The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Title: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner #2)

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 361

Rating: 3/5 stars  Movie: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NPR YA, 100 YA); Book to Movie

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.

I didn't have super high expectations for this sequel, but I was still disappointed. There's too much misdirection and confusion. I didn't feel that the characters grew at all. We just get nonstop action for 361 pages. Overall, I just wasn't interested in the book...

Title: The Scorch Trials: The Graphic Novel Prelude

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: kaBoom 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy, Comic

Pages: 96

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Randomly saw this on the shelf and grabbed it. The volume contains a few different short comics about people and events before The Scorch Trials. I loved the story centering on the creation of WICKED and the big players. Plus we get some interesting insight into Brenda and Jorge. I actually liked this volume more than The Scorch Trials.

Movie:

J and I finally watched the movie last night and basically picked it apart the entire time. I'm so not impressed with the movie. They changed a ton of major events and added some characters. I was so confused the entire time. And the victims of the Flare? Atrocious! The filmmakers went all Resident Evil with them when I saw them more like Reavers from Firefly... As J said, "by tomorrow, I will have forgotten the entire movie." Yep, my thoughts exactly...

The Maze Runner

• #0.5 The Kill Order
• #0.6 The Fever Code
• #1 The Maze Runner
• #2 The Scorch Trials
• #2.5 Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare
• #3 The Death Cure
• #3.5 The Maze Runner Files

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Title: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1)

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2009

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 374

Rating: 3/5 stars  Movie: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NPR YA; 100 YA); Popsugar - Recommended by Someone You Just Met; Books to Movies

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.

I feel like I would have really liked this book if I was a 13-year-old boy. (In fact, maybe I should give it to the twins to read this summer...) As I am not a in fact a 13-year-old boy, this book felt a bit tired and predictable. It definitely has a big influence from Lord of the Flies. And it reminded me of The Hunger Games series. Which isn't to say that it's a bad book. I just think I've read too much to be blown away by it. Other than the predictability, my biggest complaint is with the lack of characterization. I wanted to get more from the characters and their motivations. Unfortunately, the books glosses over a lot of that in favor of lots of action. Oh well. I'll keep reading the series. Now I want to know more about WICKED and the trials.

Movie:

J and I both agree that the movie was better than we excepted, but it still wasn't that good. I understand most of the changes from the book. They make sense for the movie. And I did enjoy the visuals for the maze. Nice to see it up close and personal. I wasn't a fan of how they changed the grievers. I like their design in the book much better. I still have issues with some of the character motivations and the entire premise of the series. But that's to be excepted. We have the second movie sitting on the server, but I would like to read the second book before watching the movie.

The Maze Runner

• #0.5 The Kill Order
• #0.6 The Fever Code
• #1 The Maze Runner
• #2 The Scorch Trials
• #2.5 Thomas's First Memory of the Flare
• #3 The Death Cure
• #3.5 The Maze Runner Files