The Withers Awaken

Krael, the Wither King, has been trapped deep underground, ending his reign of terror, and all the NPCs of the Far Lands have all put away their swords in peace except Watcher; the young archer still suspects Krael has bigger plans. He’s right. In the darkness of the Cave of Slumber, Krael awakens the imprisoned wither horde, and with the help of creepers and endermen, the wither army is released from their rocky jail. They spread across the Far Lands, searching for the ancient Vault of Weapons which will make the army of withers indestructible. But one man alone holds the secret to the Vault’s whereabouts: the Far Land’s last living NPC wizard. Watcher and his friends must race to find the wizard before Krael and his army of monsters. But if they fail, a wave of destruction, led by the King of the Withers, will sweep across the landscape, destroying everything—and everyone—they know.

Life is peaceful and calm in the Far Lands, a mysterious area on the edge of the Overworld in Minecraft. The monster warlords have been destroyed, and the NPC villages are flourishing. But an old warning still echoes in the young NPC Watcher’s mind: “Krael, the new Wither King, will bring back his army, as the monster warlocks predicted, and take their revenge on all of the Far Lands.” Watcher is right to be suspicious. Krael, the self-proclaimed King of the Withers, and wearer of the Crown of Skulls, has a plan to bring back the vast army of withers that lie imprisoned in the ancient Cave of Slumber. With the help of a dozen ancient zombie warriors rescued by Krael, they seek to release the withers from their slumber and wreak havoc on the Far Lands. And the only thing in his path is a skinny little archer named Watcher.

In the concluding third book of a new Minecraft adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Mark Cheverton, Watcher fights the wither king’s army to save Minecraft itself from destruction. With Krael, the king of the withers, trapped in another world, the young wizard Watcher thinks the Great War is finally over. . . . but he’s wrong. Intent on destroying all villagers, Krael has found a way to bring his army to the Far Lands. Now, with Krael’s vicious horde chasing them, Watcher and his friends must save as many villages as possible before making their final stand. But, outnumbered by monsters stronger than they’ve ever seen, it seems hopeless. It will be left to Watcher to save them, and, with a secret weapon of mass destruction, the young wizard will be forced to make a decision: Should he destroy millions of monsters, or should the villagers stand and fight, knowing they’ll die? What Watcher doesn’t know is that a secret built into the ancient weapon could change the course of the war . . . for better or for worse.

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s latest New York Times bestseller is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experiences of such figures as Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives. Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

The Far Lands is a hidden area located at the very edge of Minecraft’s outer borders, unknown to normal users. There, the life of a young boy named Watcher is suddenly turned upside down when his village is destroyed by the vile zombie warlord Tu-Kar. Watcher and a handful of his friends vow to save those who were captured during the devastating battle and bring the zombie leader to justice. But along the way, they’ll uncover a terrifying secret about the monsters in the Far Lands, one that could change Minecraft forever.The Rise of the Warlords series is an interactive Minecraft adventure like never before, giving fans the option to play along in Minecraft as they read on custom Far Lands worlds exclusively designed by bestselling author Mark Cheverton.

A New York Times Best Seller!The world of Minecraft comes to life in this thrilling adventure for boys and girls! Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, but above all else, he loved to grief—to intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users. When one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure inside a digital world. What will happen if he’s killed? Will he respawn? Die in real life? Stuck in the game, Gameknight discovers Minecraft’s best-kept secret, something not even the game’s programmers realize: the creatures within the game are alive! He will have to stay one step ahead of the sharp claws of zombies and pointed fangs of spiders, but he’ll also have to learn to make friends and work as a team if he has any chance of surviving the Minecraft war his arrival has started. This action-packed tribute to the worldwide computer game phenomenon is a runaway publishing smash and the perfect companion for Minecraft fans of all ages.

The action-packed Minecraft follow-up to Invasion of the Overworld! Gameknight999, a real-life Minecraft user trapped inside the game he loves to play, and his friend Crafter have transported to a new server. Malacoda is the King of the Nether, a terrible ghast that wants to destroy all of Minecraft with his massive army of blazes, magma cubes, zombie pigmen, and wither skeletons. Knowing the lives of all those within Minecraft—as well as those in the physical world—are depending on them, Gameknight and Crafter will need to search the land to recruit an NPC army. But the battles Gameknight’s already fought have left him doubting his abilities, and he’ll need to dig deep to find his courage if he’s to have any shot at victory. Epic battles, terrible monsters, heartwarming friendships, and spine-tingling suspense . . . Battle for the Nether takes the adventures of Gameknight999 to the next level in a nonstop roller-coaster ride of adventure. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. In particular, this adventure series is created especially for readers who love the fight of good vs. evil, magical academies like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter saga, and games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Pokemon GO. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Gameknight999 is hot on the trail of Entity303, who has kidnapped Weaver. He follows the mysterious villain into the strange mod world of Mystcraft, with green skies, trees with blue leaves, floating islands, and a blood-red moon. Entity303 makes his way to a tower made of sparkling blue crystals, where he steals a linked book from the User-that-is-not-a-user, disappearing into one of Mystcraft’s many ages. Without the linked book, Gameknight has no way of ever leaving Mystcraft and returning to the Overworld. And besides, he can’t leave with rescuing Weaver and sending him back to the past, which would repair Minecraft’s timeline, making things right in the game once again. The User-that-is-not-a-user has no choice but to visit each age, in hopes of finding the right one. But in the process he’ll discover an unsettling truth about Entity303, and the deadly monsters the villain has left in wait for him. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.