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Official Minecraft Novels #14
Minecraft: Castle Redstone
Three down-on-their-luck adventurers seek a lost civilization in this epic Minecraft novel!
Rajah would do anything to be a great adventurer. But how can he, when his father’s already triumphed over every adventure he can think of? Lord Maharajah fought the Ender Dragon, charted the Overworld, and built a grand manor house. Rajah is surrounded by hand-me-downs, from his father’s fancy old name to his fancy old sword.
His servant, Pal, and his squire, Faith, do what they can to help. But Pal is too gentle to be any good in a fight, and Faith’s faith is being tested by the knight she thought was a hero. Try as he might, Rajah isn’t anyone’s hero—he’s everyone’s punchline.
Everything changes, though, when, at the end of another day’s failure, Rajah, Pal, and Faith find something: a map that leads to the one place Lord Maharajah never conquered—a legendary castle rumored to hide a mysterious lost civilization’s wondrous inventions.
At last, the greatest adventure of their lives has begun. The three must trek through perilous swamps, climb high mountains, and discover their true worth. It’s the only way to reach their distant destination: Castle Redstone!
Rajah would do anything to be a great adventurer. But how can he, when his father’s already triumphed over every adventure he can think of? Lord Maharajah fought the Ender Dragon, charted the Overworld, and built a grand manor house. Rajah is surrounded by hand-me-downs, from his father’s fancy old name to his fancy old sword.
His servant, Pal, and his squire, Faith, do what they can to help. But Pal is too gentle to be any good in a fight, and Faith’s faith is being tested by the knight she thought was a hero. Try as he might, Rajah isn’t anyone’s hero—he’s everyone’s punchline.
Everything changes, though, when, at the end of another day’s failure, Rajah, Pal, and Faith find something: a map that leads to the one place Lord Maharajah never conquered—a legendary castle rumored to hide a mysterious lost civilization’s wondrous inventions.
At last, the greatest adventure of their lives has begun. The three must trek through perilous swamps, climb high mountains, and discover their true worth. It’s the only way to reach their distant destination: Castle Redstone!
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 29, 2022
76 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Sarwat Chadda
60 books595 followersSarwat Chadda has lived and traveled throughout the world, from China to Guatemala. He’s been lost in Mongolia, abandoned at a volcano in Nicaragua and hidden up a tree from a rhino in Nepal. Not to mention being detained by Homeland Security in the US and chased around Tibet by the Chinese police. Maybe he just has that sort of face.
Anyway, now he’s trying to settle in one place and stay out of trouble. Hence his new career as a writer. It’s safe, indoors and avoids any form of physical danger.
Throughout his travels, Sarwat has soaked up the myths, legends and cultures of far away places. Now, with the Ash Mistry series, he aims to bring these unfamiliar tales of ten-headed demons and blue-skinned heroes back home and put them beside the exploits of Achilles and Thor. His heroes are Prince Rama and the demon-slaying Kali. Isn't it about time you met them too?
Anyway, now he’s trying to settle in one place and stay out of trouble. Hence his new career as a writer. It’s safe, indoors and avoids any form of physical danger.
Throughout his travels, Sarwat has soaked up the myths, legends and cultures of far away places. Now, with the Ash Mistry series, he aims to bring these unfamiliar tales of ten-headed demons and blue-skinned heroes back home and put them beside the exploits of Achilles and Thor. His heroes are Prince Rama and the demon-slaying Kali. Isn't it about time you met them too?
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 26, 2023
I read this book to my son a chapter or two a night. He enjoys the official Minecraft middle grade novels, but didn't like that this one "took a long time for the story to get started and when it did the writing wasn't that good." I agree. It was just ok. If it had been up to me, we would have bailed on it at about 50 pages. The 2nd half of the book is much stronger than the first half.
January 24, 2025
**I’m leaving Goodreads for storygraph for a few reasons that feel pretty important rn. Follow me @lukeestrada10**
Also this book was ass lol 1/10
Also this book was ass lol 1/10
November 13, 2022
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Rajah's father was a great explorer, the kind about whom songs are sung and stories written, so he wants to head out on an adventure. His support staff includes Pal and Faith, who join him in his quest to leave the comfort of the Manor. To have a purpose for their mission, they consult the Mapmaker, who encourages them to pursue a trip to Castle Redstone that will result in great fortune and legendary status. They consider this, and in the meantime Raj fights Sir Tyrus over a slight to Raj's father, but his famous sword, Heartbreaker, is atomized into diamond dust for reasons that are unclear. Nevertheless, this motivates him to buy tools and the map from the Mapmaker and take off. They are first sucked into the Nether to obtain some netherite, and once again run into Sir Tyrus but decide to join forces. Pal and Faith are a little unsure about the journey, but they persist despite being attacked by fish on the way to the island where the castle is, having to go through a swamp, and defending themselves against a wolf pack. Raj has some existential angst about his compulsion to find fame, and the group gets lost and has to battle witches as well as a tremendous storm. They meet a friend of Raj's father, Harry, who says that the journey to Castle Redstone is horrible and they shouldn't go. Despite this, the group battles on after being attacked by zombies, black roses that make people sleep, and the Wither. Once they get to Castle Redstone, will they find the treasure that they seek? Will there be other adventures for the group, or is Castle Redstone itself the treasure that they hope to find. N.B. I have never played Minecraft.
Strengths: Chadda's The City of the Plague God is probably my favorite of the Rick Riordan Presents books, and his Ash Mistry (2012) series has circulated well with my students. He certainly brings a vast talent for fantasy writing and descriptions of battles to this book, and I appreciated how he even tried to work in Rajah's existential crisis. The journey is a bit different from most fantasy ones, which is great to see (how many more times do we have to travel under the mountains, or spend chapters and chapters going over them?), and I rather liked the ending, although I don't want to spoin it. There are certainly lots of good Minecraft details, and like many of the titles in the series, this feels a bit like the writer was taking notes while watching or playing the game, but I appreciated that there was a little bit more to the story. Minecraft players will certainly like this, but it also might appeal to fantasty fans who aren't as familiar with the game.
Weaknesses: Why was Pal making a table at the inn? What's the deal with Sir Tyrus? Why are there pigs in armor in the Nether? Admittedly, I read very quickly and don't spend a lot of time analyzing details, because my goal is to be somewhat familiar with all the middle grade books ever. I occasionally found myself thinking "Wait. What?" but was unwilling to go back and try to figure out why fish were attacking people. This is where it would probably be helpful to be familiar with the game before reading the books.
What I really think: Another solid addition to the Minecraft series, and I'm glad that there are a wide variety of authors writing these. I will definitely pitch this author's books to children who read Castle Redstone.
Rajah's father was a great explorer, the kind about whom songs are sung and stories written, so he wants to head out on an adventure. His support staff includes Pal and Faith, who join him in his quest to leave the comfort of the Manor. To have a purpose for their mission, they consult the Mapmaker, who encourages them to pursue a trip to Castle Redstone that will result in great fortune and legendary status. They consider this, and in the meantime Raj fights Sir Tyrus over a slight to Raj's father, but his famous sword, Heartbreaker, is atomized into diamond dust for reasons that are unclear. Nevertheless, this motivates him to buy tools and the map from the Mapmaker and take off. They are first sucked into the Nether to obtain some netherite, and once again run into Sir Tyrus but decide to join forces. Pal and Faith are a little unsure about the journey, but they persist despite being attacked by fish on the way to the island where the castle is, having to go through a swamp, and defending themselves against a wolf pack. Raj has some existential angst about his compulsion to find fame, and the group gets lost and has to battle witches as well as a tremendous storm. They meet a friend of Raj's father, Harry, who says that the journey to Castle Redstone is horrible and they shouldn't go. Despite this, the group battles on after being attacked by zombies, black roses that make people sleep, and the Wither. Once they get to Castle Redstone, will they find the treasure that they seek? Will there be other adventures for the group, or is Castle Redstone itself the treasure that they hope to find. N.B. I have never played Minecraft.
Strengths: Chadda's The City of the Plague God is probably my favorite of the Rick Riordan Presents books, and his Ash Mistry (2012) series has circulated well with my students. He certainly brings a vast talent for fantasy writing and descriptions of battles to this book, and I appreciated how he even tried to work in Rajah's existential crisis. The journey is a bit different from most fantasy ones, which is great to see (how many more times do we have to travel under the mountains, or spend chapters and chapters going over them?), and I rather liked the ending, although I don't want to spoin it. There are certainly lots of good Minecraft details, and like many of the titles in the series, this feels a bit like the writer was taking notes while watching or playing the game, but I appreciated that there was a little bit more to the story. Minecraft players will certainly like this, but it also might appeal to fantasty fans who aren't as familiar with the game.
Weaknesses: Why was Pal making a table at the inn? What's the deal with Sir Tyrus? Why are there pigs in armor in the Nether? Admittedly, I read very quickly and don't spend a lot of time analyzing details, because my goal is to be somewhat familiar with all the middle grade books ever. I occasionally found myself thinking "Wait. What?" but was unwilling to go back and try to figure out why fish were attacking people. This is where it would probably be helpful to be familiar with the game before reading the books.
What I really think: Another solid addition to the Minecraft series, and I'm glad that there are a wide variety of authors writing these. I will definitely pitch this author's books to children who read Castle Redstone.
November 5, 2025
I've almost read all the 'real' Minecraft books out there. This story is decent, but nothing really stands out. The book itself is okay. However, the audiobook narrator made some very strange choices with a couple of voices. The way he portrays Rajah is just awful and incredibly annoying. He tries to make him sound like a typical, irritating English noble that you see and hear in movies like Monty Python. Yet, the author clearly intended for Rajah to be an Indian character—his father is called Lord Maharajah, for goodness' sake! While his reading of the other characters is good, it took me a couple of hours to get into the story because of his portrayal of Rajah. This poor performance led me to give the (audio)book only 2 stars.
The story, as I've said multiple times, is decent. However, throughout the whole book, you wonder why the other two characters put up with Rajah's abuse. They should have dumped him into lava at the first opportunity they got. It's also frustrating that, just when you think Rajah is finally going to have a change of heart, he does a complete 180 and reverts back to his irritating self.
In conclusion, it's a decent Minecraft story, and the writer tries something different. But the audiobook version is a tough pill to swallow. It's an okay read for Minecraft fans, but not the best book in the Minecraft novel series.
The story, as I've said multiple times, is decent. However, throughout the whole book, you wonder why the other two characters put up with Rajah's abuse. They should have dumped him into lava at the first opportunity they got. It's also frustrating that, just when you think Rajah is finally going to have a change of heart, he does a complete 180 and reverts back to his irritating self.
In conclusion, it's a decent Minecraft story, and the writer tries something different. But the audiobook version is a tough pill to swallow. It's an okay read for Minecraft fans, but not the best book in the Minecraft novel series.
December 3, 2022
I was thrilled with the story. The character development was great. So much so, that it has me wanting more of this story. It is both a blessing and a curse when you find a story like this. You love that everything plays out well, and that the turmoil you’ve survived reading through the tribulations of the characters is over, but you also want to know what happens after, you want to continue the journey with these characters and enjoy the fruits of their growth with them. Some writers hit this just right, some try and miss the mark, but are great in other areas of their story telling. But this is on the mark, and I appreciated every bit of it.
July 15, 2023
I've read most of the official Minecraft novels to my sons and I think this one was a personal favorite. I really grew to like these characters as they changed and matured. It was very character-driven, but also had some really cool Minecraft gameplay elements that we haven't seen in other novels yet. I would definitely read a sequel to this one, if there is one...
September 19, 2023
Wow, this was a very good read! I didn't really like the beginning because the characters didn't really mix well together--especially when one of them is acting spoiled. But as the story continued, my opinion changed dramatically. I ended up really enjoying this book.
March 18, 2025
AMAZING!!!
August 10, 2025
I just don’t get it. Why at the end did they say “And they never saw Pal again” if they did later on in life? My favorite character was Good Boy 🐕. And I sort of felt like it was more realistic than video game-ish, it wasn’t the worst so far in the Minecraft series but it definitely wasn’t my favorite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2024
it's not that good like i cried at the end but anyone might like maybe even you'll like it to
February 20, 2023
ok, I will warn potential readers… in the beginning of this story, rajah is *really* annoying… but its actually a good thing. because of how annoying he is in the beginning, it shows how much his character grows by the end of the story. actually, the three main characters grow a lot in this story. rajah wants to be a hero, like his father before him. pal is rajah’s servant and only wants for rajah to be happy (even if that means putting up with doing almost everything for rajah or taking the blame for things he didn’t do). faith is really just along for the ride as she just wants an adventure. but, in the end, their character grows and they’re hardly the people they were at the start.
cws: blame shifting, blaming, the wither fight (some of the characters almost die), idolizing of a parent
cws: blame shifting, blaming, the wither fight (some of the characters almost die), idolizing of a parent
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews