Treasure Hunters in Trouble: An Unofficial Gamer’s Adventure, Book Four – Book Review
It’s clear that Winter Morgan’s series of ‘unofficial’ Minecraft stories has been a big hit in the United States and that the trend is slowly reaching our stores as well. It’s already time for the fourth adventure of Steve, the rather peaceful Minecraft player and of course the many friends he has made during the course of his previous adventures. Sadly, not everyone is as nice in the world of Minecraft, as there are many ‘griefers’ who like to kill other players and steal their valuable loot, or simply destroy the beautiful structures they made. Well this time it seems we’ve got a rescue mission to worry about.
Note: As our site is based in Belgium, we were given the Dutch version of the book. This means that the writing style might differ a tad at times from the original style. The book is also available in English and probably certain other languages as well.
Steve is enjoying the simple life once more, tending to his crops and playing with the animals on his farm. He misses his friends Max, Lucy, Henry and his neighbor Kyra, who have left in order to satisfy their urge to find treasures hidden in temples and other massive structures. Even though Steve also tasted a bit of this life, he’s had enough for quite some time and he would like nothing more than to lay low for a while. Sadly, when out of the blue two other players arrive at his doorstep they come bearing bad news. It seems Lucy, Max and Henry have been trapped inside a temple by a griefer and Kyra asked these two passing souls to relay this message for her. Of course, these two wanderers named Alex and Will, aren’t doing it for the fun of it, but they were promised a piece of the treasure that Steve’s friends had found prior to their capture. Even though Steve would like to depart immediately, it’s becoming dark outside, thus many monsters are spawning and it’s best to rest and prepare properly before heading off. When suddenly Kyra is also at Steve’s doorstep, it seems she was killed and respawned at her home, thus allowing her to join the party, even though it means the trio of captured players are left to fend for themselves.
Even though the trip is already a dangerous one, they’ll have to look out for the griefers, commonly clad in ‘rainbow’ uniforms. While everything is going smoother than expected, Alex is a peculiar girl, as she suggested to tag along and help, but is not one who likes to share. While the rest of the party shares the loot, Alex keeps everything for herself and sometimes it even looks like she’s a griefer herself and to top things off, she even treats her friend Will rather poorly. Is all of this an elaborate trap set in motion by the griefers to steal Steve’s loot? Or is she simply misunderstood?
Like the previous books, the flow is rather pleasant and after the scenario is properly explained, things turn a bit rowdier as the party will go from one battle to another. Perhaps in some ways it showed that Winter Morgan’s inspiration is running a bit lower, as during the trip they find way too many temples and treasures, in which the same perils happen over and over. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just feels like certain scenes are overused or could have been cut altogether. A fun thing that is used in this issue is that certain party members do ‘die’ and respawn. This is something that was always avoided in the previous issues, except for one of the unlucky participants of the building contest in the last one. That being said, things remain rather simplistic, proving to be ideal for a younger audience. Each of these novels also learn new tips and tricks to Minecraft fans, which make them useful for people who love to dive into the Minecraft stories, but also play a bit on the side.
With a thickness spanning 110 pages, this volume is practically the same as the previous two books. At an adult reading level you’ll plow through the pages in about two hours, providing a fun intermezzo from your other day-to-day activities. That being said, this book is ideal for younger readers as they will spend a lot more time reading through it all.
Conclusion
This fourth installment Treasure Hunters in Trouble is certainly a fun new volume that builds upon the storyline of the previous books. While the overall quality takes a small step back due to redundant scenes, you’ll still love the story and the writing of this one, if you liked the previous books. We have a feeling Steve’s adventures aren’t quite over yet.
Treasure Hunters in Trouble: An Unofficial Gamer's Adventure, Book Four - Book Review,
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