Temporarily renamed "Like/Love, Okay, Nope" feature to SEE-REESE! I know it's not cool, but it still sounds cool to me so there's that (and I love Reese chocolate anyway!) If you have a title in your head for suggestion about this kind of feature please tell me!! This is a series review for The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Note that I didn't include Kill Order (TMR #0.5)
Previous post: SEE-REESE: Sea Breeze by Abbi Glines.
This series has been on my TBR, but I never thought of reading it this year. Shame be damned, but the reason I actually read this was because of Dylan O'brien The Maze Runner movie. When I saw the news I got overly excited! I love book adaptations, yknow! So when I watched the trailer I was "OOOOOHHH SOUNDS THE KIND OF BOOK I'LL LIKE" and so the adventure began.
What is the whole series all about?
There's this plague called Flare and it killed almost half the population of the WORLD. The surviving governments decided to build an organization to find a cure for the Flare. But that organization needs to experiment and set up Trials to some young adults to come up with a brain pattern that is the key to the cure.
Who are the main characters?
Thomas, Minho, Teresa, Newt (All names came from famous scientists and also religion figure).
Rate and write a mini-review for each book in the series.
The Maze Runner (TMR #1): [3 point something stars]
This book really piqued my interest. For what is worth it, I devoured it in one day. I will be very honest, the book has a very solid world which I thought wasn't executed well. There were a number of things that bothered me, but the book got the intense, thrilling feeling of suspense. You just want to read it quickly to unravel more secrets and to know how will they escape the maze. I love tricky and twisting plots, it makes me think and mull over subtle details on the things happening and this book really had it 'til the last page.
Ooooh, the series got better! If the first book is the appetizer, this is the main course. This book had me clutching on my e-reader because of the poignancy and vehemency of the events. The characters were bent to its finest, and I really felt bad for them. But they remained indomitable and solid 'til the end. The character development was very noticeable and it was not hard to love the characters for they still are funny and witty although some jokes were out of place.The Death Cure (TMR #3): [IDK-HOW-TO-RATE-THIS-BOOK-STARS]
WHAT THE FREAK JUST HAPPENED? This is not a spoiler but to take caution, I sort of made the rest of this review invincible lol just highlight if you want: The answers! Where were the answers? It was like dumping a lot of problems and queries in two books to be just neglected in the ending! SAY WHAT? I loved Thomas, I do, but he was a freaking idiot most of the time and dragged others to hell and back. And the plot twist at the end? MY HEART BROKE T_T I was misty-eyed but still a little fierce over what happened all in all. I was disappointed, but the first hundred pages served as the saving glory. It was really the conclusion to this book that got my mind buzzing and reeling from lots of emotions mainly - hurt, baffle, annoyed and unsatisfied.
Striking aspects:
The solid and strong camaraderie & bond among the characters to work together was wonderful. All the characters were darn brilliant and remarkably strong-willed. I love Minho the most, he was funny and a born leader. Thomas on the other hand is a lovely character. The whole series was in third POV but more focused on Thomas' perspective. I had a few share of my quibbles and frustration over Thomas, and also Teresa, but I both like them 'til the end. The story progressed without much involvement of the romance. Very potent plot with so much twists and contortion. For someone who is engrossed with post-apocalytic and dystopian settings, I was really hooked and infatuated with the story and characters!
Quibbles:
The alien language really got me on the edge. I was a little baffled during my Maze Runner read because the words SHUCK, SLINTHEAD, GREENBAG, KLUNK was used over and over again. It was like a name calling among the characters. And 'til the last book, those words were still used, by then I found myself used to it to the point I even use it to converse with my sister who also read the series. There were ample of glitches in the story. The repetitive dialogues and same excuses made my head swam in an unknown emotion close to irritated and wary. Not to mention the conclusion UGH.
Favorite moments:
I really can't think of anything specific because I like the adventure of the characters, so in general I think my favorite would be the scenes where they were put into a very tricky and risky situation and the characters could still make things lighter by making some snarky comments. (Oh, here's something specific: When they were solving or trying to figure out to solve the maze which apparently is the whole book 1!)
Final Gif Reaction:
In the Philippines: Sept 17, 2014 (MOVIE DATE ANYONE?)
Something to look forward in the movie:
No seriously the cast looks brilliant. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (the actor behind Phineas and Ferb's voices), Dylan O'brien (Stiles from Teen Wolf *screams*), Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter (EUSTACE from Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and many others! And well, the trailer looks amazing IMO:
