Drew: The Maze Runner is a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it the first, second, and now the third time reading, which means that the author, James Dashner, did his job well. Most of all, I love the premise, the idea that a bunch of scientists would brainwash kids and put them in the middle of a giant maze. It’s just crazy, and had me wondering, what would I do if I were Thomas. How would I cope? The inhumanity of it all reminds me of the Hunger Games (although if you read the sequels, The Maze Runner Trilogy doesn’t seem quite as well thought-out).
The Grievers had me on edge the whole time, and I even got goose-bumps during the chapter where Thomas saves Alby. Unfortunately, it could have been a lot better. Dashner, it seems, got so excited with his idea that he dismissed any further plot and character-development efforts as superfluous and sat straight down to pound it out. Maybe it was deadlines, but the bottom line is, the main character didn’t have very much depth. But his memory was gone! True, but Dashner could have spent a little more time recording different angles of Thomas’ natural personality. The three existing angles were: his bravery (in the maze), his friendliness (with Chuck), and his tenacity (when sharing his ideas with other Gladers). Beyond that, any display of character was small enough to go unnoticed. And the Gladers. Sometimes I felt like, aside from minor differences in language, they were interchangeable. I would have appreciated more personality distinction between Gally, Alby, Newt, Frypan, and so on. Chuck was the exception. He stood out from the group because of his innocent nature, and I really got a feel for who he was. At times, he was annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the pet-phrases I noticed Dashner using. The one that really bugged me was, “Despite his lack of memory, he was positive he’d just been through the most traumatic night of his life…” blah, blah, blah. I marked two instances of this, on the first page of Chapter 22 (loc. 1952 on a Kindle), and also three pages into Chapter 23 (loc. 2060).
Keep in mind, though, that these two examples were not the first. Those were the first I marked because I was so bothered by the pattern. “Patterns, schmatterns,” you might say, and I would agree. Unless you’re reading this book with an author’s mindset, you probably won’t notice the things I pointed out. Which is okay. All things considered, it’s still a very entertaining read, and I never once got bored. If you haven’t read it, I would definitely recommend you try it out.
Skylar: Ahh The Maze Runner. How do I put my thoughts together into a semi-coherent thing that you all can actually read? First of all, I’d liked to say that I didn’t even know this book existed until I signed up for Karoline’s write-a-review. Apparently, it’s very popular. 
I loved the setting. The only other books that have such original setting and creatures, etc. are, to me, Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t read a lot of books where the characters live in a terrifying maze. Dashner did an amazing job with the world-building! I could imagine everything in my head. But…Thomas didn’t click with me. I mean, he does amazing things and he has crazy bravery (or stupidity), but his whole attitude got on my nerves. He’s tactless and pushy. He also has a tendency to think that everybody should listen to him because he knows. On the other hand, he’s protective over the other people and he does take responsibility. And the way he takes care of a certain character convinced me that he wasn’t all annoying. The other characters were well written. Sometimes the emotions that were put with actions were a little weird but I connected to most of the characters.
Characters are a huge thing for me. They are usually the most important part of a book and are what makes me keep reading. Honestly, the first half of The Maze Runner wasn’t all that exciting to me. The characters were good but not amazing. I was annoyed by the main character. It seemed to drag on for me and the things that kept me reading were the setting and the unanswered questions. Dashner is king of unanswered questions. Seriously, guys. But the second half of the book is what blew my mind. PLOT. THE PLOT. It twisted and turned. There was action. Things happened that I totally didn’t see coming. Questions were answered in the most shocking way possible. It was amazing. And the last page. That’s all I can say. Go read it, because the second half definitely makes up for the lag in the beginning. Besides, there’s a movie coming out.
My rating: 4/5 stars
Karoline: I agree with Drew and Skylar that Thomas wasn't the most likable character. This could be attributed to the fact that his memory his limited, which constricts a lot of depth that would normally flesh out someone. At times the other boys seemed so similar that it was easy to get them mixed up. Let me say, however, that I thoroughly enjoyed "The Maze Runner'. As someone who doesn't read much fantasy, especially modern fantasy, this book was surprisingly enjoyable. At times it felt like Dashner was pandering to the audience, though that could be due to the fact that this book was targeted towards younger teens rather than older teens. At times I found myself rolling my eyes and saying, "Yeah, we KNOW Thomas has lost his memory, you only mention on EVERY page!" The story, however, was intriguing and unique. I would recommend to anyone who is interested in trying something new.
Be sure to check out Skylar's Blog and Drew's Blog!
Well done, team. ;D
ReplyDeleteI agree with Skylar. I liked it okay, and I think the concept was great, but for the majority of the book I just kept thinking, "When is this going to get good?" I'd heard so many great things about it, but I couldn't see what the huge deal was. I couldn't stand the language they used, either. :P It seemed to me that James Dashner was trying too hard to incorporate his own "hip slang" into his book, and it just didn't work. But it was a good book. I might go see the movie with my best friend. :)
ReplyDelete