Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication:  October 6th, 2009
Series: The Maze Runner
Pages: 375 (Paperback)
             329 (Kindle Edition)
             374 (eBook, Hardcover)


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Synopsis:



Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?


Rating:    

My thoughts:

I think the synopsis gave a pretty painstaking summary of the basic idea of the plot, so I won't write any more about the plot. Anyway, it would be hard to say more without spoil it thus I'll get down to the analysis part right away.

As it is, I loved the book. It was full of action and unexpectedes unexpected turns of the book history, it was fast pacing, intriguing and had a genuinely brilliant story. To cut a long story short, it was a real page-turner, I can't remember when I'd read so fast last time.

I also loved the slang. The boys had their own language which was full of swear words cited real, rather strong profanities, but was altered therefore it wasn't disturbing. To me, this idea of depicting a more realistic image of how tough their world is, their lives are and yet making it readable for younger people was shuckin' clever.

The world building was very profound, all the names, the places, the events, the creatures everything was original and unique and fairly detailed. However, most of the creatures were meant to be menacing which none of them was to me. Though, some of the occurrence did make me feel uncomfortable in the dark.

Yet, I did take one book away and the reason is the characters. They could have been written much better. They were pretty inchoate and flat, sometimes changing from one moment to another. Their was a main line to all of them, but nothing really complex.

All in all, I would describe this book as an action packed page-turner what could use some more characteristics, but I do recommend it to anyone who loves fast-pacing books with action on nearly every page.

Rating breakdown:

Cover: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 5/5
Style/Writing: 4/5
Word building: 5/5
Originality: 5+/5

About the author:

James was born and raised in Georgia but now lives in the Rocky Mountains with his family. He has four kids, which some might think is too many but he thinks is just right. Once upon a time, James studied accounting and worked in the field of finance, but has been writing full time for several years. (He doesn’t miss numbers. At all.)
In his free time, James loves to read, watch movies and (good) TV shows, snow ski, and read. (Reading was mentioned twice on purpose.) Most of all, he’s thankful that he gets to make a living writing stories and considers himself pretty much the luckiest guy on the planet.

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Continue the series!

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.