Gameknight999
Cover of Invasion of the Overworld, the first entry in the series
  • Invasion of the Overworld
  • Battle for the Nether
  • Confronting the Dragon
AuthorMark Cheverton
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherSkyhorse Publishing
PublishedAugust 26, 2013
No. of books3
OCLC1293230980
Followed byMystery of Herobrine (trilogy)
Website

Gameknight999 is a series of children's novels written by Mark Cheverton, an author and engineer based in upstate New York,[1] and published from 2013 to 2017. The series is unofficially based on Minecraft and set within its world. The second novel of the series was listed in the Publishers Weekly bestseller list in November 2014[2] and the New York Times children's series bestseller list in February 2015.[3]

Plot

The series describes adventures of the protagonist with the user name "Gameknight999", who is initially a griefer and finds himself teleported by one of his father's inventions into the world of the Minecraft video game. Gameknight discovers that the creatures in the game are alive and it isn't a game to them. Gameknight experiences real-life adventures and actual danger with life-or-death consequences while stuck in the Minecraft digital universe.

Most of the novels feature Herobrine as the main antagonist, who is an urban legend and creepypasta that originated as a hoax propagated by an anonymous post on the English-language imageboard website 4chan.[4]

Background

Cheverton says he originally wrote the first book of the Gameknight999 series, Invasion of the Overworld, to teach his son about cyberbullying.[5][6]

Publication history

Along with Cheverton's other books, the GameKnight999 series is published by Skyhorse Publishing under the Sky Pony Press imprint, and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The publisher distributes all of Cheverton's novels as well as four box sets.[7]

From 2014 to 2017, a total of six trilogies featuring Gameknight999 were published.

Reception

This Gameknight999 series (in particular the second novel Battle for the Nether) was listed in the Publishers Weekly bestseller list in November 2014.[2] Battle for the Nether was listed for one week in the New York Times children's series bestseller list in February 2015.[3] According to Cheverton's website, the series has been published in 32 countries and translated into 22 languages.[1]

In reviewing the first novel, online magazine Brutal Gamer wrote that "the story stays pretty true to the Minecraft experience. ... Whether you’re trying to pry your Minecraft addict away from the screen for a little while, or just looking for an interesting new choice for summer reading time, Invasion of the Overworld is sure to be a hit with the 8-11 year old set."[8]

A review in The Guardian said of Battle of the Nether, "If you play Minecraft then you will love this and if you don't play it, then this is a great way to get you started on the fun!"[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Mark Cheverton. "About Me". markcheverton.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  2. ^ a b c "Bestsellers - Children's Frontlist Fiction". Publishers Weekly. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Bestsellers - Children's Series". The New York Times. 8 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  4. ^ Morton, Lauren (February 1, 2021). "The story of Herobrine, Minecraft's decade-old creepypasta mystery". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Ginger Brashinger (11 Feb 2016). "Manhattan 5th grader gets author's attention". Chicago Tribune. pp. 4–6. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Minecraft, Cyberbullying, and Encouraging Kids to Create: An Interview with Author Mark Cheverton". Barnes & Noble. 3 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Books by Mark Cheverton". Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  8. ^ Amy (12 June 2015). "Invasion of the Overworld (book) review". Brutal Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Battle For The Nether by Mark Cheverton - review". The Guardian. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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