This review was written by my 16-year-old nephew and is published mostly unedited. Thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy.

Minecraft is a sandbox game where everything from space to your imagination is infinite. Since its release in 2009 its community has grown exponentially, going as far as producing a franchise of “handbooks”.

In the Combat handbook, Mojang takes you through the basics of fighting off all of the scary creatures in the night, and provides tips on how to defeat them more effectively to ensure your own survival.

From the undead Zombies and Skeletons to the massive Ender Dragon and the hellish Wither. Also included are fighting tips against other players on public servers or local games, as well as contraptions created by build team FyreUK to fend off raiders and protect your hard-earned treasures. The handbook also briefly assists you in elements like crafting and enchanting, and provides a useful guide to achievements and other miscellaneous information.

FyreUK gives detailed steps on how to replicate their creations so you don’t have to struggle and figure it out for yourself. The creations range from a secure and impressive-looking base to keep away the theives who try to raid your chests, to an intricate TNT Cannon to decimate your enemies from afar, and even a few traps so you can be a little mischevious yourself!

One important factor is knowing what hurts your enemies the most. The book gives information on every single mob and includes their weaknesses, health levels and dos and don’ts for when facing said mob.

I personally recommend this book to new players who haven’t grasped the fighting system yet and has had more than one unpleasant encounter with a Creeper or an Enderman. As for numerical ratings, I’d give it a 9.5/10. The only reason it is not a perfect 10, is because of a little conflict with updates and trips to the bookstore.