The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)

by James Dashner

Book one in the blockbuster Maze Runner series that spawned a movie franchise and ushered in a worldwide phenomenon! And don’t miss The Fever Code, the highly-anticipated series conclusion that finally reveals the story of how the maze was built!
 
   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.
   Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
   Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying: Remember. Survive. Run.

The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and Maze Runner: The Death Cure all are now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O’Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.
 
Also look for James Dashner’s edge-of-your-seat MORTALITY DOCTRINE series!

Praise for the Maze Runner series:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling Series
A USA Today Bestseller
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year
An ALA-YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick
 
“[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost.” —EW
 
“Wonderful action writing—fast-paced…but smart and well observed.” —Newsday
 
“[A] nail-biting must-read.” —Seventeen
 
“Breathless, cinematic action.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Heart pounding to the very last moment.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Exclamation-worthy.” —Romantic Times
 
“James Dashner’s illuminating prequel [The Kill Order] will thrill fans of this Maze Runner [series] and prove just as exciting for readers new to the series.” —Shelf Awareness, Starred

“Take a deep breath before you start any James Dashner book.” —Deseret News

• ISBN10: 0375893776
• ISBN13: 9780375893773
• Publish Date: 6 October 2009
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 263
• Language: English

Reviews

It was a pretty good book. The author did a good job of not revealing too much and let the plot build itself. I liked the characters and they were nicely made. I really started to like it around the middle part, that is when things started to really happen. I loved the ending because you can tell in the next book that some serious stuff is about to go down and I can't wait to read on and find out what's going to happen next.

Overall I was very pleased and I can see why people like this book/series.

[cornerfolds]

See more reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

The entire time I was reading The Maze Runner one thought kept cycling through my mind: how is the movie even called "The Maze Runner"? Because, you see, I saw the movie first. I kept meaning to pick up the book, but something always got in the way. When the movie came out, I wanted to read the book first, but, you know, life happened. I went into the film and absolutely loved every second of it! So I of course made time for the book as soon as possible. My conclusion is that I probably would have hated the movie had I read the book first. Probably.

The Maze Runner, while slow at times, was actually pretty amazing. It begins with Thomas, the main character, in a pitch black box with no idea of where he is (or where he came from) and immediately I just had to know what happened next! I had kind of a hard time accepting the differences from the movie, but once I got over it I was hooked.

The most difficult thing to get over was the changes in the characters. The most obvious difference (and this is probably because I listened to the audiobook) was Alby. Hearing his southern accent was totally off-putting, as was his jerk attitude. I did enjoy getting to know Minho and Newt immensely, however. I also really appreciated the relationship between Thomas and Teresa a lot - especially their special ability that obviously wasn't mentioned in the film.

The world of The Maze Runner seemed a lot more interesting than the one I saw on the big screen. I loved the way the Glade and the Maze were described. It makes me wonder why they changed SO MUCH in the film when the book had already done such a great job! The Glade in the book was so jarringly different from the real world that it made me a little uncomfortable just reading about it. The Maze itself was also much more creepy - especially the way out. WHY would they change that?! Overall, things in the book just made a heck of a lot more sense. The movie left me with a million questions (which is probably why I was so quick to get the book).

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed both, but for different reasons. The movie was an amazing action film and the suspense was tangible. In the book I felt like I got to know the characters a lot better and learned a lot more. The way the puzzle of the Maze was handled in the book made me feel a lot more involved too. I would definitely recommend The Maze Runner, book and film, to everyone!


Notes on the Audiobook
I don't listen to a lot of books narrated by men, so it always takes a little while to get used to for some reason. Mark Deakins was actually pretty great! He had distinct voices for each character, which is always a bonus, and none of them sounded super cheesy or weird (except Alby, for reasons I've already stated). I'd definitely listen to more books narrated by Mark Deakins.

[tweetybugshouse]

I picked up this book cause I saw previews for the movie and I am one of those people who most of the time has to read the book before i see the movie. I am so glad i did this book had me from page one all the way to the end. I really like how they never tell poor Thomas anything. It really puts you in the book right next to him wanting to scream just tell me something anything you Shuck faces. A great page turner that gets you all excited and pumped up as the ending comes and then your left going next book please. So excited to see the movie. Book two on hold at library a must read series.

[Kelly]

4½ Stars.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/09/the-maze-runner-by-james-dashner.html
The Maze Runner is the ultimate no nonsense series. It's incredibly unique and relies purely on the depth of characters and world building, rather than the exhausted young adult dystopian cliché. Thomas who is believed to be sixteen years old, is dropped into The Glade, an self sufficient but frightening community of boys that seem to have accepted their fate. No one knows what lies beyond the Maze and most of the fifty strong community would rather not question why they're there, but are simply content to survive. The world created by James Dashner was phenomenal, and painted a vivid picture how how ominous and expansive the Maze is and the fear that looms over the community. Thomas is a reliable narrator, switching seamlessly from third person perspective while still gaining an insight into his thoughts and fears. For a group of teens that retained no memory of their former lives, they were well developed and each with their own individual personalities.

Within the community, the boys also have their own language and substitute names and colourful phrases for their own, reminiscent of [b:Blood Red Road|13064072|Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)|Moira Young|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328777602s/13064072.jpg|14692536] and [b:Fire Country|16160701|Fire Country (The Country Saga, #1)|David Estes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358390068s/16160701.jpg|22002174]. The storyline is a mixture of intrigue and frustration as no one is willing to tell Thomas anything about The Glade or The Maze which may leave some readers despondent, but I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless. The storyline springs to life shortly after the lone girl is dropped into the community, and murmuring Thomas' name not only raises eyebrows but suspicions amongst the other boys. Thomas isn't perfect as he focuses on learning what lies beyond the Maze, rather than questioning why. But what he lacks in curiosity, his tenacity, intelligence and bravery succeed him, not surprisingly making his character a fan favourite.

It was simply brilliant. My only complaint is that I would have appreciated the storyline to have progressed further, perhaps including a few timely answers sooner rather than in the final few chapters. Regardless, it was incredible and I look forward to continuing on with the series and the movie adaptation as well.

[mitabird]

I found this incredibly boring and all the vagueness and non-answers annoyed me as much as they annoyed Thomas. I'll just check out the movie. DNF'd at 31%.

[adamfortuna]

The movie preview for this story drew me into to check it out before release. With a lot of recent young adult novels in a similar world being made into movies (Hunger Games, Enders Game), this one looked like it could be another hit.

The book though seemed like a copy of too many other stories -- namely the above two. Without storyline spoilers though, the feel from the book is similar, but the connection to the characters was limited. I'm undecided if I'll listen to the other two books in the series.

[Berls]

My Initial Reaction...

The Maze Runner was much better than I expected. Not something I typically would have picked up, but was on the list for book club. Now I now need to track down the rest of the books!

The Characters...

The main character in The Maze Runner is a young boy of about 16 named Thomas. When the book begins he's waking up in a metal box in the ground, no clue where he is, why he's there, or who he is. Thomas knows his name, but that's it. His memory has been wiped. I really loved that The Maze Runner was told ONLY from his point of view, because it makes figuring out what's going on that much more complicated. Thomas has all these instinctive abilities and desires - and even those instincts are to be questioned. He's a smart boy and I loved watching him figure out the mystery - because I couldn't do it.

We get to know quite a few other characters in the Maze. They were well written and I could visualize each boy so clearly - they all have such strong personalities and sometimes that brings them into conflict. I will say, though, that this definitely isn't a character driven novel. You get to know the characters, but they don't drive it forward. It's the story - particularly the mystery - that kept me turning the pages.

The Story...

The Maze Runner is a brilliant concept. These boys have all been put in the Glade - an area at the center of a Maze - over a period of about two years without their memories. They don't know why they are there but they are trying to get out. So a group of boys, called Runners because they have to run to get through the maze, go out every day to try and find the way. After two years they haven't found a way because 1 - the walls move every night and 2 - it's dangerous out there. Weird creatures are in the maze and they are hunting the boys, trying to kill them.

When Thomas arrives at the maze, things start going differently and the boys are convinced his arrival has something to do with it. Thomas knows they are probably right, though he has no idea why. The mystery of how they ended up there, why, and how they're going to get out kept me turning the pages. By the end, I still hadn't guessed. Best part, though, was that once I found out, I could look back and see where I SHOULD have figured it out!

Concluding Sentiments...

The Maze Runner ends with an epilogue that let's you know that the mystery isn't quite as solved as you thought. There's more to come and I can't wait to read the rest. Thank goodness the entire trilogy is already out or I'd be so frustrated. It's not a cliffhanger per say, but it's enough to make the next book a must!

[kerrydarkeyes]

Felt like a mashup of Ender's Game and The Hunger Games but not in a good way.

Also, for a book called The Maze Runner, the main character spent a disproportionately little amount of time running in the Maze. ;)

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[jesstheaudiobookworm]

Series Review
I’ve seen a lot of people DNF-ing this series and it totally befuddles me. This was one of the first audiobook series I ever completed (way back in 2014) and, although a lot of the details have slipped away from me, I clearly remember my level of enjoyment being sky high. This series is super fast-paced and really unique. I tend to burn out on dystopians pretty quickly because a) it’s mostly formulaic with little originality b) the author focuses too much on the dystopian setting and doesn’t devote enough time to character development c) I can’t make myself care about the welfare of the characters. I did not have any of those issues with this series. The setting (especially for the first two installments) was incredibly original. The intensity factor was amazing. I was completely invested in the well-being of the characters and each of them had very distinct personalities. The plot, the plot, THE PLOT. This plot was so addicting. It grabbed me from the beginning of the first installment and refused to let me go, so much so that I even did something I hardly ever do and listened to a 0.5 story (a mini-installment). I only do that for series that I am insanely invested in! After finishing The Death Cure, I wasn’t ready to let the incredible world that James Dashner created go, so I scrambled to get my hands on The Kill Order and enjoyed every single second of it. For some reason, it seemed to provide more closure than the ending of The Death Cure.

Narration review: The fact that I can think of this audiobook series and instantly recall the narrator’s name (Mark Deakins) is probably a good sign, eh? I have been known to gravitate towards certain audiobooks based on narration alone and discovering that Deakins narrates part of Reawakened is definitely making me want to give it a higher priority placement in my TBR. ♣︎