May 7, 2012

Series Review: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure



Title:  The Maze Runner
Author:  James Dashner
Length:  374 pages
Publisher:  Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House Inc.)
On-Sale Date:  August 24th 2010
Format:  Paperback

Length:  360 pages
Publisher:  Ember (an imprint of Random House Inc.)
On-Sale Date:  September 13th 2011
Format:  Paperback

Title:  The Death Cure
Length:  324 pages
Publisher:  Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House Inc.)
On-Sale Date:  October 11th, 2011
Format:  Hardcover

Thomas wakes up in a box with no memory of his life.  He guesses that he’s around sixteen, but isn’t sure.  He knows what a car is, but never remembers being in one.

This isn’t simply memory loss.
Thomas and numerous other boys awoke in the exact same way only to be thrust into the Glade.  Every boy has a job in the Glade and life follows its pattern.  Food and supplies arrive in the box once a week and a new Glader shows up once a month.
Until Thomas.
Thomas’ arrival triggers events that the Gladers could not have foreseen.  There’s a new arrival the very next day, and she (yes, I said “she”) falls into a coma for days.
Teresa causes chaos, and it doesn’t help that her and Thomas share a connection neither of them can understand.
The doors to the Glade stop closing at night allowing the Grievers (giant insect robot monster-types) full access to the Gladers.
The time to escape is now.  The Runners need to find a way out of the Maze.  If they can escape what happens next?
Something WICKED is at work here.


The Maze Runner.  The Scorch Trials.  The Death Cure.
These are books that I saw everywhere, (and you might have seen too), and I was interested in reading The Maze Runner for a very long time.  In fact, it sat on my bookshelf for a year, but now I wish I had read it instead of letting all that time pass.
The Maze Runner was a story that I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did.
When I finished reading The Maze Runner I desperately wished that I had the sequel, because I wanted to continue reading immediately.
I had never read a story like this.  There was no book like The Death Cure and I could hardly forget what I felt the moment I read the last words of that story.
You couldn’t wrap your mind around everything that James Dashner threw at you, so you just had to accept what happened (even though you’re screaming “No, no, no”).
Many people would call The Maze Runner, and its series, “boy books”, and they would be right.  There was a male narrator.  There were monsters.  There was death and violence and sometimes I cringed.  However, I couldn’t get enough of this series, (especially The Scorch Trials), and I could not read fast enough.
Every event topped what happened before it.  I didn’t think it could get anymore intense or surprising, but I was wrong every time.  I could not predict one thing.
You thought that Dashner couldn’t possibly have anything worse intended for Thomas, but then yes, something worse was indeed possible.  There were some horrifying parts, but the books would not have been the same without them.
The story was taken to a higher level in each book.  I had no idea what I was getting into, and now that I’ve read through the series, I know that the story was so much bigger than the Maze.
The layout of the story was very well designed.  These books, if done justice, would make incredible movies.
The very end of The Death Cure left me speechless.  James Dashner knew how to create an emotional end.  There were rocks left unturned.  Not every question was answered, and that was for the best (I, for one, don’t think a reader could handle to learn anything else).  The series was intense and fantastic and I will probably never forget The Death Cure.  The story progressed at such a quick pace that you couldn’t catch your breath.  I couldn’t believe what was happening during the entire series, and couldn’t stop reading.
I could not believe this story lived inside someone’s head.
The Maze Runner was intriguing, The Scorch Trials was unbelievable, and The Death Cure made for an unforgettable ending.

This series was addictive and terrifying, and I’m happy to have it on my bookshelves.

Rating:
Premise:  5/5
Plot:  5/5
Writing:  4/5
Characters:  5/5
Overall:  5/5

Disclosure:  I received a finished copy of The Death Cure from the publisher.  This did not influence my review in any way.

9 comments:

  1. i seriously love this series...i would recommend this book to everyone...it has thrilling adventure in it...and for those ones who like romance...there is a twist of it in the books. i always think that a book is incomplete without a little adv. in it....and a twist of love. My favorite part is when Thomas and Teresa kiss..it just makes my heart skip a beat..i love this book because of the details of everything....I LOVE IT!!!!

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  2. I just now finished reading the first book of the series, it only took me a day to read it!!! It was THAT addictive:) Reminds me alot of the Hunger Games trilogy, my absolute favorite series besides Harry Potter, and how other people are watching and testing you at every turn, I was on the edge of my seat/bed at all times:) If you aren't sure about this book just pick it up and try it out, it is soooo good that you won't want to put it down!

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  3. The book covers ( british ones) are amazing, the quotes are well-thought and hilarious and the book itself was phenominal. This book was a page turner and is recommended for anyone ( though it does contain gore:0) THIS BOOK IS SPECTACULAR.( sorry for bad english).Gone series is 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% better.

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  4. I just finished The Kill Order and, if you don't know, it's an official prequel and it's AMAZING! I got it for a camping trip and finished it before the trip was over in two days. I haven't stopped thinking about the ending and about how amazingly he wrote the characters changing. The ending really is one of the best I've read in awhile and really breaks barriers in the world of teen fiction.

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  5. I seriously loved this book series. However I do feel like the last two books were totally different from the first. That is okay though because they all had little parts in them that were better than the other books. My favorite character was Newt! I am not even sure why I just loved his character and how he really was the "glue" of the Gladers. He kept order and he never showed how he was really feeling in the last book til the very end. I did want more answers at the end of the books but in a way I am glad we didn't get them all. I like having something to think about after the book series is over, it lets me use my imagine as to what I would like to happen. Overall I enjoyed the books a lot!!

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  6. I don't know if anyone else has noticed but most of the girls that have commented have said they dislike Theresa and that they like Brenda and Thomas being together.
    The boys reviewing it tend to like Theresa and not Brenda.
    I agree with boys

    I thought Thomas had a grudge against Theresa for too long. But that's the story. So I rate it 5/5 because it was a great read even if I didn't like the ending.

    Well done James Dashner.

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  7. Reading the series... it kind of... disturbed me... not in a good way... and I seriously didn't like the main male protagonist... got so annoyed with several aspects and themes of the series, I wrote a four page review TO MYSELF - and just wondering if I should post it somewhere...

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  8. I don't exactly know how I liked the ending... I didn't like what happened with Teresa I would have rather had Brenda die... I never liked her I wish Teresa and Thomas had ended up together and I was surprised when they didn't because I thought that when he told Brenda "You're not her" was foreshadowing it a little bit I don't really like how we didn't know what else happened with WICKED and the rest of the world

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  9. What is the youngest age you would recommend this series for? My 10 year old grandson wants to read it. He reads above his age

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