kiracanread
Written on Apr 30, 2020
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MAZE RUNNER SERIES • “[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies [and] The Hunger Games” (Entertainment Weekly)
WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.
What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.
Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.
The time for lies is over.
The first two books, The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, are also #1 worldwide blockbuster movies featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O'Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster!
Look for more books in the blockbuster Maze Runner series:
THE MAZE RUNNER • THE SCORCH TRIALS • THE DEATH CURE • THE KILL ORDER • THE FEVER CODE
- ISBN10 0385738781
- ISBN13 9780385738781
- Publish Date 8 January 2013 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Random House USA Inc
- Imprint Random House Inc
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 368
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780385738781
Reviews
thepunktheory
Written on Aug 1, 2018
The Scorch Trials had been a rather huge letdown, so by the time I picked up The Death Cure I just wanted to get it over with.
Author James Dashner has a few rather interesting ideas that could be seen as hint about how we live our lives and how we treat the world. However, the way he carries the ideas out it just doesn't work. Most of the impact his thoughts could have had are lost in a weak presentation and at times it seemed like even he didn't know what to make of it. It felt like even Dashner just wanted it to be over and didn't have much of a clue how to come up with an interesting storyline that makes sense.
Just like the food for food moments, the novel also fails to convey the heartbreaker moments properly. Some scenes could be touching but ultimately you never get pulled in enough to care about any of it.
Moreover, most of the plot twist weren't to surprising and the ultimate twist concerning the ending was outright annoying and uninspired.
cornerfolds
Written on Sep 6, 2016
**Review to come!**
ammaarah
Written on Jun 28, 2016
"And with every passing day came an increasing anger so intense that Thomas sometimes caught himself shaking uncontrollably before he reeled the fury back in and pocketed it."
I'm disappointed in this series! I just... Urgh! Such a waste of my time. The Death Cure is a fast-paced action-packed book to read, but it has no substance.
This book has action. LOTS OF ACTION! But, the action was mind-less and was disconnected from the plot. I am immune to the action in The Death Cure. My adrenaline wasn't pumping and my heart wasn't racing. The action scenes are also written in a way that they are difficult to visualise. The action also hides a ton of things that this book doesn't have, such as a plot, character development and answers.
The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials made me ask a mountain load of questions. What's up with Thomas's past at WICKED? How do the variables work? What the hell does dumping a bunch of kids in a maze and a desert achieve when trying to find a cure? None of these questions are answered. Thomas doesn't get his memory back so we don't find out about his involvement in WICKED or his relationship with Theresa and how his telepathic bond with her and Aris came about. I wanted answers and I didn't get them. What makes it worse is that this last book, hints at answers that are supposed to come, but aren't delivered. The plot that The Death Cure follows doesn't make any sense, or maybe I'm just too stupid to get it. I also found the story line to be extremely predictable and boring.
There is absolutely no character development and this makes me mad! After spending two or three books with these characters, I'm supposed to know who they are, how they respond to situations and see how they grow and develop along the way, but if the characters aren't Thomas, they are tossed to the side and become stereotypes with the same personality as everyone else in this book. Don't even get me started on Thomas! Everything that was done in this book was meant to make Thomas seem like a hero, a character that we should feel sympathy towards and root for, but honestly, I don't like it when an author manipulates me into feeling a certain way about characters and I rebel against it.
My favourite characters in this book are Minho and Newt and they didn't get the attention that they deserve. Minho has lost all of his sarcastic quips and is now a temperamental character that's meant to make Thomas look better and is just like every other male character in this series. The only minor character development in this book came from Newt and his character arc had so much of potential that wasn't tapped into. It's Newt's character arc that gave this book a star because it was the only thing in this book that made me feel something.
There are a few character deaths in this book, just like there are in the previous book. However, the deaths in this book did not have emotional impact, nor are they used to further the plot. When important character deaths happen that should affect Thomas, he brushes it off and moves on to the next thing that he's supposed to do. If Thomas doesn't care as much as he's supposed to when characters die, why should we care at all. The aim of the character deaths are to make Thomas, the good guy, the hero and the sympathetic character and to emotionally manipulate the readers into liking Thomas.
In the previous book there was the beginning of a love triangle and in this book it continues. I didn't ship Thomas with Theresa, nor did I ship him with Brenda. I don't care who Thomas wants to spend the rest of his life with. I do care that Theresa and Brenda, who should have been two of the strongest female protagonists, end up being the same character with the same personality. They are there to make Thomas look good and be his romantic love interest. Theresa isn't even a part of this book. Due to the actions in the previous book, she becomes such an irredeemable character, until she saves Thomas's life. I felt like Theresa's character had more potential that Newt's did and if the author could have expanded on her life, her involvement in WICKED, her change of attitude when it comes to the trials, her motives and her actions then her presence in this book wouldn't have been pointless.
There's a theme in The Death Cure that I usually enjoy reading about, but it failed to seep through and become coherent. There's this whole idea that WICKED isn't black or white and that the ends justify the means. This theme doesn't work because the characters in the book don't carry it through. Thomas's makes WICKED seem irredeemable to such an extent that the "good" parts of WICKED doesn't shine through and I couldn't draw conclusions for myself. Instead, who WICKED is, what their motive are and what their action are is spoon fed into our mouths so we can believe what Thomas wants us to believe or what makes him seem like the better guy.
The Death Cure is supposed to be an epic finale that redeems The Scorch Trials and answer all the questions that I have, but instead there's no plot or character development, which means no emotions or attachments. This book is literally all about Thomas and no one else matters. The Maze Runner shouldn't have been a series at all. One book was enough!
Liz (Bent Bookworm)
Written on Nov 8, 2015
Baroness Book Trove
Written on Sep 3, 2015
This book gave me a ton of emotions. That went from happy to sad to gross to pissed off, all different kinds of emotions. James Dashner did an excellent job with this book and the others in the series. I am glad to say that I read them and became one of his fans. I am going to give this book five butterflies because it was just that fabulous. I am also going to say "yes!" to anyone that asks for a recommendation on this book because it’s a really great read and not just for young adult readers.
Anyways until next time enjoy this book review brought to you by
Baroness’ Book Trove.
If you like this review please go to my blog site: baronessbooktrove (dot) com.
readingwithwrin
Written on Jul 31, 2015
I've had a like/hate/loved relationship with this trilogy. I thought the Maze Runner was okay, I absolutely hated the Scorch Trials though and genuinely wasn't sure if I was going to continue on with this series due to how many problems I had with it. I am so glad though that I decided to finish this trilogy. For once in the end of a trilogy we got all of the questions answered. We find out what caused the Flare, how it was spread, and why Wicked was doing what it was doing. (I would never have guessed that that was why the Flare was created and spread.)
As with how I felt after reading the Scorch trials the characters make this story all the more enjoyable. Thomas and Minho's friendship is one of my favorite friendships of all time. I was still very unsure if we should trust Brenda and Teresa or not, but I am glad that Thomas kept them at arm's-length pretty much until the almost end of the book.
I also want to mention that two of the deaths that happened were very unexpected to me and one was very heartbreaking.
While I can see how a lot of people thought the ending was predictable I really liked it and it made me love this book even more.
(I can even see a book being written about how they made a new society to continue the human race and how they kept it civilized.)
See more reviews like this on my blog
empressbrooke
Written on Jul 12, 2015
The main character also calls about four different people his "best friend" throughout this book, suggesting that the author is not worrying too much about definitions of words.
James Dashner and [a:Veronica Roth|4039811|Veronica Roth|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1363910238p2/4039811.jpg] need to start a support group for YA authors who totally tank the third book of their popular dystopian trilogies. Are they being rushed by their publishers? Getting drunk on their success and paying less attention to what they write? I don't even know, but maybe they can put their heads together and figure out how to avoid it the next time around.
Kim Deister
Written on Apr 12, 2015
I have mixed feelings, but I have to wonder if perhaps that is exactly how the author meant us to feel. These books are surrounded with mystery, the kind of mystery that makes you question the powers that be and their authority and control over your life. That's the bigger message. So the series was written in such a way to constantly foster that mystery and I think that too many neat answers might have eliminated that feeling and lessened them overall messages and themes.
Part of the mystery is rooted in the fact that no one, including the reader, ever seems to know exactly who they can and can't trust. There are moments that it is even hard to tell what is real and what isn't. These things keep the story interesting, and keep the reader from being able to guess what is going to happen next.
The presence of WICKED throughout the series is the source of all mystery. The methods that they use and the things that they do in the name of the greater good are often incomprehensible and horrendous. Their involvement was so mysterious and so convoluted that it just amped up the misdirection and made the answers impossible to guess, which I loved.
The ending was satisfying, but I think I expected something different, something more epically conclusive. By the end, the characters, and the reader, are exhausted and full of conflicting emotions. Their stories have been confusing and twisted and the ending leaves them with a sense of hope. And that is something that they have not had for a very long time.
My Recommendation
I am sad to see this series end, although I am happy that The Kill Order begins a prequel trilogy. I loved the premise of this story and found it engrossing and unique.
Berls
Written on Jan 31, 2015
2.5 stars
On it's own, The Death Cure would probably get a higher rating from me. Its exciting and fast paced. And I was on my toes the whole time, just waiting for the giant curve ball - like the one I got in The Maze Runner - to take it from good to great. I'm still waiting. And that's besides the fact as the ENDING of a trilogy it left way too many unanswered questions.
A quick note - I'm going to address some if the questions that came up in the previous two books, so there will be some series spoilers from them in this review.
So here begins my rant...
In The Maze Runner we find out that Thomas and Teresa were somehow part of building this huge, multi-tiered experiment. The big questions- for me at least - were WHY? HOW EXACTLY? WHY? ok I asked why twice because seriously that's such an important question. I'll give you two guesses... Which question did The Death Cure answer?
If you guessed NEITHER, you'd be correct. This is all the more frustrating because the opportunity to answer both questions comes up over and over and over again. Thomas avoids getting the answer in such ridiculous ways that I'm not convinced even THE AUTHOR knows. Its like he built in this fabulous plot twist and didn't know how to resolve it, so he didn't. Not cool!
And I still don't understand the point of the experiments. Okay, yeah, science isn't my strong point but I just don't get how all the things they put these kids through has ANY connection to a cure. It just doesn't make sense.
And, after reading The Death Cure, I understand The Scorch Trials even less. What was that book's purpose in the trilogy? As far as I can tell it did three things - (1) undermined Teresa (which she could have easily done herself in The Death Cure...), (2) introduced some new characters (who could have easily introduced in The Death Cure), and (3) introduced the flare, cranks, etc. The flare actually never should have been introduced since it's this huge environmental factor that goes largely unaddressed and the cranks get more than enough time in The Death Cure.
Okay, here endeth the rant...
Here's the thing about The Death Cure. Despite being incredibly unsatisfying as the conclusion of the trilogy, its actually a very fun, fast, and pretty exciting read. A lot happens super fast and it did remind me of the intensity of reading The Maze Runner. Too bad it just couldn't live up to all the promises The Maze Runner hinted at for the trilogy. :(