Trilogy Tuesday is a feature hosted here on my blog to talk about interesting book trilogies. Every now and then a Tuesday is dedicated to a trilogy series. Today's trilogy is:
The Maze Runner
ABOUT THE TRILOGY |
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The Maze Runner #1, The Scorch Trials #2 & The Death Cure #3
Author: James Dashner
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic
Published: October 6th 2009 (#1), October 12th 2010 (#2), October 11th 2011 (#3)
Read: 2015
Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★ / ★★★★
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Hugendubel, Germany
Author: James Dashner
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic
Published: October 6th 2009 (#1), October 12th 2010 (#2), October 11th 2011 (#3)
Read: 2015
Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★ / ★★★★
My Copies
Publisher: Delacorte PressCover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Hugendubel, Germany
WHAT'S IT ABOUT? (GOODREADS SUMMARIES) |
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If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human. When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Everything is going to change. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run. |
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Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch. There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die. The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off. There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive. |
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It’s the end of the line. WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test. Will anyone survive? What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say. The truth will be terrifying. Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. The time for lies is over. |
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MY REVIEW |
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From the beginning I just fell in love with this dystopian series. I read the three books in a matter of days and I'm still thinking about it a year later. I discovered this series through my fangirling over Dylan O'Brien. I had known that one of his upcoming movies would have been The Maze Runner and after looking it up I realised that it was actually based on a book. So naturally, I had to read the series.
So my first thought after finishing the first instalment in the trilogy was: Wow! That book was so good! It had action, confusion, interesting characters, characters I hated - just everything I could have hoped for. One word: addictive. I enjoyed this one so much that I moved on to the second book right away. Now the plot from the first book was so well through-thought and so riveting that the second book disappointed me a little. The Maze Runner introduces you into this new world. (Okay to be exact, it only introduces you to the labyrinth. You don't know anything about the outside world or why all those boys were stuck into it. That's what you try to learn in the second book, but really only begin to grasp in the last of the three and to be quite honest, I still don't get it.
The second book brings us more confusion than explanation. We all thought the kids were finally save after escaping the labyrinth, but the truth is they're in even more danger. You hang on to the tiniest bit of hope that maybe your favourite characters will survive this terrible new world. But... we all know how authors love to kill off characters so so much for that. Basically the Scorch is the new labyrinth. There are a lot of obstacles the boys have to overcome and there’s one plot twist after another. The biggest built-in plot twist was supposed to be the most shocking, but honestly I saw it coming. When there’s a betrayal that huge you have to see some the signs along the way. Safe to say, that specific character I’m talking about (SPOILER: Teresa) was dead to me from that moment on. All in all, the action in the second book did not abate from the first book and I couldn’t let go of this book and read it in about two sittings.
(Spoiler Alert for this paragraph only!) One other thing that really disturbed me has to do with the ‘Love Triangle’. So at the beginning of The Scorch Trials a new female character was introduced that immediately became Thomas’ second love interest. In my opinion she was only created to take over Teresa’s place as soon as she betrayed him. I find it so unnatural that Thomas immediately needs another ‘girlfriend’ and all the other boys in the books barely even speak to girls. Hello? We’re in the middle of the world going under. I think Thomas would have survived just as good without a new girl at his side. This is a thing I just found really unnecessary and needed to rant about it for a short while. (Spoiler Alert withdrawn)
The Death Cure is where I needed the most tissues. A character favourite of mine passed away (I still haven't forgiven Dashner for that) and of course a few other deaths had to occur to make room for the big finale. Which was disappointing. I had so many hopes for that last chapter and it just shattered all my dreams. It left me with unanswered questions and really you don’t know what actually happened and what’s going to happen. The whole future of those who survived is unclear and that just makes me mad. The apocalyptic world we get introduced to properly (finally!), though, really was something. The description of the world going under and what happened was in my opinion a really great story. The only thing that bothered me was how they supposedly should have been able to find a cure. The whole cerebral talk just confused me more than it brought answers and up to today I still don’t understand how all those tests should have worked exactly and why they had to kill so many people even though they actually had the solution (or the boy with the solution) in their hands. Well, maybe I’ll understand it if I’ll reread the books again…
So my first thought after finishing the first instalment in the trilogy was: Wow! That book was so good! It had action, confusion, interesting characters, characters I hated - just everything I could have hoped for. One word: addictive. I enjoyed this one so much that I moved on to the second book right away. Now the plot from the first book was so well through-thought and so riveting that the second book disappointed me a little. The Maze Runner introduces you into this new world. (Okay to be exact, it only introduces you to the labyrinth. You don't know anything about the outside world or why all those boys were stuck into it. That's what you try to learn in the second book, but really only begin to grasp in the last of the three and to be quite honest, I still don't get it.
The second book brings us more confusion than explanation. We all thought the kids were finally save after escaping the labyrinth, but the truth is they're in even more danger. You hang on to the tiniest bit of hope that maybe your favourite characters will survive this terrible new world. But... we all know how authors love to kill off characters so so much for that. Basically the Scorch is the new labyrinth. There are a lot of obstacles the boys have to overcome and there’s one plot twist after another. The biggest built-in plot twist was supposed to be the most shocking, but honestly I saw it coming. When there’s a betrayal that huge you have to see some the signs along the way. Safe to say, that specific character I’m talking about (SPOILER: Teresa) was dead to me from that moment on. All in all, the action in the second book did not abate from the first book and I couldn’t let go of this book and read it in about two sittings.
(Spoiler Alert for this paragraph only!) One other thing that really disturbed me has to do with the ‘Love Triangle’. So at the beginning of The Scorch Trials a new female character was introduced that immediately became Thomas’ second love interest. In my opinion she was only created to take over Teresa’s place as soon as she betrayed him. I find it so unnatural that Thomas immediately needs another ‘girlfriend’ and all the other boys in the books barely even speak to girls. Hello? We’re in the middle of the world going under. I think Thomas would have survived just as good without a new girl at his side. This is a thing I just found really unnecessary and needed to rant about it for a short while. (Spoiler Alert withdrawn)
The Death Cure is where I needed the most tissues. A character favourite of mine passed away (I still haven't forgiven Dashner for that) and of course a few other deaths had to occur to make room for the big finale. Which was disappointing. I had so many hopes for that last chapter and it just shattered all my dreams. It left me with unanswered questions and really you don’t know what actually happened and what’s going to happen. The whole future of those who survived is unclear and that just makes me mad. The apocalyptic world we get introduced to properly (finally!), though, really was something. The description of the world going under and what happened was in my opinion a really great story. The only thing that bothered me was how they supposedly should have been able to find a cure. The whole cerebral talk just confused me more than it brought answers and up to today I still don’t understand how all those tests should have worked exactly and why they had to kill so many people even though they actually had the solution (or the boy with the solution) in their hands. Well, maybe I’ll understand it if I’ll reread the books again…
WHY SHOULD YOU READ THE MAZE RUNNER? |
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I started The Maze Runner after I saw the first movie. So I had some expecations to be met and I just want to say I was so surprised as how much better the book was than I first thought. It's really a great adaptation, although keep in mind that the movie Scorch Trials does not follow the books anymore! So if you're a fan of the first film I strongly recommend you to read the books because they're absolutely awesome. Here's a few points which should try to convince you to start reading the books:
• Dystopian world who fights for its survival
• Plot that keeps taking turns you didn't expect
• Probably the best bromance ever in dystopian history (Yes, I'm talking about Newt/Thomas/Minho)
• Action scenes like never before
• It's a trilogy that stays thrilling and gripping throughout all three books
• Who doesn't want to read about Dylan O'Bries character Thomas' origins?
Have you read The Maze Runner trilogy or have you seen the movies? What are your thoughts on them? Were you disappointed by the ending or did you like all the drama? |
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