Saving Xenos

An Unofficial Graphic Novel for Minecrafters #6

by Cara J. Stevens, Unknown Author

While competing with friends in the celebrated Multiplayer Olympics, a serious issue brings the competition to a screeching halt. The monks, who watch over the seed worlds beyond Xenos, bring news of a wave of glitches and corruption that will soon cause widespread disaster. The Defender has wreaked unthinkable havoc, but there is still a way to save the world as Phoenix knows it. With T.H.'s parents, the monks, and her magic necklace to guide her, Phoenix leads her friends on a dangerous adventure to repair the damage caused by the Defender and save the world. Her success depends on her ability to survive a crash course in world pollination as she risks everything for the future of Xenos.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

Paperback

About the author

I have wanted to be a writer since I was four years old and fell in love with reading. I wrote stories and songs and poems. I wrote plays and scribbled thoughts and ideas in notebooks. I wrote when I was supposed to be doing sports, and sometimes I wrote under the covers by flashlight when I was supposed to be asleep in bed.

I got my first big break writing stories for Sesame Street video games. Then I helped design and create video games based on books, like Bruce Coville's My Teacher is an Alien and Roxie Munro's Inside Outside World. I got my big break when Byron Preiss commissioned me to write my first novel, Dragon School. I felt like the luckiest person in the world because I got to live my dream!
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That was 20 years ago! Since then, I've written many more books. I write about Paw Patrol, SpongeBob Squarepants, Mickey Mouse and Bubble Guppies for little kids. I write about Fortnite, Minecraft and Terraria video games for bigger kids. I also get to write about cool trends like Fidget Spinners, the K-Pop band BTS, how to record your family history, and a guide to playing Pokemon Go!

None of what I do would be possible without encouragement from my family and friends, the love and support of my amazing husband, guidance from all the fantastic editors, publishers and illustrators I work with, and of course letters and notes from readers like you!

Reviews

[Gerardo Larios · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having her special necklace, saving her friend TH's family and village, her pet wolfie getting married, being friends with Xenos, Funland, and Cornacordia, curing a witch, saving her little brother as a zombie, and stopping a mad man that calls himself "The Defender", Phoenix, TH, and Xander are having a picnic when they decide to have some fun with their friends with a competitive thing called the olympics in "Saving Xenos" by Cara J. Stevens. While they are having fun, a warning brings that fun to an abrupt halt. The defender is causing damage even though he was put in a world where he couldn't cause damage. There is a glitch taking over Xenos, and its spreading quickly. So, Phoenix, Xander, TH, and Brandor go on a quest to stop the glitch along with Phoenix's pets and necklace but, will it be enough to save the world?

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I found this in a little library and decided to flip through it before moving it to a different one (how I read a lot of books and also shift around the contents of any specific library that may have been the same for a while). I never played the game, because third-person 3-D games that aren't racing games make me nauseated (the camera in racing games feels more natural).

If I'm being honest, I really can't understand Minecraft, in that it's far too low-resolution (ironically) for me to be able to distinguish some things from others. The cat is pretty obvious, but the dog, I couldn't tell if that was a dog or a wolf (and also, I don't think I ever caught the dog's name). All of the human(?) characters, also, I was through half the book before I realised Phoenix is a girl and one of the others is a zombie(???). Granted, Goodreads says this is a Book #6, so I'm not terribly surprised I've missed some details.

The concept is *okay*. I know things like Red vs. Blue use existing game engines to make original content, so I'm not surprised someone has done the same with Minecraft. It's just hard to follow for the reasons stated above PLUS sometimes the dialogue layout is confusing (is the next one in order the one to the upper right, or lower left?).

The story is good for fans of the series, I suppose. Like, if this had been hand-drawn instead of screen-captured, then I might've been able to follow along better. If you can read the scenes better than I can, then absolutely you might like this! If you're as confused by the game, then maybe pass.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read a graphic novel for my daughter's reading challenge and since my kids are Minecraft fanatics, we had this one lying around. It was a cute story of Minecraft friends saving their world from a glitch. My only issue is it was hard to know which word bubble you were supposed to read first, sometimes it was the closest to the top and sometimes it was the one closest to the left-hand side....otherwise, a fun graphic novel for anyone who loves Minecraft.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I love MINECRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when the enchanted eye of ender defeated the wither. I didn't this book because I didn't like the part when phoenix lost her enchanted eye of ender when it risked itself to defeat the wither.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

My kid bought these books at a book fair and now I have to read them to him. The dialog is mundane filler, the pictures are extremely low contrast, and the comic sans style typeface it difficult to read. I'd throw these books away if my child wasn't so enamored with Minecraft.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Kristy McRae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this series with my son, who is a Minecraft nut! He loves them, and I'm enjoying how much he's enjoying the series.

[Red · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably my least favorite in the series, still okay tho

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is 6 and he loved this book. We read it together and it wasn't the worst book ever, but I would not have chosen it for myself.

[Jazlynn Williams]

i love graphic novel