Review - The Maze Runner

By: James Dashner, Narrator: Mark Deakins

Series: Maze Runner #1
Published: Oct. 2009
Pgs: 374
Format: Audiobook by Listening Library 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I think I am late to the game with the Maze Runner books. I have heard about them forever and I know the last book is coming out in paperback fairly soon. I've heard a lot of people talk about them and I thought they were all good things so going in I had fairly steep expectations for this books. I mean the plot sounds fantastic and I'm positive I've heard movie buzz around this so it seemed like a good time to jump on the bandwagon.

To say I was disappointed isn't quite right. I wasn't disappointed as much as I was expecting more or different I guess. Something just didn't work for me as I read. The plot was good, the characters were engaging and I wanted to find out what happened, but something didn't click with me. I think what initially turned me off was James Dashner's writing style. There are only so many analogies a girl can take!  I was especially conscious of this because I listened to this on auidiobook. There was a predictable pattern in Dashner's writing that really annoyed me as I listened. It kind of put me off to the whole book even though I liked many of the other elements of the book.

As far as characters go, I really like Thomas and the rest of Gladers. I really liked the dynamics between the boys and Dashner wrote all his characters as intelligent people and that came across very well. I really liked how the boys had adapted to living in this world and you could see how some of them still struggled with the transition and having no memory. This is a very interesting idea and I am still interested to see what happens next and where the boys (and Theresa) go from here.

Overall I liked the suspense and excitement of the book. I wanted to find out what happened and I was invested in the characters, but I'm not thrilled. I'm not sure why I cuoldn't connect very well with this book, but something put me off. I'll have to see how The Scorch Trials compare. I do recommend the read though because it was enjoyable and very thrilling.

Rating - 3/5