Gameknight999

The series describes adventures of the protagonist with the user name "Gameknight999", who is initially a griefer and finds himself teleported by one of his father's inventions into the world of the Minecraft video game. Gameknight discovers that the creatures in the game are alive and it isn't a game to them. Gameknight experiences real-life adventures and actual danger with life-or-death consequences while stuck in the Minecraft digital universe.

Most of the novels feature Herobrine as the main antagonist, who is an urban legend and creepypasta that originated as a hoax propagated by an anonymous post on the English-language imageboard website 4chan.{{Cite news|last=Morton|first=Lauren|date=February 1, 2021|title=The story of Herobrine, Minecraft's decade-old creepypasta mystery|work=PC Gamer|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-herobrine-story-creepypasta-explained/|access-date=September 26, 2021|archive-date=September 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918181415/https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-herobrine-story-creepypasta-explained/|url-status=live}} Within the series, he is presented as a sentient computer virus intending on escaping the confines of Minecraft alongside an army of monsters from the game, with the intent to wipe out humanity.

Cheverton says he originally wrote the first book of the Gameknight999 series, Invasion of the Overworld, to teach his son about cyberbullying.{{cite news |author=Ginger Brashinger |date=11 Feb 2016 |title=Manhattan 5th grader gets author's attention |pages=4–6 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104468008/facts-about-mark-cheverton/ |access-date=26 June 2022 |archive-date=26 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626225322/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104468008/facts-about-mark-cheverton/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=3 November 2015 |title=Minecraft, Cyberbullying, and Encouraging Kids to Create: An Interview with Author Mark Cheverton |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/minecraft-cyberbullying-and-encouraging-kids-to-create-an-interview-with-author-mark-cheverton/ |publisher=Barnes & Noble |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605034555/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/minecraft-cyberbullying-and-encouraging-kids-to-create-an-interview-with-author-mark-cheverton/ |url-status=live }}

Along with Cheverton's other books, the GameKnight999 series is published by Skyhorse Publishing under the Sky Pony Press imprint, and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The publisher distributes all of Cheverton's novels as well as four box sets.{{cite web |title=Books by Mark Cheverton |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Mark-Cheverton/154139922 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |access-date=2021-06-05 |archive-date=2021-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605033512/https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Mark-Cheverton/154139922 |url-status=live }}

From 2014 to 2017, a total of six trilogies featuring Gameknight999 were published.

• Minecraft series #1 – Gameknight999
• Invasion of the Overworld
• Battle for the Nether (Publishers Weekly bestseller){{cite magazine |title=Bestsellers - Children's Frontlist Fiction |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/pw-bestsellers/kidsfiction/20141117.html |magazine=Publishers Weekly |date=17 November 2014 |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605040520/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/pw-bestsellers/kidsfiction/20141117.html |url-status=live }}
• Confronting the Dragon
• Minecraft Series #2 – Mystery of Herobrine
• Trouble in Zombie-Town
• The Jungle Temple Oracle
• Last Stand on the Ocean Shore
• Minecraft Series #3 – Herobrine Reborn
• Saving Crafter
• Destruction of the Overworld
• Gameknight999 vs Herobrine
• Minecraft Series #4 – Herobrine’s Revenge
• Phantom Virus
• Overworld in Flames
• System Overload
• Minecraft Series #5 – Birth of Herobrine
• The Great Zombie Invasion
• Attack of the Shadow-Crafters
• Herobrine's War
• Minecraft Series #6 – Mystery of Entity303
• Terrors of the Forest
• Monsters in the Mist
• Mission to the Moon

This Gameknight999 series (in particular the second novel Battle for the Nether) was listed in the Publishers Weekly bestseller list in November 2014. Battle for the Nether was listed for one week in the New York Times children's series bestseller list in February 2015.{{cite news |title=Bestsellers - Children's Series |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 February 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2015/02/08/series-books/ |access-date=6 July 2022 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706162325/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2015/02/08/series-books/ |url-status=live }} According to Cheverton's website, the series has been published in 32 countries and translated into 22 languages.{{cite web |author=Mark Cheverton |title=About Me |url=http://markcheverton.com/why-i-write/ |website=markcheverton.com |access-date=2021-06-05 |archive-date=2021-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605033513/http://markcheverton.com/why-i-write/ |url-status=live }}

In reviewing the first novel, online magazine Brutal Gamer wrote that "the story stays pretty true to the Minecraft experience. ... Whether you're trying to pry your Minecraft addict away from the screen for a little while, or just looking for an interesting new choice for summer reading time, Invasion of the Overworld is sure to be a hit with the 8–11-year-old set."{{cite web |author=Amy |title=Invasion of the Overworld (book) review |url=https://brutalgamer.com/2015/06/12/invasion-of-the-overworld-book-review/ |publisher=Brutal Gamer |date=12 June 2015 |access-date=26 June 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163133/https://brutalgamer.com/2015/06/12/invasion-of-the-overworld-book-review/ |url-status=live }}

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{{Minecraft}}

Category:Book series introduced in 2013

Category:Series of children's books

Category:Fan fiction works

Category:Characters in children's literature

Category:Minecraft in popular culture

Category:American fantasy novel series

Category:Children's books about bullying

Category:Novels about cyberbullying

Category:Novels based on video games