person and realised I could do so much more then I first thought. I love this place, it's become my second home and family. So, saying goodbye is going to be very hard.

I still have my other two part-time jobs, but that's only 8 hours a week and with future plans brewing, I need a full time job and a steady sum of money. I'm no longer going to find that at the youth centre. So, I'm facing a flash to the past in my re-joining of job hunting. However, unlike last time I'm in a far better position to get a new job. All my previous skills have advanced, I've gained lots of new skills and my confidence has improved. I don't quite feel hopeful about the future as my past is lingering but at least things might be different this time. 

I think what also is making it tougher is the fact they are going to replace me with volunteers which doesn't sit well with me. I don't think they've thought it through. Where are they going to find these volunteers all year round? They can't make them work long hours, so other staff will have to help out thus not getting their own jobs done. Who will train them and supervise the volunteers as only I have been doing it? Who will cover other receptionists holidays and sickness etc? Who will do all my other tasks? I can see it just falling apart so fast. However, it's not my problem! 

I love this quote below. It keeps me going when I'm feeling down and it reminds me that because it's not my problem it's not my worry. 

Sadly, my boyfriend is in the same boat. He'll be made redundant about the end of this month. So, we'll both be on the hunt for new jobs. One of my plans is for us to try and find jobs that are in the same or close by area so we can move in together. If we both get jobs close to his house, I could move in and we could see if living together really works for us. That would progress the relationship then we could look at getting a house together. But right now, just moving on and getting any kind of full time long term job is my goal, no matter where it is. Though, it's worth having a look and trying to move closer to that plan.

The hardest part of applying for jobs is all the stuff you have to physically do like writing your CV and doing cover letters. They say the best way to get an interview is to tailor them both to fit the job you are applying for and to not send out the same all the time. Which is fine, but I get tried of doing that quickly. Plus, I hate having to fill in forms! This is basically your CV that they want but they get you to expand on key parts of it and I can spend maybe 3-4 hours doing something like that. Then you have to look through all the job ads across different places and apply for ones that you know you tick all the boxes for and also some which you might not get but it's still worth applying for. 

I was told at some point that job hunting is like an actual job and it feels that way to me. I guess I should be grateful that everything is online now and it's easy to just email your CV and to type out the forms. I'd struggle if I had to hand write everything and walk around going into places to give my CV in. Though there's still no harm in that because you can get luckily. - It's not worked for me though! 

Yeah, so at the moment, I've applied for 30 jobs or there about and I've had one interview which was today. It went okay, but I'm not sure the job is suitable for me. Seemed like too much demand and pressure, which might sound odd, but I got to look after my health. I'm still waiting to hear back, so for now I'm going to look at more jobs and try and not spend any money.      

I know I'll find something eventually and I can already see how a new job would be good for me - more money, better hours, more stable. But still leaving The Factory behind is going to be tough. It made me who I am today, in a strange way and it proved that I could hold down a full time job and I'm capable of doing many different tasks. It's like there's a piece of me there now. It's just a shame they are making me move on.

At least it's going to be there still and I can go in and see everyone and maybe volunteer again if I have the time. So, that knowledge should help. I need to try harder to turn away now and think more about what I really want to do and how to get there.

I just need to stay positive.

Please check out my other blog; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

Images from Pixabay.  

The Thief Lord Review

Hi readers, 

The Thief Lord (Not to be confused with The Book Thief) is a 2000 children's novel by German writer Cornelia Funke, the author of the Ink Heart trilogy in 2004, which she is more famously known for. If you haven't read any of her books and/or you've not read this one, no matter what your age, I would highly recommend you add it to you reading list. 

Being aimed at children doesn't mean the narrative or plot of a novel needs to be dull. Funke really proves that writing within the children's novel rules, it's possible to create a fantasy style plot and a gripping narrative. Yes, the book is toned down, but the adventure and peril is very visible. The characters, who are mostly children, are developed and still appear complex. Also, Funke has cleverly incorporated basic Italy words in the narrative and dialogue.    

The Thief Lord is set in Venice, Italy, which is wonderfully described and seen from the children's view as being magical. The main plot follows brothers Proper and and Bo, who have run away to escape their aunt and uncle adopting them. They are taken in by a group of runaway children, lead by The Thief Lord, who is also known as Scipio. They are all sent on a mission to steal a wooden wing and in the process they learn about a magic merry-go-round, that has the power to turn children into adults and adults into children.

The subplot involves the adults on the trail of the children. The novel opens with the detective, Victor, who loves disguises and has a collection of beards. He is asked to search for the brothers by their relatives, however, he soon gets tangled up in the mission and ends up helping the children. The aunt and uncle don't have much to do with the plot and at first it seems that they want the brothers for a sinister reason, but this turns out not to be true. Perhaps, their story would have been more interesting if that was the case. Lastly, there is Ida, the owner of the wooden wing. She gives the children the information they need and helps them. There are four other adults who appear and they are mostly used to help more the plot along, but they come across as full characters

I really enjoyed this book, especially the contrast between the real world and the magic one that the children see. The characters were very easy to get along with and they had enough background to make them realistic. I would also like to find out if the merry-go-round (below) has historical/other story connections, because it would be interesting to see if the idea was original to Funke. My only small issue is with the ending. I felt it switched paces between being too fast and too slow. Yes, it does tie everything off, but I didn't think it needed to drag on as long as it did. 

Overall though, I really would recommend this book to anyone, especially children as they would really enjoy it.  

Images from:

http://childrensbooksguide.com/100-best-childrens-chapter-books-of-all-time

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/4174665