Helpful Score: 6
First Line: He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.
When Thomas wakes up, he finds himself on an elevator going up and up through a seemingly endless darkness. The only thing he remembers is his first name. When the elevator doors open, he finds himself surrounded by dozens of other young boys. Thomas has arrived in the Glade, a large open-air place surrounded by high stone walls.
The other boys don't remember anything of their previous lives either. All they know is that they arrived in the Glade the same way. Once a month, a new boy arrives on the elevator. Each morning, openings appear in the stone walls and the way is open to the Maze. Each evening at sunset, the openings in the wall close for the night.
Thomas stumbles a bit as he learns the slang the other boys use, but from the beginning, he has the faintest glimmers that he knows this place. When he looks out into the Maze, he knows that he has to explore it. And the very next day when the first girl ever sent up on the elevator to the Glade arrives, every boy living there knows that, somehow, things are about to change.
At the beginning of the book, I was stumbling around as much as Thomas-- becoming acquainted with the characters, trying to get used to the annoying slang, getting a feel for this world that author James Dashner has created and put me in the middle of. It didn't take long for me to get my bearings and start becoming fascinated with this strange new land. What on earth were these young boys doing in the middle of a gigantic maze patrolled by monstrous creatures? It had to be some sort of test...but why? To what purpose?
I knew when I picked up The Maze Runner that it was the first book in a trilogy, so I was not surprised or angered by the cliffhanger ending. Multi-volume Young Adult series seem to be the order of the day.
Dashner has created a very interesting world for his characters, and it will be very interesting indeed to follow this story in the next two books. The only thing that annoyed me as I read was the slang that the boys spoke. I didn't find it difficult to decipher, and it's probably just a sign of my age, since I find the speech patterns of many tweens and teens irritating!
If you like reading about a world in which something has gone very wrong and about characters who are trying to fight their way out of it, you will enjoy The Maze Runner. It won't take long for you to realize that Thomas and the others aren't the only ones trying to solve the puzzle of the labyrinth...so are you.
When Thomas wakes up, he finds himself on an elevator going up and up through a seemingly endless darkness. The only thing he remembers is his first name. When the elevator doors open, he finds himself surrounded by dozens of other young boys. Thomas has arrived in the Glade, a large open-air place surrounded by high stone walls.
The other boys don't remember anything of their previous lives either. All they know is that they arrived in the Glade the same way. Once a month, a new boy arrives on the elevator. Each morning, openings appear in the stone walls and the way is open to the Maze. Each evening at sunset, the openings in the wall close for the night.
Thomas stumbles a bit as he learns the slang the other boys use, but from the beginning, he has the faintest glimmers that he knows this place. When he looks out into the Maze, he knows that he has to explore it. And the very next day when the first girl ever sent up on the elevator to the Glade arrives, every boy living there knows that, somehow, things are about to change.
At the beginning of the book, I was stumbling around as much as Thomas-- becoming acquainted with the characters, trying to get used to the annoying slang, getting a feel for this world that author James Dashner has created and put me in the middle of. It didn't take long for me to get my bearings and start becoming fascinated with this strange new land. What on earth were these young boys doing in the middle of a gigantic maze patrolled by monstrous creatures? It had to be some sort of test...but why? To what purpose?
I knew when I picked up The Maze Runner that it was the first book in a trilogy, so I was not surprised or angered by the cliffhanger ending. Multi-volume Young Adult series seem to be the order of the day.
Dashner has created a very interesting world for his characters, and it will be very interesting indeed to follow this story in the next two books. The only thing that annoyed me as I read was the slang that the boys spoke. I didn't find it difficult to decipher, and it's probably just a sign of my age, since I find the speech patterns of many tweens and teens irritating!
If you like reading about a world in which something has gone very wrong and about characters who are trying to fight their way out of it, you will enjoy The Maze Runner. It won't take long for you to realize that Thomas and the others aren't the only ones trying to solve the puzzle of the labyrinth...so are you.
Helpful Score: 5
Oh my gosh! This book was absolutely fantastic! Fantastic! It took me a chapter or two to really get into the swing of it, but then it sucked me in. And I really want (need!) the next one.
Great protagonist. Thomas responded well to the situation: not moping around for 1/2 the book (which would be an easy thing to do) nor did he seem wooden. Great blend of action & emotion. Plus, the plot/developments were revealed slowly so I kept wanting more. I did get annoyed with Thomas once or twice when he would run away from learning about something because I was curious, but it usually made perfect sense that he wouldn't want to know.
Definitely 5 stars.
Everyone should read this book! : )
Great protagonist. Thomas responded well to the situation: not moping around for 1/2 the book (which would be an easy thing to do) nor did he seem wooden. Great blend of action & emotion. Plus, the plot/developments were revealed slowly so I kept wanting more. I did get annoyed with Thomas once or twice when he would run away from learning about something because I was curious, but it usually made perfect sense that he wouldn't want to know.
Definitely 5 stars.
Everyone should read this book! : )
Stephanie S. (skywriter319) -
Helpful Score: 4
J. K. Rowling meets Michael Grant meets William Golding meets Suzanne Collins in this thrilling new series starter that is destined to rock the bestselling charts and find its way into many people's hands. To put it even more straightforwardly THE MAZE RUNNER is brilliant, exciting, and utterly unputdownable. My heart is still pounding even days after reading it!
The two most impressive things that Dashner achieves in THE MAZE RUNNER are suspense and the suspension of disbelief. The Glade is a truly creepy world, with half-animal half-machine killers roaming the Maze after night, new arbitrary âVariablesâ changing the stakes and odds of survival for the kids, and ever more crazy things thrown into the story that, at the hands of a less skilled author, would make readers incredulous. But what Dashner accomplishes is the total separation of the Glade from reality, so that when he does throw a whole bunch of random crazy scary things in, you won't even blink an eye, except from terror. You won't question the arbitrary rules in this new world, because you won't have to, and you'll be too busy biting your nails and flipping the pages to worry!
A story cannot stand on its plot and suspense alone, but THE MAZE RUNNER also has well-developed characters as well. At first, Thomas may seem a little irritating, so frightened and questioning of authority is he. However, when he begins to take control of his emotions and emerges into a confident potential leader, we are firmly on his side and cheer him on in our own ineffectual little ways, outside of the story. Similarly, the other teenagers in the Glade become people who, even if you don't necessarily like, you can still identify and empathize with. The depth and breadth of characters makes THE MAZE RUNNER not simply a plot-driven novel, but a book that can compete with other suspenseful and complex bestsellers.
Overall, THE MAZE RUNNER is a novel you shouldn't miss. It won't appeal to everyoneâsome might find the premise too staged, while others may complain of unsympathetic charactersâbut few can deny the palpable excitement that runs through these pages. Pick this book up and see for yourself which camp you fall in: either way, I don't think it will be a waste of your time.
The two most impressive things that Dashner achieves in THE MAZE RUNNER are suspense and the suspension of disbelief. The Glade is a truly creepy world, with half-animal half-machine killers roaming the Maze after night, new arbitrary âVariablesâ changing the stakes and odds of survival for the kids, and ever more crazy things thrown into the story that, at the hands of a less skilled author, would make readers incredulous. But what Dashner accomplishes is the total separation of the Glade from reality, so that when he does throw a whole bunch of random crazy scary things in, you won't even blink an eye, except from terror. You won't question the arbitrary rules in this new world, because you won't have to, and you'll be too busy biting your nails and flipping the pages to worry!
A story cannot stand on its plot and suspense alone, but THE MAZE RUNNER also has well-developed characters as well. At first, Thomas may seem a little irritating, so frightened and questioning of authority is he. However, when he begins to take control of his emotions and emerges into a confident potential leader, we are firmly on his side and cheer him on in our own ineffectual little ways, outside of the story. Similarly, the other teenagers in the Glade become people who, even if you don't necessarily like, you can still identify and empathize with. The depth and breadth of characters makes THE MAZE RUNNER not simply a plot-driven novel, but a book that can compete with other suspenseful and complex bestsellers.
Overall, THE MAZE RUNNER is a novel you shouldn't miss. It won't appeal to everyoneâsome might find the premise too staged, while others may complain of unsympathetic charactersâbut few can deny the palpable excitement that runs through these pages. Pick this book up and see for yourself which camp you fall in: either way, I don't think it will be a waste of your time.
Helpful Score: 2
Another book in film adaptation limbo. Can't wait to see how they translate everything! Should be visually astounding and full of action. Safe for ages 12 and up. It is fairly violent, so keep that in mind. Make sure your kids know what is make believe!. Read the book for yourself before you pass it on, you won't regret it! I'll be reading the rest of the series!
Helpful Score: 1
Author does a pretty good job of creating and describing a simplified alternate world. It's a little different than "Lord of the Flies", the conflicts between the boys is not quite the center of the story. Has a 16 year old hero, who discovers !surprise! he is different than the others. Ending gets a little unbelievable, but, after all, this is science fiction. It's the first of a trilogy, supposedly.
Helpful Score: 1
I focus on the main purpose of a book, which is to entertain me with a good story.
Like Dashner's 13th Reality, Maze Runner is a story about problem-solving, but more directly it's about optimism in the face of adversity--something more teens should be reading about. So this novel serves its purpose as it educates and entertains.
I loved the story, the mystery, the action, the questions that I kept asking just as Thomas asked them. The characters seemed very real and believable to me and those who claim there was no enough development just irritate me. They seem to forget that this story takes place in about a week. There is only so much development of characters that can take place in that period of time and make the story still feel real. Further, there are other books that focus so much on detail and character development that the story suffers. The Maze Runner balanced both nicely. The story was based on characters who had lost their memories. The development of characters was taken at an appropriate pace.
The ending is very well set up for the next book in the trilogy, tentatively called "The Scorch Trials". Which I will clearly look forward to reading.
Like Dashner's 13th Reality, Maze Runner is a story about problem-solving, but more directly it's about optimism in the face of adversity--something more teens should be reading about. So this novel serves its purpose as it educates and entertains.
I loved the story, the mystery, the action, the questions that I kept asking just as Thomas asked them. The characters seemed very real and believable to me and those who claim there was no enough development just irritate me. They seem to forget that this story takes place in about a week. There is only so much development of characters that can take place in that period of time and make the story still feel real. Further, there are other books that focus so much on detail and character development that the story suffers. The Maze Runner balanced both nicely. The story was based on characters who had lost their memories. The development of characters was taken at an appropriate pace.
The ending is very well set up for the next book in the trilogy, tentatively called "The Scorch Trials". Which I will clearly look forward to reading.
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this book. It is action packed and full of questions. Some that are answered in the book and some that are not. While I was reading it sort of reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. The way they had to work together and of course you have some who play by their own rules.
Thomas wakes up in a lift. He can remember nothing except his first name. When he arrives at the
Glade he finds it filled with young boys, like himself. They remember nothing about their past lives, nothing before the Glade. Something feels familiar to Thomas even though he is sure that he has never been to this place before. Even the Maze that closes tight every night does not scare him like it should.
Then something different happens. A girl arrives the next day with a message. A message that they don't fully understand, or do they?
As I said before, I liked the book, I didn't love it. If you liked Lord of the Flies or even The Hunger Games, you will probably like it. I was so excited in the beginning and the middle but toward the end it started loosing its flavor, in my opinion. I will read the other two to see what happens.. I hope you enjoyed this review..
Thomas wakes up in a lift. He can remember nothing except his first name. When he arrives at the
Glade he finds it filled with young boys, like himself. They remember nothing about their past lives, nothing before the Glade. Something feels familiar to Thomas even though he is sure that he has never been to this place before. Even the Maze that closes tight every night does not scare him like it should.
Then something different happens. A girl arrives the next day with a message. A message that they don't fully understand, or do they?
As I said before, I liked the book, I didn't love it. If you liked Lord of the Flies or even The Hunger Games, you will probably like it. I was so excited in the beginning and the middle but toward the end it started loosing its flavor, in my opinion. I will read the other two to see what happens.. I hope you enjoyed this review..
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com
Thomas is brought up to the Glade in an elevator with only his name and no memory at all. He finds himself with a group of boys like himself. They all have no memory of an outside world. All they know is that there is a maze and they will try to find a way out -but every night the doors to the maze will shut.
The day after Thomas arrives, a girl, the first ever in the Glade, arrives with a note that she is the last. Thomas is determined to figure out what is happening in the Glade and unlock the secrets that are buried.
THE MAZE RUNNER is the start to a thrilling new trilogy. If you are a fan of dystopian science fiction, then this title needs to be added to your must-read pile.
Author James Dashner has a brilliant start to the book; the Gladers use different slang, which takes some time to get used to. However, this leaves the reader feeling just as jarred as Thomas when the book starts and you find yourself learning about the Glade right along with the main character. I've never really had that experience with a book before, so kudos to Mr. Dashner for a brilliant storytelling device.
The story has somewhat of a slow start, but readers who stick with it will be rewarded. I'm warning you - there are lots of cliffhangers and heart-stopping adventure, and you'll want to stay up late turning pages to find out what happens next.
Thomas is brought up to the Glade in an elevator with only his name and no memory at all. He finds himself with a group of boys like himself. They all have no memory of an outside world. All they know is that there is a maze and they will try to find a way out -but every night the doors to the maze will shut.
The day after Thomas arrives, a girl, the first ever in the Glade, arrives with a note that she is the last. Thomas is determined to figure out what is happening in the Glade and unlock the secrets that are buried.
THE MAZE RUNNER is the start to a thrilling new trilogy. If you are a fan of dystopian science fiction, then this title needs to be added to your must-read pile.
Author James Dashner has a brilliant start to the book; the Gladers use different slang, which takes some time to get used to. However, this leaves the reader feeling just as jarred as Thomas when the book starts and you find yourself learning about the Glade right along with the main character. I've never really had that experience with a book before, so kudos to Mr. Dashner for a brilliant storytelling device.
The story has somewhat of a slow start, but readers who stick with it will be rewarded. I'm warning you - there are lots of cliffhangers and heart-stopping adventure, and you'll want to stay up late turning pages to find out what happens next.
Helpful Score: 1
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After reading The Hunger Games and enjoying it, I did what a lot of folks did and scoured the internet looking for books of a similar vein. One that kept coming up was The Maze Runner (2009), the first novel by James Dashner. I admit to feeling bad about comparing the two novels in the first sentence of my review, but it is almost unavoidable given their plots and intended audience. To be fair, Dashner wrote The Maze Runner nearly two years before The Hunger Games was published, so the rampant cries that his novel is a blatant attempt to capitalize on the success of THG are misleading.
At any rate, The Maze Runner does fall into the young adult dystopian genre that seems to have saturated the book market in recent years. The novel has an entirely intriguing premise: the main character, Thomas, wakes up in a strange glade inhabited by a group of other teenage boys. Like everyone else in the glade, Thomas has no clue how he got here. This glade actually lies in the center of an enormous, constantly changing maze seemingly without an exit. To top it off, every night a bunch of horrible creatures appear, bringing certain death to anyone not in the safety of the glade by sunset. Thomas is immediately drawn to the maze runners, the boys which daily risk life and limb to venture into the maze in an attempt to map it and reach an exit. Within days, a girl also arrives in the glade--needless to say this throws everyone into a tizzy because she is the first girl ever to arrive in the glade. It soon becomes clear that both Thomas and Teresa have a special role to play in the life of the glade.
That's about all I can say without giving away anything, so I'll leave it at that. While I found the plot to be quite engaging, the novel definitely stumbles when it comes to characterization. I didn't ever connect with anyone in the novel due to Dashner's rather weak portrayals. We are endlessly told about Thomas' emotional roller coaster--he is sad, scared, frustrated, confused, angry, but it all comes off as very shallow. I never "feel" anything that he is experiencing, and every other character is treated similarly. Given the great promise of the situation for high emotion and tension, this aspect of the writing was fairly disappointing. So while the plot of The Maze Runner is on par with The Hunger Games, the quality of writing is not.
I think a much more apt comparison is with To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) by Jose Philip Farmer. There is the same sense of awakening, wondrous setting, mysterious captors, and society building. I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to say that there is ultimately the same journey to discover just what the heck is going on. Again, in terms of writing, Dashner's novel pales in comparison to that of Farmer, but the two novels are quite similar in a general sense.
[some light spoilers here]
The end of the novel was also kind of a bummer. Dashner's reveal a la Ender's Game was reaching a bit given the truly chaotic nature of the maze environment. Furthermore, while there is some resolution to the situation at hand, the questions I most cared about were left completely hanging. Yes, it was written with sequels in mind (like most every other young adult book these days), but dangling some clue as to the circumstances in the larger world would have been nice.
[/spoilers]
So, to sum up, I did enjoy the The Maze Runner from start to finish. There is plenty of action and intrigue, and the writing for those parts is certainly up to snuff. I do think I will read on in the series, but it won't be zooming to the top of my to-be-read pile.
After reading The Hunger Games and enjoying it, I did what a lot of folks did and scoured the internet looking for books of a similar vein. One that kept coming up was The Maze Runner (2009), the first novel by James Dashner. I admit to feeling bad about comparing the two novels in the first sentence of my review, but it is almost unavoidable given their plots and intended audience. To be fair, Dashner wrote The Maze Runner nearly two years before The Hunger Games was published, so the rampant cries that his novel is a blatant attempt to capitalize on the success of THG are misleading.
At any rate, The Maze Runner does fall into the young adult dystopian genre that seems to have saturated the book market in recent years. The novel has an entirely intriguing premise: the main character, Thomas, wakes up in a strange glade inhabited by a group of other teenage boys. Like everyone else in the glade, Thomas has no clue how he got here. This glade actually lies in the center of an enormous, constantly changing maze seemingly without an exit. To top it off, every night a bunch of horrible creatures appear, bringing certain death to anyone not in the safety of the glade by sunset. Thomas is immediately drawn to the maze runners, the boys which daily risk life and limb to venture into the maze in an attempt to map it and reach an exit. Within days, a girl also arrives in the glade--needless to say this throws everyone into a tizzy because she is the first girl ever to arrive in the glade. It soon becomes clear that both Thomas and Teresa have a special role to play in the life of the glade.
That's about all I can say without giving away anything, so I'll leave it at that. While I found the plot to be quite engaging, the novel definitely stumbles when it comes to characterization. I didn't ever connect with anyone in the novel due to Dashner's rather weak portrayals. We are endlessly told about Thomas' emotional roller coaster--he is sad, scared, frustrated, confused, angry, but it all comes off as very shallow. I never "feel" anything that he is experiencing, and every other character is treated similarly. Given the great promise of the situation for high emotion and tension, this aspect of the writing was fairly disappointing. So while the plot of The Maze Runner is on par with The Hunger Games, the quality of writing is not.
I think a much more apt comparison is with To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) by Jose Philip Farmer. There is the same sense of awakening, wondrous setting, mysterious captors, and society building. I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to say that there is ultimately the same journey to discover just what the heck is going on. Again, in terms of writing, Dashner's novel pales in comparison to that of Farmer, but the two novels are quite similar in a general sense.
[some light spoilers here]
The end of the novel was also kind of a bummer. Dashner's reveal a la Ender's Game was reaching a bit given the truly chaotic nature of the maze environment. Furthermore, while there is some resolution to the situation at hand, the questions I most cared about were left completely hanging. Yes, it was written with sequels in mind (like most every other young adult book these days), but dangling some clue as to the circumstances in the larger world would have been nice.
[/spoilers]
So, to sum up, I did enjoy the The Maze Runner from start to finish. There is plenty of action and intrigue, and the writing for those parts is certainly up to snuff. I do think I will read on in the series, but it won't be zooming to the top of my to-be-read pile.
Helpful Score: 1
I know this is an extremely popular book/series so I'm happy to accept that I'm an outlier on this, but I found this novel sooooo boring! The made-up dialect (shuck, shank, klunk) drove me bonkers; there was no need for it and it made the book impossible to take seriously. Add in the fact that basically none of the characters, including Thomas, were likable, and things happened for him a little TOO easily; I know he's supposed to be gifted and special but like, come on. It's not believable. Also, if I had to read one more line of "stop asking questions, you'll find out soon enough" I was going to lose it. That's not an acceptable way to write a novel! "I don't want to reveal something so I'm just going to have the characters repeat this line over and over ad infintum" Stop. STOP IT.
The book was also longer than it needed to be (contributing to boredom factor) because of constant misdirects. "Something bad happened!" *spends ten pages fretting about something bad happening* "oh actually we took a precaution we didn't tell you about (sensing a theme?) and everything is totally fine". Thank you for wasting the last ten pages completely unnecessarily. Also stunned that for a book with ONE female character, she has the least purpose and agency of almost any YA character I've seen. At the end of the book when Thomas says he can't feel anything except a void, my thought was "well it can't make you any less interesting than you already were."
I honestly should have DNF'd this book, and had to push myself to finish. I know lots of of people love this; I, however, do not understand what about this book inspired a worldwide interest/following.
The book was also longer than it needed to be (contributing to boredom factor) because of constant misdirects. "Something bad happened!" *spends ten pages fretting about something bad happening* "oh actually we took a precaution we didn't tell you about (sensing a theme?) and everything is totally fine". Thank you for wasting the last ten pages completely unnecessarily. Also stunned that for a book with ONE female character, she has the least purpose and agency of almost any YA character I've seen. At the end of the book when Thomas says he can't feel anything except a void, my thought was "well it can't make you any less interesting than you already were."
I honestly should have DNF'd this book, and had to push myself to finish. I know lots of of people love this; I, however, do not understand what about this book inspired a worldwide interest/following.
Helpful Score: 1
I just finished the book "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins and was itching for something else to read along the lines of her "Hunger Games" series. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was a fast read and kept me on edge through every chapter. I didn't want the book to end. I would definitely recommend this book to teens and adults.
I loved The Maze Runner. In fact, I haven't enjoyed a book as much since Catching Fire, book two of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy. And for anyone that knows me, that's about as high of a review as I can give a novel.
For the rest of you, The Maze Runner is a dystopian story that is one part Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and one part the aforementioned Hunger Games. It is a tightly-written, intense book that is full of tension and surprises. Author James Dasher does an excellent job of parsing out the mystery to readers, who are kept as much in the dark as the characters of his futuristic tale.
The Maze Runner begins when Thomas awakens in a mysterious elevator. He knows his name, and that's it -- he doesn't remember his age, where he came from or where he is. He is welcomed into a strange, controlled community called The Glade, inhabited by 50 teenage boys who live and work together in the confined environment, trying to stay alive and find a way out of the massive, changing maze that surrounds their safe haven. None of them remember much about their past, either, and none of them know where they are, or why they are there.
Thomas is strangely drawn to the maze, and quickly decides he wants to be a maze runner -- the boys selected to venture into the maze each day to try to map and solve the puzzle. The maze is miles long and full of dangerous creatures alled The Grievers, and no one has ever found a way out. But the boys have created a life and a society centered around cracking the code of the maze and getting back to their homes -- wherever they are. They follow the rules, do their jobs, and stay the course.
Unfortunately, things quickly begin to change in the Glade. First, an elevator arrives carrying a beautiful and unconscious teenage girl -- the first female to join the community. Then, the sun goes dark. Supplies stop arriving. The gates protecting the Glade from the monsters in the maze don't roll shut at night. And suddenly, solving the secret of the maze -- and who created it -- becomes more urgent than ever.
I was totally engrossed by The Maze Runner, and completely thrown for a loop by the genuinely surprising twist at the book's conclusion. Dashner has set the stage for a fantastic series that I predict will be the next big thing in young adult fiction. I will be counting the days until the release of book two, The Scorch Trials, in October 2010.
For the rest of you, The Maze Runner is a dystopian story that is one part Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and one part the aforementioned Hunger Games. It is a tightly-written, intense book that is full of tension and surprises. Author James Dasher does an excellent job of parsing out the mystery to readers, who are kept as much in the dark as the characters of his futuristic tale.
The Maze Runner begins when Thomas awakens in a mysterious elevator. He knows his name, and that's it -- he doesn't remember his age, where he came from or where he is. He is welcomed into a strange, controlled community called The Glade, inhabited by 50 teenage boys who live and work together in the confined environment, trying to stay alive and find a way out of the massive, changing maze that surrounds their safe haven. None of them remember much about their past, either, and none of them know where they are, or why they are there.
Thomas is strangely drawn to the maze, and quickly decides he wants to be a maze runner -- the boys selected to venture into the maze each day to try to map and solve the puzzle. The maze is miles long and full of dangerous creatures alled The Grievers, and no one has ever found a way out. But the boys have created a life and a society centered around cracking the code of the maze and getting back to their homes -- wherever they are. They follow the rules, do their jobs, and stay the course.
Unfortunately, things quickly begin to change in the Glade. First, an elevator arrives carrying a beautiful and unconscious teenage girl -- the first female to join the community. Then, the sun goes dark. Supplies stop arriving. The gates protecting the Glade from the monsters in the maze don't roll shut at night. And suddenly, solving the secret of the maze -- and who created it -- becomes more urgent than ever.
I was totally engrossed by The Maze Runner, and completely thrown for a loop by the genuinely surprising twist at the book's conclusion. Dashner has set the stage for a fantastic series that I predict will be the next big thing in young adult fiction. I will be counting the days until the release of book two, The Scorch Trials, in October 2010.
Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com
Thomas is brought up to the Glade in an elevator with only his name and no memory at all. He finds himself with a group of boys like himself. They all have no memory of an outside world. All they know is that there is a maze and they will try to find a way out -but every night the doors to the maze will shut.
The day after Thomas arrives, a girl, the first ever in the Glade, arrives with a note that she is the last. Thomas is determined to figure out what is happening in the Glade and unlock the secrets that are buried.
THE MAZE RUNNER is the start to a thrilling new trilogy. If you are a fan of dystopian science fiction, then this title needs to be added to your must-read pile.
Author James Dashner has a brilliant start to the book; the Gladers use different slang, which takes some time to get used to. However, this leaves the reader feeling just as jarred as Thomas when the book starts and you find yourself learning about the Glade right along with the main character. I've never really had that experience with a book before, so kudos to Mr. Dashner for a brilliant storytelling device.
The story has somewhat of a slow start, but readers who stick with it will be rewarded. I'm warning you - there are lots of cliffhangers and heart-stopping adventure, and you'll want to stay up late turning pages to find out what happens next.
Thomas is brought up to the Glade in an elevator with only his name and no memory at all. He finds himself with a group of boys like himself. They all have no memory of an outside world. All they know is that there is a maze and they will try to find a way out -but every night the doors to the maze will shut.
The day after Thomas arrives, a girl, the first ever in the Glade, arrives with a note that she is the last. Thomas is determined to figure out what is happening in the Glade and unlock the secrets that are buried.
THE MAZE RUNNER is the start to a thrilling new trilogy. If you are a fan of dystopian science fiction, then this title needs to be added to your must-read pile.
Author James Dashner has a brilliant start to the book; the Gladers use different slang, which takes some time to get used to. However, this leaves the reader feeling just as jarred as Thomas when the book starts and you find yourself learning about the Glade right along with the main character. I've never really had that experience with a book before, so kudos to Mr. Dashner for a brilliant storytelling device.
The story has somewhat of a slow start, but readers who stick with it will be rewarded. I'm warning you - there are lots of cliffhangers and heart-stopping adventure, and you'll want to stay up late turning pages to find out what happens next.
4.7 out of 5 stars.
The beginning was really intriguing but there were parts that got a little slow. I really enjoyed this book. It's really different from a lot of other dystopian YA settings so I especially enjoyed it for that fact alone. The movie was well done too. I hate when they make a book into a movie because they are never the same as the books. They changed a lot in the movie for this book and The Scorch trials.
The beginning was really intriguing but there were parts that got a little slow. I really enjoyed this book. It's really different from a lot of other dystopian YA settings so I especially enjoyed it for that fact alone. The movie was well done too. I hate when they make a book into a movie because they are never the same as the books. They changed a lot in the movie for this book and The Scorch trials.
Even when I knew where this book was going and some of the characters started to feel like cardboard cut-outs I could not put it down.
I think this is because the main character is so likeable even when doing some peculiar things.
Fast paced and never boring this looks to be the start of a very interesting little YA series.
I think this is because the main character is so likeable even when doing some peculiar things.
Fast paced and never boring this looks to be the start of a very interesting little YA series.
I had heard all the hype about this book, and we had just gotten the DVD, so I was excited to read the book and jump onto the bandwagon. Unfortunately, because I have read so many similar books in the dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre, I believe I set my expectations rather high and this book simply did not meet them.
The characters were flat, and the reasoning behind the decisions they made was flimsy at best. I felt completed disconnected from every single individual in this book, and because of that I didnt care one bit what happened to any of them.
The plot and backstory as well as the ultimate reveal felt half-done and, at times, totally illogical. There are so many questions and so many flawed, nonsense conclusions and connections that it makes the entire story unbelievable. I understand this is a fictional dystopian novel, but speculative fiction like this should at least attempt to make the storyline flow well, and the reasoning moving from one conclusion to the next should make a bit of sense.
I found this book to be totally underwhelming. The characters, the plot, the writing, everything was flat and uninteresting to me. There are so many better books to read in this genre, I simply do not understand the fame this series has. I currently own the other books in this series, but I highly doubt I will be reading them, probably will donate to the library. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. If youre thinking about reading The Maze Runner, go pick up The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Under the Never Sky instead. The plot and characters are significantly more engaging, and the overall feel is similar to The Maze Runner.
The characters were flat, and the reasoning behind the decisions they made was flimsy at best. I felt completed disconnected from every single individual in this book, and because of that I didnt care one bit what happened to any of them.
The plot and backstory as well as the ultimate reveal felt half-done and, at times, totally illogical. There are so many questions and so many flawed, nonsense conclusions and connections that it makes the entire story unbelievable. I understand this is a fictional dystopian novel, but speculative fiction like this should at least attempt to make the storyline flow well, and the reasoning moving from one conclusion to the next should make a bit of sense.
I found this book to be totally underwhelming. The characters, the plot, the writing, everything was flat and uninteresting to me. There are so many better books to read in this genre, I simply do not understand the fame this series has. I currently own the other books in this series, but I highly doubt I will be reading them, probably will donate to the library. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. If youre thinking about reading The Maze Runner, go pick up The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Under the Never Sky instead. The plot and characters are significantly more engaging, and the overall feel is similar to The Maze Runner.
I have to imagine that the myopic point of view was the author's attempt to make us feel like the characters, confused, concerned, and wondering why.....I mostly just wondered why. I only got through the first 200 pages because the book was a gift. About 260 pages in it got somewhat interesting, but then the ending caused me to wish I had quit at 100 pages like I wanted to. On an unrelated note, I can't stand authors that assume because I read the first of a series I'll read any others. In my humble opinion any book of a trilogy should be able to stand on its own or it doesn't have a leg to stand on.
This is an amazing book! I definitely recommended it to anyone that loves the Hunger Games series.
Oh my gosh! This book was absolutely fantastic! Fantastic! It took me a chapter or two to really get into the swing of it, but then it sucked me in. And I really want (need!) the next one.
Great protagonist. Thomas responded well to the situation: not moping around for 1/2 the book (which would be an easy thing to do) nor did he seem wooden. Great blend of action & emotion. Plus, the plot/developments were revealed slowly so I kept wanting more. I did get annoyed with Thomas once or twice when he would run away from learning about something because I was curious, but it usually made perfect sense that he wouldn't want to know.
Definitely 5 stars.
Everyone should read this book! : )
Great protagonist. Thomas responded well to the situation: not moping around for 1/2 the book (which would be an easy thing to do) nor did he seem wooden. Great blend of action & emotion. Plus, the plot/developments were revealed slowly so I kept wanting more. I did get annoyed with Thomas once or twice when he would run away from learning about something because I was curious, but it usually made perfect sense that he wouldn't want to know.
Definitely 5 stars.
Everyone should read this book! : )
I liked this one. I didn't know that it was going to be a trilogy until I was about 60% through it. (I don't LOVE to read trilogies. I typically love the first one, tolerate the second one, and cry in utter disappointment with the last one...typically...for me.)
Tho this one is the first in a trilogy, it CAN stand on it's own. I am intrigued to read on, so I don't know if I'll continue ir not at this point. (Sorry, not giving much info on the book.) It is a great story, it gets exciting right off the bat and doesn't ever really stop. It's sad, scary, confusing and actually,I couldn't put it down. The ending is a little bit weird, tho, if you think about it setting the stage for the second book, well, it makes sense. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to take on a plane. Yeah, it would make a plane ride less horrible:)For sure.
Tho this one is the first in a trilogy, it CAN stand on it's own. I am intrigued to read on, so I don't know if I'll continue ir not at this point. (Sorry, not giving much info on the book.) It is a great story, it gets exciting right off the bat and doesn't ever really stop. It's sad, scary, confusing and actually,I couldn't put it down. The ending is a little bit weird, tho, if you think about it setting the stage for the second book, well, it makes sense. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to take on a plane. Yeah, it would make a plane ride less horrible:)For sure.
This book was acceptable up until the ending, which sort of lost me. Overall, this was a good read, but it's not on my favorites list.
Thomas is a teenager who wakes up one day in a service elevator that deposits him in the Glade, a section of land with a farm and a house, that just happens to be located in the middle of the maze. The maze is also populated with scary slug-like creatures known as Grievers who come out at night to feed. Thomas has no memory of his life before waking up in the elevator, as does anyone else. The Glade is populated entirely with young men, until the day that a girl pops up in the Glade; a girl who has some unknown special connection to Thomas. I read this because I plan to see the movie when it comes out in Septemeber. This is an excellently written, edge of your seat thriller which will leave you wanting more. I can't wait to read the sequel.
Thomas wakes up with no idea of who he is, where he's from or where he is now, just vague recollections of how the world is supposed to be. He finds himself in "The Glade" with about four dozen other teenage boys, none of whom remember their lives before they arrived.
Probably this type of plot device has been used before, but for me, this was book was very original. The questions of who these boys are, where they come from, who put them there and why, are all entangled in with the boys struggle to survive. Oh, did I mention that there's a maze surrounding the glade; a maze that the boys keep trying to solve despite the fact they've never found an exit? Oh, and there are monsters in the maze...and then a girl shows up and everything changes.
Fast-paced and suspenseful, this book kept me reading two nights in a row until it was done. And then you know what? It's a cliff-hanger leading to the second book. So just be warned...you will be pissed when you get to the end of this book. But it's definitely worth the ride.
Probably this type of plot device has been used before, but for me, this was book was very original. The questions of who these boys are, where they come from, who put them there and why, are all entangled in with the boys struggle to survive. Oh, did I mention that there's a maze surrounding the glade; a maze that the boys keep trying to solve despite the fact they've never found an exit? Oh, and there are monsters in the maze...and then a girl shows up and everything changes.
Fast-paced and suspenseful, this book kept me reading two nights in a row until it was done. And then you know what? It's a cliff-hanger leading to the second book. So just be warned...you will be pissed when you get to the end of this book. But it's definitely worth the ride.
This is the first book of a trilogy and have to say it was amazing! Had this one sitting on my shelf for a while. Thought that it might be too much like Hunger Games so I kept putting it off. I was wrong on that end.
It's about a boy named Thomas who wakes to find himself in a moving closed-in container with hardly no memory at all. Scared and confused, the "box" he is in finally stops and he winds up in a place with other teenage boys. These boys run this place by raising animals, gardening, etc. They've learned to take care of themselves with what they have and what they may receive through the box. Around their "home" is a maze where some of them go daily in search of a way out.
Thomas's arrival wasn't unusual but the arrival after him is. That arrival sends the whole place out of balance and nothing is the same afterwards. Who put them there and why?
Fast paced throughout the book. Had to keep reading the next chapter because I had to find out what happened next. Highly recommended!
It's about a boy named Thomas who wakes to find himself in a moving closed-in container with hardly no memory at all. Scared and confused, the "box" he is in finally stops and he winds up in a place with other teenage boys. These boys run this place by raising animals, gardening, etc. They've learned to take care of themselves with what they have and what they may receive through the box. Around their "home" is a maze where some of them go daily in search of a way out.
Thomas's arrival wasn't unusual but the arrival after him is. That arrival sends the whole place out of balance and nothing is the same afterwards. Who put them there and why?
Fast paced throughout the book. Had to keep reading the next chapter because I had to find out what happened next. Highly recommended!
The story of Thomas and the Gladders is a great one. I liken this to a long episode of Lost; for every question you answer 10 more pop up in it's place. The characters are very likeable and you're pulled into the world of the Glade and the Maze.
I love the story.
I couldn't stop reading this! My friend recommended it to me and I'm a major bookworm. I read the entire series in about a week. It's suspenseful, action-packed, and it can be a tear-jerker if you're a crybaby (like me). I love love loved this book and the others from this series. Dashner is a genius and this is a definite good read
1st let me say, I'm a mom; I read this because my teen wanted to read it. I read the whole series, even though I threw the second book at a wall, disgusted.
I'm adding this review for balance among the apparent love for the book among the reviewers. As a mom, I pretty much hate it.
1st - I've noticed that more & more authors are writing at a high school level, that manages to grab your attention like a bad movie; that's it! We have a whole generation of people who write like they watch TV movies...and the answer is always...add more drama & the fans will love it! Make it gorier! Add some violence! Wait, sex? Seeeexxxx, where are youuuuu?! Oh, it's YA.
2nd - Not a single adult cusses in this book. A world full of crazy people, people that will eat your nose off, but no one cusses. Not even the word "shit" is apparently acceptable.
Okay, so no sex & no "shit." But please add as much violence, blood, gore & torture as one mind can think up! Go YA writers!
(um, while I'm definitely not a YA, I'd rather have both the sex & the "shit")(I'd also rather teach my teen about sex than violence)
3rd - Can I just say, thank you for not taking time out from running for your lives to have sex? Nothing like being caught with your pants down.
4th - Just focused on book 1...what is the point? This is just plain ugly. Drama for little to no purpose, with a few teasers.
I'm adding this review for balance among the apparent love for the book among the reviewers. As a mom, I pretty much hate it.
1st - I've noticed that more & more authors are writing at a high school level, that manages to grab your attention like a bad movie; that's it! We have a whole generation of people who write like they watch TV movies...and the answer is always...add more drama & the fans will love it! Make it gorier! Add some violence! Wait, sex? Seeeexxxx, where are youuuuu?! Oh, it's YA.
2nd - Not a single adult cusses in this book. A world full of crazy people, people that will eat your nose off, but no one cusses. Not even the word "shit" is apparently acceptable.
Okay, so no sex & no "shit." But please add as much violence, blood, gore & torture as one mind can think up! Go YA writers!
(um, while I'm definitely not a YA, I'd rather have both the sex & the "shit")(I'd also rather teach my teen about sex than violence)
3rd - Can I just say, thank you for not taking time out from running for your lives to have sex? Nothing like being caught with your pants down.
4th - Just focused on book 1...what is the point? This is just plain ugly. Drama for little to no purpose, with a few teasers.
The first 3rd of this book kind of sucked... I mean it intrigued me but was slow moving and boring.. The last quarter of the book is when it caught me and got interesting. I do hope the next book keeps the action and isn't a boring read.
I am a mother of 10. This is the best book (of any genre) that I have read in a long time. It is a page-turner that is never boring. The only thing I do not like is the profanity disguised as an unknown language. Having said that, I think this is an action packed thrill ride. What an original idea! I am not a fan of sequels, however, and I will not be reading the next book in this series.
I love dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction! I mean I really love it. When I hear about a book of this genre that I haven't read before I run right out to pick it up. This was the case with The Maze Runner. It was recommended to me from a friend because I enjoyed The Hunger Games so much. I must say that I see why it was recommended, the two stories are somewhat similar.
I loved the premise of this book. Thomas is a 15 year old, about, boy who wakes up in a dark elevator with no memory of how he got there, why he's there, or anything that happened before that. He still has vague memories, going to a park for example but no idea who was there with him. He has no history except the darkness of the elevator. Then his world opens up into The Glade. There he finds a bunch of boys who are exactly like him, they came in the elevator and have no memory before that, but they all have a burning desire to solve the Maze that surrounds the Glade....even if they don't know exactly why they need to.
This is a fascinating idea and I loved the world that Dashner built. Everything was well described but didn't slow the plot down at all. I appreciate an author that can do that. So for this reason I was falling in love with this book. I also really liked Thomas. He was smart, witty, creative, and interesting.
My biggest complaint with the book was that often the solutions and ideas that I came up with in my imagination were better than what the actual solution was. I was so intrigued and fascinated I speculated through the whole book. Ooohhh, well maybe this is what that means or wouldn't it be awesome if; these things popped into my head all the time. Unfortunately when those questions actually got answered I found myself thinking, oh well that's great but it was way less anti-climactic than what it could have been. It wasn't necessarily disappointing but more routine and run of the mill than what I was expecting.
I loved the premise of this book. Thomas is a 15 year old, about, boy who wakes up in a dark elevator with no memory of how he got there, why he's there, or anything that happened before that. He still has vague memories, going to a park for example but no idea who was there with him. He has no history except the darkness of the elevator. Then his world opens up into The Glade. There he finds a bunch of boys who are exactly like him, they came in the elevator and have no memory before that, but they all have a burning desire to solve the Maze that surrounds the Glade....even if they don't know exactly why they need to.
This is a fascinating idea and I loved the world that Dashner built. Everything was well described but didn't slow the plot down at all. I appreciate an author that can do that. So for this reason I was falling in love with this book. I also really liked Thomas. He was smart, witty, creative, and interesting.
My biggest complaint with the book was that often the solutions and ideas that I came up with in my imagination were better than what the actual solution was. I was so intrigued and fascinated I speculated through the whole book. Ooohhh, well maybe this is what that means or wouldn't it be awesome if; these things popped into my head all the time. Unfortunately when those questions actually got answered I found myself thinking, oh well that's great but it was way less anti-climactic than what it could have been. It wasn't necessarily disappointing but more routine and run of the mill than what I was expecting.
I really enjoyed a lot about this book, right up until the ending. Now I'm not sure what to think of it. It was alright. I'll still look for the sequel, but I'm not as enthused about it as I wanted to be.
An exciting part 1 of the trilogy. I look forward to reading the next book.
It was OK--I'm out of the demographic and would probably have loved it when I was a teenager.
good read
