Minecraft: The Island: Chapters 6–9

by Max Brooks
Based on the video game, this first book of the series features an anonymous narrator who leaves a book behind to help others who also find themselves on an island where survival depends on figuring out how to use blocks.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Introduction–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapter 18–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. delectable
    extremely pleasing to the sense of taste
    The chicken was delectable, but it wasn’t completely filling.
  2. component
    one of the individual parts making up a larger entity
    It was one of the most vital components of human civilization and I’d had no idea how it was made.
  3. dolt
    a person who is not very bright
    Not until I pulled the smooth, clear block from the furnace did I realize that heating sand got you glass.
    “Dolt,” I murmured, punching out a hole in the wall and replacing it with the transparent cube.
  4. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    I placed another falling block, then another, and another. The spider hissed angrily, pinned under more and more debris.
  5. funk
    a state of nervous depression
    What I really needed was to snap out of my funk and remember the mantra about panic drowning thought, as well as a new one that applies to all the others: It’s not wisdom that counts, but wisdom under pressure.
  6. stoke
    (of a fire) stir up or tend
    Stoking the furnace’s bottom slot, I rushed to pick more cobblestone for the top.
  7. wane
    become smaller
    In went the shovel, then the hoe, and finally the axe, all fed to the waning flames and my ever-growing mania.
  8. cudgel
    a club that is used as a weapon
    I tried, again, to lean the coal-tipped cudgel against the furnace, and this time I counted a full sixty seconds.
  9. incandescence
    light from heat
    The moment I set the torch down next to the flickering firebox, it sparked into brilliant incandescence.
  10. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I opened the door nervously, tried to look in all directions, then took a tentative step outside.
  11. hostile
    characterized by enmity or ill will
    Clearly it saw me, so why wasn’t it attacking?
    Did the light blind it, or was it something to do with the day itself? Were spiders only hostile at night?
  12. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    I limped west along the southern shoreline, looking for shellfish or even seaweed. The beach was completely barren.
  13. oblige
    provide a service or favor for someone
    I even tried nibbling a few of the red and yellow flowers growing at the edge of the woods. Not only did they not oblige, but holding them in my left hand gave me the option of turning them into useless dye.
  14. bovine
    of or relating to or belonging to cattle
    “Moo?” asked my bovine foil.
  15. pontificate
    talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner
    “Isn’t that what gets people through life back in my world?” I asked. “They get up every day and already know how they’re going to face that day. That’s what I need.”
    As the cow took a quick grass break, I kept pontificating.
  16. amble
    walk leisurely
    “Baa,” said the white sheep, ambling over to us.
  17. dub
    give a nickname to
    This “way” guided my process in the creation of something I would soon dub my “observation room.”
  18. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    One second they weren’t there, then the next, PLING! Okay, maybe I added the PLING! for dramatic effect, but you get it, right? They just materialized, and they didn’t do it one at a time.
  19. skulk
    move stealthily
    The undead brute skulked slowly from one end of the window to the other, never taking its black eyes off me.
  20. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    “You gonna attack or what?”
    Fittingly, I got a less than eloquent “Grrruuugggh.”
  21. arthropod
    invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body
    Several of the spiders came skittering toward me, their eyes sending chills down my spine. One of the arthropods just sat there looking at me while another scuffled right over my window and up the hill.
  22. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    I got my answer a second later when I noticed that the skeleton had something in his hand: a curved stick, or collection of sticks, tied together on either end by a taut string.
  23. bulbous
    rounded and bulging
    I could see something hovering behind its bulbous body.
  24. shaft
    a long rod or pole, especially the body of a weapon
    Not a bow, but the next best thing. The shaft was wood—oak or birch I couldn’t tell—and the sharp, triangular tip looked a lot like flint.
  25. blunder
    an embarrassing mistake
    I’ve broken through to the sea, I thought, shaking my head at the blunder.
  26. gritty
    composed of or covered with small particles
    I was drowning. Not in water, but in this hard, gritty stuff that scratched and crackled as I tried to struggle free.
  27. confines
    a bounded scope
    I don’t think I was claustrophobic at this point, but digging through these narrow confines of rock, with barely enough room above my head and only one torch that I had to keep hopping painfully back up my makeshift staircase to get, well, let’s just say it wasn’t my most pleasant experience.
  28. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    I don’t think I was claustrophobic at this point, but digging through these narrow confines of rock, with barely enough room above my head and only one torch that I had to keep hopping painfully back up my makeshift staircase to get, well, let’s just say it wasn’t my most pleasant experience.
  29. conceive
    have the idea for
    For now, just know that I wasn’t using my noggin the way I should have, and therefore all I could conceive of was an iron version of my axe.
  30. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    I realized how weak and listless I felt. Not tired, just lead bones and concrete muscles.
  31. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Instead, my scared, starving, screwed-up brain devised the worst of all possible plans.
  32. torrent
    an overwhelming number or amount
    “Right back where I started,” I whispered at the seeds. Then, in a mounting torrent of rage, erupted, “Right back where I started!”
  33. digest
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    Trying to remain calm and digest this new lesson—the only thing I could digest—I began replanting my seeds.
  34. stave off
    prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
    True, I’d never been thirsty, and true, water alone wouldn’t stave off malnutrition, but at least a full belly might make me feel a little better.
  35. impeccable
    without error or flaw
    “Can I drink anything else?” I asked the now empty bucket, and with impeccable timing, I heard a distant “moo.”
  36. terse
    brief and to the point
    However, a quick, terse “moo!” reminded me that the complexity of tasks in that other world didn’t apply here.
  37. frothy
    emitting or filled with bubbles
    “I’ll be as gentle as I…” I started to explain, but before the thought was finished, the pail filled with creamy, frothy liquid.
  38. incessantly
    without interruption
    “My last chance,” I babbled incessantly, “last chance, last chance.”
  39. fetid
    offensively malodorous
    The spoiled flesh wouldn’t cook. The furnace didn’t want it any more than I did.
    “Moo,” insisted the cow, as I held the fetid hunk to my nose.
  40. carrion
    the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food
    “All right!” I snapped, and popped the vile piece of carrion into my mouth.
Created on Sat Aug 24 09:41:30 EDT 2024 (updated Sun Aug 25 13:11:43 EDT 2024)

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