I want to start this off by saying WOW!!
From the minute I picked up these books I knew I was never going to be able to put them down. This world, this crazy fast-paced world, is one that I could not get enough of. The ending of every book left me both speechless and wanting more all at the same time. I am sad to say that the only reason I picked up these books was because of the films being released and not because I discovered them on my own. I am glad that I did find them though, no matter how or why it may have happened.
Book one was the one that captured my love for the series. The characters were all so authentic and made me wish that I could be a part of their world just for a minute so that I had the chance to meet them.
In a way I didn't need to be a part of their world though, I felt like I knew them and what they were like just from the words on the page. The language that they used took me some time to get my head around but after a few chapters it didn't matter what words they were using because I knew what they were saying. I understood their language and the way that they lived and the feelings that they had. I became a part of the group of people who were fighting for their lives everyday with the hope that there was something better on the other side of the crazy maze that they lived inside.
What I liked most about it all was that the relationships between the Gladers were ones that you make in everyday life, their bonds were just stronger because of the madness they were going through. The plot of the book was so different than most dystopian novels too. Yes, there was drama and yes, it was a survival story but it was such a different take on the whole thing. I loved how fast-paced the action was and loved that with every turn of the page there was something different going on.
Book two was a continuation of the first book. I started where the first left-off and so did the action. From the replacement of people in the group to the addition of a new group all trucked into a new environment, the book was action packed.
While this book introduced new characters and allowed you to get to know them, it also allowed you to better understand the existing characters. It allowed you to see how they would react in different situations. It was almost like you were WICKED and were watching this new experiment play out.
Overall the second book was a great sequel but I did feel that it was dragged out in places. Dragged out may be the wrong term to use because I felt that the information was all relevant and helped with the storyline but after beginning with so much action and ending with so much action, the middle seemed to be lacking something. That is not to say that I did not enjoy the book, I did, I just felt like there was something missing when compared with the first book in the series.
The third book was by far my favourite. The Death Cure was packed with everything that the other two books had and more. The plot of this book was to put an end to the experiments that the characters were going through. Somehow James Dashner was able to slip more emotion into this book than the others. The action seemed to be endless and the emotion seemed to be real. I could not put this book down. This book actually left me in a state of depression when it finally ended. This was not because of the ending itself but simple because it was the end. It was the end of Thomas' story and I wasn't ready to let him go yet. I sat on my couch in my living room just holding the book to my chest in a state of numbness. I tried re-reading the last few pages again and again but each time just seemed to make it worse instead of better. I was so bad that my mum even told me to put the book down and stop reading it.
Once I finished these three books and recovered from them ending, I decided to pick up the Prequel. The Kill Order tells the story of Mark and his comrades dealing with the beginning of the disease that Thomas and his friends are experiments to find a cure for. This book took me the longest to read. It was not as action filled as the others due to it being more of background on the Flare and how it came to be in the first place. I didn't feel that it was as good as the others but I would still give it a 3/5 stars.
The parts of this book that got me the most were the prologue and the epilogue. The prologue is from Teresa's point of view as she prepares to sends Thomas into the maze. It shows how she really felt about him and what they were doing. It made me realise how much he really meant to her and it made me forgive her for awful decisions she made in the trilogy. The epilogue is from Thomas' mother's perspective. It is the few moments that surround the time that Thomas was taken by WICKED. It shows that his mother gave him to them because she had caught the Flare and she knew that he could do great things to save other people from the fate that she was facing. It also explained how he got his name, Thomas was not his name when he left with WICKED.
Does this mean that Deedee is Teresa???
While reading these four books I discovered that James Dashner's writing is just incredible. He writes in a way that makes me remember exactly what happens weeks after I have finished reading it. His writing grasps my attention in a way that no other author has really done before. It makes me feel like I am there with the characters following them in their journey to save their friends. I honestly cannot get enough of it! His books are ones that I will read over and over again, I don't think I could ever get bored with them.
I will definitely be picking up more of James Dashner's books, including The Fever Code when it is released. If they are anything like this series then I cannot wait to get my hands on them.
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