Science Fiction & Fantasy
![Delilah S. Dawson - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B008MLEMCQ.jpg)
Minecraft: Mob Squad: Never Say Nether: An Official Minecraft Novel
The Mob Squad enters a whole new dimension of danger in this official Minecraft novel!
Things are changing in the town of Cornucopia. The mighty wall that kept the townsfolk sealed off from the outside world is wide open, and the world beyond beckons with the promise of new adventures. The Mob Squad were heroes not so long ago, but the adults are still in charge, and to them, even the most heroic kid is still just a kid.
The Mob Squad's leader, Mal, is still milking cows and dreaming of the next adventure. Their sharp-eyed archer Lenna is learning everything she can about the Overworld, but the horizon is still far away. Fearless warrior Chug is running a store with his brother, but his reputation for breaking stuff has some folks still calling him a bad apple. And his inventive brother, Tok . . .
Wait, where did Tok go?!
When the fourth member of the Mob Squad vanishes in the night, along with most of the town's potions, Cornucopia's elders think they're dealing with a runaway thief. But Tok wouldn't just leave without saying anything. And there's no way he's a potion thief! There's something far more dangerous going on here. And if they're going to stop it, Mal, Lenna, and Chug are on their own. Except, that is, for the one Cornucopian they least want to bring along: Jarro, the worst bully in the Overworld.
But if they're going to find Tok, they can't just be three best friends and one total jerk. They're going to need to learn how to work together all over again-because this is an adventure that can be accomplished only by the Mob Squad!
Things are changing in the town of Cornucopia. The mighty wall that kept the townsfolk sealed off from the outside world is wide open, and the world beyond beckons with the promise of new adventures. The Mob Squad were heroes not so long ago, but the adults are still in charge, and to them, even the most heroic kid is still just a kid.
The Mob Squad's leader, Mal, is still milking cows and dreaming of the next adventure. Their sharp-eyed archer Lenna is learning everything she can about the Overworld, but the horizon is still far away. Fearless warrior Chug is running a store with his brother, but his reputation for breaking stuff has some folks still calling him a bad apple. And his inventive brother, Tok . . .
Wait, where did Tok go?!
When the fourth member of the Mob Squad vanishes in the night, along with most of the town's potions, Cornucopia's elders think they're dealing with a runaway thief. But Tok wouldn't just leave without saying anything. And there's no way he's a potion thief! There's something far more dangerous going on here. And if they're going to stop it, Mal, Lenna, and Chug are on their own. Except, that is, for the one Cornucopian they least want to bring along: Jarro, the worst bully in the Overworld.
But if they're going to find Tok, they can't just be three best friends and one total jerk. They're going to need to learn how to work together all over again-because this is an adventure that can be accomplished only by the Mob Squad!
Short Excerpt Teaser
1
CHUG
So here's what you need to know: My name is Chug, I'm the greatest fighter around, and I have the four best friends in all the Overworld, one of whom is a pig. We live in a town called Cornucopia, which used to be entirely contained within tall, impenetrable walls. Our ancestors, the eight Founders, built it all by hand long ago to keep us safe, and our Elders have always been strict about the rules the Founders left behind.
Maybe too strict.
For generations, no one knew what was outside the wall-except Nan, the oldest person in town, and she never told anyone anything because she's a feisty old bird. But then a vex started poisoning our crops, and the town Elders were going to send all the families away forever, so my friends and I had to go on an adventure to a woodland mansion to save our town from a bunch of illagers and this beet farmer dressed as a witch, and these brigands stole our llamas and threatened to throw us into a river, and-
Yeah, that's the past, and the past is boring. All you need to know is that now our town has opened up the wall, and life is different-better. My brother Tok and I live outside the wall in New Cornucopia, where he uses his big ol' brain to craft items, and I use my big ol' personality to sell them in our shop. It's called the Stack Shack. I wanted to call it ChugTokMart, but Tok said it sounded like I was choking on an apple, and he was probably right.
It's morning, and my brother's bed is empty. Tok is always awake before me. He says the early morning quiet helps him concentrate as he dreams up new recipes for tools and tries to master the art of brewing potions. I think he wants privacy so if he sets something on fire again, I won't freak out. He makes lots of great things, but he also makes lots of huge messes-and loud, echoing booms. As I lie in my bed, curling and uncurling my toes against the blankets and thinking about breakfast, I strain my senses to figure out what Tok is working on. Bad smells usually indicate potions, while hammering suggests tools or armor and-
Boom!
I leap out of bed and run for Tok's workshop. When I throw open the door, I'm relieved to see he's been working outside in the yard and has therefore not damaged the roof. Again.
"Gunpowder?" I ask.
"Gunpowder," he confirms, looking a little dazed.
"One of your eyebrows is sizzling, bro."
He swipes at it and shakes his head. Gray powder surrounds his shoulder-length black hair like a cloud.
"I'm getting closer," he says. "I just need to tweak the recipe."
The problem is, he doesn't have any recipes. Elder Gabe is the only person in town who can make potions, and he won't tell Tok anything. I step closer and look at his brewing stand, but whatever ingredients he was working with are now various blackened stains. "Or you could make some nice, safe, unexploding pickaxes today. Or armor. People love your armor."
Tok's cats, Candor and Clarity, meow plaintively from around the corner, where they've wisely been hiding. He kneels and holds out his arms, and they run up to rub worriedly against him. "We have enough armor. The shop is fully stocked. But these potions-I'm so close! Elder Gabe won't share his recipes or give me any ingredients, and I've pored through all Nan's books, but there's just so much I don't know. I've studied all the potions I can find, and I keep trying random concoctions, but it's like I'm missing some vital ingredients, and just . . . ugh!"
"You're obsessed, bro," I say softly, patting him on the shoulder.
He's always been like this. Before he learned about crafting tables from Nan, he was constantly trying to construct machines to save time on chores-to weed our parents' pumpkin patches or pluck the eggs from underneath our fussier hens-but something always went wrong. I guess now that he's mastered crafting, his brain still needs something tough to chew on.
He stands up and gazes toward the mountains in the distance. "I wish we could go back to the woodland mansion library, see what's on the shelves. I bet there are loads of books on potions."
"The Elders ordered us not to go back to the woodland mansion," I remind him. "They agreed to open the walls, they understand that people need freedom to come and go, but-"
"We're still kids," he finishes for me. "And it's not safe."
I nod. It's kind of funny-I used to be the one who got us in trouble, whether I was mouthing off when I shouldn't or getting in fights with this bully named Jarro and his toadies downtown. But now I've settled down, and Tok is the wild card, because once he's at his crafting table or brewing stand, it's like he goes into a trance and doesn't think about safety-or...
CHUG
So here's what you need to know: My name is Chug, I'm the greatest fighter around, and I have the four best friends in all the Overworld, one of whom is a pig. We live in a town called Cornucopia, which used to be entirely contained within tall, impenetrable walls. Our ancestors, the eight Founders, built it all by hand long ago to keep us safe, and our Elders have always been strict about the rules the Founders left behind.
Maybe too strict.
For generations, no one knew what was outside the wall-except Nan, the oldest person in town, and she never told anyone anything because she's a feisty old bird. But then a vex started poisoning our crops, and the town Elders were going to send all the families away forever, so my friends and I had to go on an adventure to a woodland mansion to save our town from a bunch of illagers and this beet farmer dressed as a witch, and these brigands stole our llamas and threatened to throw us into a river, and-
Yeah, that's the past, and the past is boring. All you need to know is that now our town has opened up the wall, and life is different-better. My brother Tok and I live outside the wall in New Cornucopia, where he uses his big ol' brain to craft items, and I use my big ol' personality to sell them in our shop. It's called the Stack Shack. I wanted to call it ChugTokMart, but Tok said it sounded like I was choking on an apple, and he was probably right.
It's morning, and my brother's bed is empty. Tok is always awake before me. He says the early morning quiet helps him concentrate as he dreams up new recipes for tools and tries to master the art of brewing potions. I think he wants privacy so if he sets something on fire again, I won't freak out. He makes lots of great things, but he also makes lots of huge messes-and loud, echoing booms. As I lie in my bed, curling and uncurling my toes against the blankets and thinking about breakfast, I strain my senses to figure out what Tok is working on. Bad smells usually indicate potions, while hammering suggests tools or armor and-
Boom!
I leap out of bed and run for Tok's workshop. When I throw open the door, I'm relieved to see he's been working outside in the yard and has therefore not damaged the roof. Again.
"Gunpowder?" I ask.
"Gunpowder," he confirms, looking a little dazed.
"One of your eyebrows is sizzling, bro."
He swipes at it and shakes his head. Gray powder surrounds his shoulder-length black hair like a cloud.
"I'm getting closer," he says. "I just need to tweak the recipe."
The problem is, he doesn't have any recipes. Elder Gabe is the only person in town who can make potions, and he won't tell Tok anything. I step closer and look at his brewing stand, but whatever ingredients he was working with are now various blackened stains. "Or you could make some nice, safe, unexploding pickaxes today. Or armor. People love your armor."
Tok's cats, Candor and Clarity, meow plaintively from around the corner, where they've wisely been hiding. He kneels and holds out his arms, and they run up to rub worriedly against him. "We have enough armor. The shop is fully stocked. But these potions-I'm so close! Elder Gabe won't share his recipes or give me any ingredients, and I've pored through all Nan's books, but there's just so much I don't know. I've studied all the potions I can find, and I keep trying random concoctions, but it's like I'm missing some vital ingredients, and just . . . ugh!"
"You're obsessed, bro," I say softly, patting him on the shoulder.
He's always been like this. Before he learned about crafting tables from Nan, he was constantly trying to construct machines to save time on chores-to weed our parents' pumpkin patches or pluck the eggs from underneath our fussier hens-but something always went wrong. I guess now that he's mastered crafting, his brain still needs something tough to chew on.
He stands up and gazes toward the mountains in the distance. "I wish we could go back to the woodland mansion library, see what's on the shelves. I bet there are loads of books on potions."
"The Elders ordered us not to go back to the woodland mansion," I remind him. "They agreed to open the walls, they understand that people need freedom to come and go, but-"
"We're still kids," he finishes for me. "And it's not safe."
I nod. It's kind of funny-I used to be the one who got us in trouble, whether I was mouthing off when I shouldn't or getting in fights with this bully named Jarro and his toadies downtown. But now I've settled down, and Tok is the wild card, because once he's at his crafting table or brewing stand, it's like he goes into a trance and doesn't think about safety-or...
