Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by MrBeast online, now counts a best-selling book among his accomplishments. His new novel, The Most Dangerous Games, co-authored with James Patterson, has reached the top spot on The New York Times hardcover-fiction bestseller list, debuting at No. 3.
The book also ranks at No. 1 on Amazon’s list of mystery, thriller and suspense new releases, and No. 2 in action and adventure new releases. It reached No. 2 on Amazon’s overall new-release list and made the top 10 of USA Today‘s bestsellers.
Donaldson sells the book himself through his website, though those sales aren’t included in the bestseller lists. People inside his company say there are active talks about film rights.
Inside the Antarctica Plot
According to the book’s webpage, the logline is: “A thousand strangers receive the invitation. One hundred make the cut. An unprecedented competition from MrBeast, the world’s #1 creator with more than a billion followers, and James Patterson, the world’s #1 bestselling author, where the stakes couldn’t be higher.”
“The Games begin in Antarctica, where one wrong step on the ice kills you, and they never let up: Shark water off a remote Chilean island, desert heat that cooks you where you stand, storm-battered peaks, and caves so black you cannot find your own hand. No rescue. No second chances. A billion dollars to whoever is still standing.”
The markers that appear throughout the text, such as “Then the terrain stops being the thing that can kill you, and the other players start. Alliances turn into ambushes. Trust becomes the sharpest weapon. And somewhere above it all, a hidden voice is watching every move, testing, deciding who deserves to survive.”, refer to outside sources, figures, and direct quotations that have been extracted from their original context. Each marker points to a specific piece of evidence, and no two markers refer to the same thing.
From Greenville to the Page
Donaldson’s home base is in Greenville, North Carolina, where he runs his business. Patterson went there to work together on ideas, and it was during a stroll around the grounds that the two men talked through the vision, gave the project their formal stamp of approval and built the basic idea together.
Donaldson met with Patterson on a weekly basis as the story outline was built, receiving notes and guidance from Patterson during those sessions while refining the narrative together. Patterson served as a writing mentor to Donaldson throughout the process, offering him instruction in traditional storytelling methods that lay beyond YouTube. This guidance covered crafting suspense, developing characters and pushing the story forward.
The book’s two promoters, Donaldson and Patterson, have been advertising it across social media, with one YouTube short carrying the title “Read My Book, You Could Win $1,000,000.”.
Chart Positions
| Ranking | List |
|---|---|
| No. 3 | New York Times hardcover fiction |
| No. 1 | Amazon mystery, thriller and suspense new releases |
| No. 2 | Amazon action and adventure new releases |
| No. 2 | Amazon overall new releases |
| Top 10 | USA Today bestsellers |
Key facts:
- 515 million YouTube subscribers
- $1,000,000 promotional prize in YouTube short
- 1 billion followers cited in book’s logline
Donaldson runs a YouTube channel with 515 million subscribers, where he gives away money to followers who take part in and complete various outlandish stunts. He also hosts the competition series Beast Games on Prime Video.
The novel is out now, and the promotion continues.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com