REVIEW: The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure

TITLE: The Death Cure

AUTHOR: James Dashner

GENRE: YA, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic,

SERIES: Book #3 of the Maze Runner Trilogy

WHERE I GOT IT: Borrowed from the library

READ FROM: March 03 to 05, 2013

note: I try my hardest to give a spoiler free reviews but sometimes when talking about a book it is hard to keep it that way. When that is the case I like to warn readers that my review will give things away. This review might have some things that could spoil parts of the story for you. So read with caution.

BLURB: They cracked the secret of the maze and crossed the scorch. Now WICKED has one more task for them and that is to finish the blueprint for the cure. Just one thing, Thomas knows that he can't trust them to tell the truth.

WHAT I HATED: I was SO disappointed with this book. I loved the first one and thought the second one was okay but I had really high hopes for this one. I was totally disappointed. I started skimming parts near the end because I just wanted it to be done!

I felt that parts of the book really seemed to drag. This was probably due to the fact that once they made it to their next destination something happened that stalled them for awhile. Then once they finally started moving to the next point they were stalled again. I just wanted them to get to the end point so I could get some answers. It's almost like in a suspense movie. The person is running away and getting so close to the safe spot, that your sitting on the edge of your seat biting your nails hoping they make it but knowing there is the possibility that the won't. .

I was really hoping that Thomas would get his memory back. As bad as it sounds I was practically cheering when WICKED was going to force him to go through with the procedure because I wanted some concrete answers. On the other hand I can understand why Thomas wouldn't want to remember anything but since he was one of the most mysterious characters I felt like he should have anyways. But once it seemed like that wasn't going to happen I expected maybe learning something from Teresa but she was barely even in the book! 

CHARACTERS: I feel that Teresa and Thomas had so much potential to make the story really interesting considering we get snippets of how they were involved with WICKED from a young age, how they could communicate mentally with each other and how they had a big part in the development of the maze. I really wish that Dashner would have chosen to let us in on a bit more. The whole thing is shrouded in so much mystery that we are left to make up our own minds and to be honest I really don't like that. There is just to much left unanswered for my liking.

While I was interested in Teresa, I really hated Brenda. The only point I saw for her being there was to make Thomas continually debate about who he should be with. It got annoying after awhile. Sometimes love triangles can be interesting, this one definitely was not. Plus was she a WICKED spawn or was she really on Thomas's side and in love with him? It doesn't seem like it could be both since Wicked really doesn't seem to be “good”?

ANOTHER THING I HATED:  I also was so disappointed with the letter Newt gave Thomas to read at the right “moment”. I was willing Thomas to read that note at least a half a dozen times and when he finally did I had to reread to make sure I read it right. I was thinking it was going to be something profound, something moving, something that made me think. Instead it was 'if your my friend, kill me when I get past the gone”. WHAT!?!?! Why couldn't he have just pulled Thomas aside to ask him that and make him promise then? I mean come on Newt! You can't tell him he will “know” when the time to read it is and when he doesn't, get all mad at him because he let you down! Seriously. If it was that important to you that he kill you right after you go crazy you should have taken him aside and made sure he understood! Not leave it up to a letter you wrote! I get maybe that would have been a hard conversation but still at least he would have known your wishes. Considering the world that they are living in there are a million possibilities why Thomas wouldn't read the note at the 'right time'! I felt sooo cheated that there was all this suspense leading up to reading that note and that was all we got.

PLOT: I really did believe that WICKED was close to a cure. I really, really, really did. Even though the explanation on how they were going to reach that really didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. So I was hopeful when Thomas went back.

Then rat man said this: “Thomas we need your brain” I knew at that point (and was slightly disappointed because the story was totally going in a direction I didn't expect) that rat man, and quite possible all of WICKED were all way past the gone and had been for a really long time. UGH!

Then Teresa DIES! WHAT? But to be honest, while it shocked me I found I really didn't care. She was barely in the books anyways so I was not attached to her at all. I was sort of appalled that Thomas basically was like 'meh that sucks.' 

WHAT I LIKED: I actually found that their style of swearing/slang humorous for some reason. “Those Cranks are way past the Gone.” I have a feeling I might be saying 'what the clunk' a lot or thinking people are being real 'slintheads' for awhile.

THE ENDING: While there was an ending of sorts, I was left with so many more questions. Like what was the extent of Thomas and Teresa's part in building the trials? Why were they able to communicate telepathically to each other? How did they learn that? Why can't everyone do that? Who is Chancellor Paige? Why didn't we learn about her sooner? How did they think this research was going to help them find a cure? Why did they find everything so necessary? Why didn't WICKED hire more munies to oversee their research? How did WICKED think it was going to solve the flare infection? Why didn't WICKED send immunes to this magical start over place before they discovered failure!? Was WICKED really good? Sigh, I could go on.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I have to give Dashner a high five for being very creative in this trilogy. He did create an interesting world, even if he left us with a million more questions then we started with. I guess I will have to use my imagination as to what happened to the ones that were sent to start over, even though I don't want to. I just really wish that I wasn't given such a free rein to come up with my own conclusions. I may have ranted a lot with this book but it really did make me think a lot about the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE TRILOGY: As a whole I really loved this series, I think maybe to go on as far as to say, one of my favourites even though I didn't like book 2 and 3 nearly as much as the 1^st one.   I'm actually pretty excited to see that the first one is being made into a movie. Should be interesting to see when it comes out. 

My final thoughts on the trilogy is this: is WICKED really good? I can't really decide. I think their quest to find a cure was a good thing but I think they way they went about it was bad. Who knows maybe they were already starting to go past the Gone when they decided the trials were the only way to go. I guess we will never know. Your thoughts?

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

TITLE: The Scorch Trials

AUTHOR: James Dashner

PUBLISHED: October 2010

GENRE: YA, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic,

SERIES: Book #2 of the Maze Runner Trilogy

WHERE I GOT IT: ebook borrowed from the library

READ FROM: February 28^th to March 2^nd 2013

NOTE: I try my hardest to give a spoiler free reviews but sometimes when talking about a book it is hard to keep it that way. When that is the case I like to warn readers that my review will give things away. This review might have some things that could spoil parts of the story for you. So read with caution or skip down to my final thoughts on the book.

ABOUT BLURB: Solving the riddle of the maze was supposed to be the end but instead the Gladers find that WICKED is not done with them yet and has given them the task of crossing the scorch, the most burned out and dangerous section in the world, and get to a safe haven in two weeks time. It's not as easy as it sounds since the Cranks are at every turn and WICKED is up to their old tricks again, throwing variables at them that not even Thomas would have expected. Will they finally find answers and a cure in the safe haven?

WHAT I HATED: I was a bit disappointed by this book considering I really loved the Maze Runner. For the most part it was good. There were new pieces to the puzzle thrown into the mix but it really didn't answer anything. I really didn't expect all the answers, after all there is another book but DAMN I wanted something!

Instead we are giving a small explanation for the point of the Trails that made me scratch my head because I fail to see how mapping patterns in the “kill zone” would help them create a cure for the flare. I just don't understand the logic. The only thing I can think of for that to be true is if the flare was actually a mental disease. Yet we know that can't be true because numerous times we are told that the flare was a man made disease that got out and spread rapidly. I only hope that we will get answers in the third book but from what I have been reading I am not expecting much. Which makes me think how can you write a trilogy with no answers!?

I also found numerous sentences that rubbed me the wrong way. I hate the use of the phrases “all to well” and “it was all he could do”. I don't know why but they bug me and I noticed it a lot in this book. So much that eventually I started focusing more on that then the story itself at one point which was a shame.

CHARACTERS: I also have started hating Thomas. I found his lack of understanding of why Teresa “betrayed” him annoying. Like seriously? You should be royally pissed at WICKED for making her do that not start to boo hooing about how he can't believe she still did it. She should have let you DIE Thomas she didn't because your her FRIEND so FORGIVE HER ALREADY! It really makes me question if he would have done the same for her if the situations were reversed? He seemed to really distance himself from her once the new “love” interest Brenda came on scene. I can't really decide if this is supposed to be a love triangle or what because I really don't find it to be that convincing if it was. I hated Brenda right from the beginning and I never really saw Teresa and Thomas ever getting together anyways.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I really do like the concept and the strange twists that are thrown at us but I hate that we never get any answers. I really want there to be a really good reason for everything, I really really do! I hope that the last in the trilogy gives us some answers because I felt like the second book gave just gave us more questions then answers. Right now I still don't see the POINT of what WICKED is making them go through. I don't see why if the flare infection is contagious and transmitted so easily why are these people who are immune not in a laboratory being tested to find out why they are immune. What makes them so different from everyone else?

Having said all that I’ve come to realize that even though I love the YA genre and ever since I challenged myself to actually think about a book I finish more critically then I have in the past that I am still looking through and reading this as an adult. Reading the reviews from younger readers makes me feel that maybe I am just being too critical of any story and that maybe I should enjoy the book for what is is and not be so picky.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

TITLE: The Maze Runner

AUTHOR: James Dashner

PUBLISHED: October 2009

GENRE: YA, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic,

SERIES: Book #1 of the Maze Runner Trilogy

WHERE I GOT IT: ebook borrowed from the library

READ FROM: February 24^th - 27^th 2013.

ABOUT BLURB: Thomas wakes up in a cold dark metal box, not remembering who he was or how he got there. When the box is opened he finds himself in a place called the glade surrounded by a group of boys roughly around his own age. There is no way out of the glade save into a maze that shifts every night. Even that isn't danger free since grievers come out and night and will kill anyone that gets in their path.

EXPECTATIONS: I knew that this was a popular YA series so it peeked my interest. Having just finished 'The Kill Order', I was interested to see where the hype for the series began. The story sounded very unique and interesting to me.

WHAT I LIKED: Wow, just wow. This book kept me on edge from the moment I started reading it. It was really hard to put down. It kept you guessing right from the beginning and I could feel Thomas's frustration at not getting clear answers right away. The whole concept was interesting. I found that just the thought of the slug like creatures they call the grievers sent a chill up my spin every time they were talked about. But then again that makes sense since I really DO NOT like any thing resembling a slug or worm or any other squishy thing like that.

This was one book that I couldn't even puzzle out what was going to happen next since everything was so unexpected. I actually liked the writing in this book better then in 'The Kill Order'.

CHARACTERS: I was intrigued by Thomas's character right from the beginning. We know that he isn't just regular like the other boys but special somehow. I also had a hard time picturing Chuck as a 13 year old in my mind, since he seemed so innocent and defenseless. Every time he was around or mentioned I kept picturing him as a 5 year old. He probably was my second favourite character next to Thomas. I guess maybe that is how we are supposed to picture him though.

HOW IT ENDED: (possible spoilers so read this section with caution if you don't want anything spoiled.) The ending was a surprise but by that time I already figured that there was going to be that twist. I still haven't figured out how this 'test' would help find the cure though or how it is connected to the aftermath of the flare. I hope that in the second book there is more explanation of this. Also having read The Kill Order already I am left to wonder what happened to the little girl that Mark and his friends risked their lives to send through to the people supposedly not effected by the virus. I mean wasn't she supposed to be able to provide a vaccine since she was immune? Why develop this test if they had her? What happened to her? Hopefully some of my questions will be answered in the next book.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I loved this book so much that I rated it 5 stars since it would be something I would definitely consider rereading at some point. It will be interesting down the road to see what I will pick up the second time reading this that I might have missed the first time. I loved the whole mystery of the maze and the metal box. I am looking forward to reading the second in the series.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: The Kill Order by James Dashner

TITLE: The Kill Order

AUTHOR: James Dashner

PUBLISHED: August 2012

GENRE: YA, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic,  

SERIES: Prequel to the Maze Runner Trilogy

WHERE I GOT IT: ebook borrowed from library

READ FROM: February 21 to 24, 2013

ABOUT BLURB: Solar Flares destroy the earth and cause a multitude of problems forcing those left to fight for survival. Mark and his good friend Trina are lucky to be alive, having escaped New York City from flooding caused by the flares. Now they have settled into a community with other survivors trying to piece back together a life empty of family and loved ones. Unfortunately disease is spreading quickly. Mark and Trina are convinced that there is a cure and race to find it before it is to late.

EXPECTATIONS: I was getting set to read the Maze Runner trilogy but discovered that he had written this prequel as well so I thought I would read it first.

CHARACTERS: I'm sad to say that I never really felt too much of a connection to any of the characters besides Mark. I felt like some of them were only there so that something could “happen” to them, sort of like the red shirts in the original Star Trek series.

WHAT I LIKED: I liked how we are thrown into the mist of the story after the flare and how we are slowly shown through flashbacks of Mark how they came to that place. The book really sucked me in right at the beginning. I really liked how the whole thing was like a puzzle slowly coming together.

WHAT I HATED: I didn't like how it seemed to drag on after awhile. I was really hooked at first but there is only so much that I can take a character getting knocked down, punched in the face, getting into a fight or defending himself before it becomes really repetitive. After all of that I want to know why nobody ever commented on the bruises he must have had on his face! It just seemed like it was run here, get into a fight, get away, run here, get into another fight and so on. I get that this is how it probably is in Mark's world giving the circumstances but still it made the book drag on and on.

I also found some interactions between characters, mostly between Alec and Mark to be very awkward and fake. It mostly happened when they were joking with each other. It made me start to hate the characters because of it. By the end I didn't care what happened to them which makes me sad because I really want to love the characters.

HOW IT ENDED: The ending was okay but it seemed to take forever to get to that place. I was relieved when I knew the end was near because like I said before they were constantly in a fight it seemed. I get that it is a chaotic world and that most people have been infected with a disease that made them go crazy but still!

FINAL THOUGHTS: The world they live in is a very interesting place. I view it as a potential future for the world that we live in today if we don't take care of our planet. While I didn't really love this book I am looking forward to reading the Maze Runner trilogy.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars