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