Home > Categories > Books > Young Adult > The Maze Runner review
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze.
Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything to find out, even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horrors that hunt the Maze's walled corridors.
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So I watched the movie and was really not impressed, lost my interest part way thru because of what I had assumed was a 'bad script'. I could not understand the reasoning behind the Maze and why make these poor kids succumb to solving it. I was lucky enough to review the second book 'Maze Runner The Scorch Trials' and found I really enjoyed it but I was still left unsure what the whole thing was about. So figured what better way to find out my answers then to go back to the original source of it all.
Firstly it has to be said way better then the movie and makes a lot more sense. The movie definitely skips some vital points and messes a lot with the story and the characters. However, it also did not directly give me the answers I seeked instead my knowledge of the second book and this I found I could almost solve this weird jigsaw. I was glad it answered the questions of the 'swear' words or rather lack of them as that had me puzzled in the second book. It also gave a brief explanation of what the flare was but I am still scratching my head how they think putting kids, although apparently smart kids thru trials will reveal the variables they require to save mankind.
To be honest I can not understand why this became a cult series. I found this book seemed to use the same sentences over and over again but just played around with the words. If you took out all the repetativness and needless dribble it would go from 371 pages down to about 200. I enjoyed aspects of it do not get me wrong but found it rather tedious. Maybe because I knew already that they make it out of the maze and what the next chapter was going to be, or the fact I had seen the movie it really took that element of surprise away.
I am still eagar to know what happens and I will watch the second movie, when it comes to Sky but in the mean time think I will have to track down book 3 where hopefully all will be revealed.
When I see a movie and I find it's from a book I am naturally drawn to go read it. And that's what I did with the Maze Runner. As soon as I started to read I found I couldn't put the book down. Whilst the book was similar to the movie there were enough differences and additional information to retain my interest and want me to read more. Especially since the ending is different.
The author, James Dashner, weaves a story from a premise which may seem one portion reality to at least another two portions fantasy. Our main character, Thomas is as much in the dark about what is going on as the reader. As we join Thomas on his journey of retrieving his memory and finding a way for the Gladers out of the maze we feel the curves and turns of the story weave around us.
If like me you come to this story from the movie one of the biggest differences is the character Theresa. Obviously for the movie they made her part larger to make it less male on camera. I think I did prefer her character in the movie, however with the sequel coming out soon I am interested to see how her character develops further.
Just when I thought I had figured out what was happening a surprise will appear and keep us guessing. Definitely worth a read even if you have seen the movie.
well, I must say that I am impressed with this book, it was fun, active, and a bit scary in some parts, but all in all, WHAT AN AWESOME BOOK THIS IS! I saw a small note on the book's cover that said "Liked THE HUNGER GAMES, and I can see why, as this book has many similarities to the hunger games, but it was still pretty darn different from it at the same time.
I loved the cover, I only got a basic paperback which was only coloured different shades of gold, but The picture of the maze that was shown on the cover looked awesome, and freaky. The storyline was very descriptive, and it was because of this that the small viewable version of the story that went on in my head played in high quality, and we are talking Bluray level!
My favourite character was Thomas, he sounded like a pretty cool guy in the story, and so even though all the characters were cool, this one was at the top of the list. Out of the entire book, I cannot find any one part of it that is my favourite bit, I found the entire story to be entertaining, fun, and most importantly, full to the brim with action and danger.
I would NOT recommend this book to anyone who is under the age of 12, as it is full of scenes that are not exactly appealing to young minds, and of course the other aspect is that anyone younger than 12 might not understand half the story. The price is very good, it is within the "Goldilocks" zone of that aspect, not too expensive, yet not too cheap either .
I lost track of time quite well, but luckily it was for good reason, as I am now quite tempted to read the book again sometime. it is now quite easy for me to tell all the people reading this review right now, this is one book you do not want to miss. Enjoy!
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This is the fourth book in the popular Kiwis at War series.
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"Ever notice that 'what the hell' is always the right decision?"
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962)