Minecraft: The Haven Trials: An Official Minecraft Novel

Ages 10 And Up, Grades 5 And Up

Journey into a lawless land and take its toughest trials in this official Minecraft novel!

All of Cecelia Alao’s friends call her Cece. All one of them. But she and Therese are so close that one friend is all Cece needs. Both at school and in their shared Minecraft world, Cece and Therese are inseparable. Until the night before the first day of school, when Therese sends Cece a message, three words that change everything:

We are moving.

Therese’s new home in the USA is 7,000 miles away from Lagos, where the two best friends grew up. Not only is Cece facing secondary school without her best friend, but she’s losing the world she built with Therese. But Cece still has hope. Maybe she can’t cross the world to get to her friend, but in Minecraft she won’t need to. Therese has invited her to a new server—with new friends from her new home—a place called Haven. All Cece has to do is join and they’ll be reunited. It’s that easy, right?

When she follows the invite, she realizes just how wrong she was. Lost in a chaotic world named Anarchia, Cece learns that the server’s owner, a shadowy figure called the Ocury, has sealed off the peaceful land of Haven behind a twisted initiation ceremony called the Haven Trials.

Three titanic tasks. Five lives to complete them. A host of dangerous mobs and griefing players. If Cece fails, she’ll be banned from the server forever. There’s no way she can do this alone. If she wants to play with Therese again, she’s going to have to find new people she can rely on—both in-game and IRL.

No time to lose. . . . The trials await!

Story Locale:Minecraft world

About the Author

Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction and other speculative works inspired by his West-African origins. His new epic fantasy trilogy, The Nameless Republic, is forthcoming from Orbit, beginning in May 2021 with Son of the Storm. His highly-anticipated debut, the godpunk fantasy novel David Mogo, Godhunter (Abaddon, 2019), won the 2020 Nommo Ilube Award for Best Speculative Novel by an African. His shorter fiction and essays have appeared internationally in periodicals like Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, Fireside, and anthologies like Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, and People of Colour Destroy Science Fiction. He has taught writing at the University of Arizona (where he also earned his MFA in Creative Writing) and spoken at various venues in the US and beyond, including schools, conferences, conventions and other institutions. He tweets at @IAmSuyiDavies and is @suyidavies on Instagram. Learn more at suyidavies.com.

Author Residence: Tuscon, AZ

Author Hometown: Benin City, Nigeria