Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)

by James Dashner

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything - even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrols its corridors, to find out.

• ISBN13: 9781906427504
• Publish Date: 2 August 2010 (first published 6 October 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 July 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Chicken House Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[CrowNoYami]

So much better than the movie.

 

While it's been a few years since I watched Maze Runner the book (as always) is so much better than the movie. I would highly recommend reading the book, it goes so in-depth and leaves you wanting more. I'll be sure to pick up the second in the series, as I'm eager to see what happens to Thomas and co.

[kiracanread]

The Maze Runner is a mediocre introduction to a lacklustre story. I didn't feel anything towards the characters, they were neither likeable or intentionally bad characters, I only felt as though I had any feelings towards the characters that were created by watching the movie prior to reading the book as it felt as though the characters were written with no personalities.

[Jane]

Review soon!

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog: www.thepunktheory.wordpress.com

James Dashner's creation took me some time to get used to. He uses as distinct language with a few new words. Furthermore, we don't get any info. As nobody knows why the teens are stuck in the glade, the reader doesn't really find out either. At first I was a bit annoyed as there were almost no revelations and I was desperate to find out more. But the more I got pulled into the story, the less I cared.
Dashner wrote a fascinating book, that keeps you on edge. He came up with some pretty unique ideas with relatable characters. A few little aspects might not make 100 % sense but you can easily overlook those little flaws. In total it's a gripping novel. I can't wait to get started with the second installment!

[mrs_mander_reads]

I was surprised by this book. When it first came out, I started reading it, but never finished. Listening to the audio was awesome - the book is surprising and suspenseful, and the characters are genuine. I'm way more attached to the story than I imagined I would be, and have already downloaded The Scorch Trials.

"Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick, listen, don't talk. (Alby)

In the past year, I've read one million dystopian books that all sound exactly the same. I was sick of the dystopian genre. The Maze Runner came to me at the worst time. I booked this book from my school library ages ago and when I wasn't interested in reading it, it was waiting for me. Murphy's Law.

As a person who enjoys character-driven stories, this book wouldn't have worked for me under normal circumstances.

Thomas, the main character is a Gary-Stu. He can do everything, is the smartest character and is extremely noble and self-sacrificing. His perfectness got on my nerves. He remains a heroic Gary Stu throughout this book and his character does not develop. The other characters, although diverse in looks and ethnicity, did not have diverse personalities. The characters that were interesting such as Newt, Alby and Minho were not given the same attention that Thomas was and were brushed aside. Gally is a bullying character with no redeeming qualities and no depth and Theresa, the only girl in The Glades who could have made for a great discussion for girl-power becomes a cliche', beautiful and tough as nails heroine with absolutely no defining personality except her ability to kick butt.

However, the world-building was fantastic. This book has a unique story about a community surrounded by a maze and the rules and the concept of the maze and The Glades and the was done quite well. In fact, the world-building in this book is quite simple, but it's also easy to understand. The creepiness of the maze and the tragic feeling of the Glades is also extremely well-written. However, the action scenes was difficult to visualise.

This book starts off with many questions that are important to the plot. Thomas is extremely inquisitive and he asks Newt, Alby and the fellow Gladers to provide him with answers. Unfortunately, Alby and Newt aren't willing to answer questions that would have provided a solution a long time ago. I felt as though Dashner was stringing along a plot that could have easily been solved by not providing information. I was also extremely annoyed when Thomas started remembering certain things at a time when it was needed to further the plot or story. Not cool!

While The Maze Runner was an interesting book while I was reading it, it wasn't addictive. I could put this book down for a day and not think about it or care about reading it, but while reading it, I did enjoy it.

A book that compares itself to The Hunger Games has to either be just as good as The Hunger Games or exceed the AMAZINGNESS of The Hunger Games. This book didn't reach The Hunger Games level (I mean very few dystopian books can), but it is an action-packed, fast paced read.

[Baroness Book Trove]

Wow. This book has been a mixture of emotions throughout the whole thing. Or at least that’s the way I felt while reading every single last bit of it. James Dashner had me hooked throughout the whole ordeal of the book and it was just wow. My mind is still..I guess..trying to process through the story since I finished it quite fast. This book is getting a five butterfly rating from me. It was that good.

For me when I first heard about this book I was in high school and didn’t think that it would be something on my to-read list one day. But then again my taste in reading has changed since I was a sophomore in high school. That and this book was actually better than what I imagined it would be. All I have to say is if anyone asks me in the future or even right now if I would recommended this book to my friends and family I will totally say "Yes!" Because it’s really good and it makes you think about the characters, what is going on and if you could really stop what has happened to them.

I don’t really want to spoil anything in this book but this whole thing from the prologue to the end is really good and it just makes you want to jump in there and help the Gladers to get out while not getting killed by the disgusting creatures that live in the maze.

Anyways until next time enjoy this book review brought to you by

Baroness’ Book Trove.

If you wanna read my other reviews please visit my site: baronessbooktrove (dot) com

[nitzan_schwarz]

Click the image for the blog post!
Click here for a movie review! 

This is one of those books that stood unread on my shelves for ages. I first resolved to read it when Dylan O'Brian was announced to play Thomas, because I'm a proud Dylan O'Brian fangirl, but deciding to do it andactually doing it turned out to be two separate things.

Part of my reluctance had to do with the fact this is such a hyped novel, and I don't have the best track record with those. And... it's a dystopian novel. I... don't like these too much, if I were honest. So, in all honesty, I wasn't that hopeful about this book.

Now, this book is interesting. It leaves you with a ton of questions you want answered, which in turn makes you want to continue with the series to find them out. And it all kind of messes with your head in a good sort of way. 

But is it especially good as a story? Um... not... really. 

I found it to be extremely dull for about the first 150 pages or so. If I didn't really want to know if there was some point to all this, I wouldn't have been able to force myself to continue with it. I had to give myself a schedule of short, centered reading periods to get through it. Things kind of picked up when Theresa finallywoke up.

Aside for this, I found the writing... lacking. It felt as dull as the story was. And that without mentioning the dang repetitions. I mean, I get it. The memory loss thing is funky cause you remember the things but not where/whom/when/etc you learned them. I got that the first time and the second time and the third time. By the fifteenth time I just wanted to hit Thomas over the head with a club.

Your memory may be funky, but mine sure isn't so back off me you schuck!

Speaking of Thomas... I still have no grasp over the guy, or any other character in the book. There were too many random shifts of emotions (and displays of violence), that every time I thought I understood who someone was the carpet was pulled from underneath my feet and I had to try to figure them out all over again.

I still can't differentiate between them, too. If you took out their names, I will have no idea who's speaking.

And the entire time, I had this nagging thought that they weren't smart enough. Sure, they are not dumb at all. But geniuses? Err, I didn't feel that at all. They were just... normally intelligent kids. This wouldn't be an issue if a big part of the story wasn't hanging on their intellect. If you don't believe that about them, then you really don't believe any of the shit going on. And I didn't, so...

BUT, I really have no effing clue what's going on and for what possible reason this was all done! It seems utterly ridiculous! I mean, I feel like I kind of grasped the general situation outside the maze, but the maze itself still makes no sense to me. This makes me excited (and hopeful) that the next books would reveal the truth about everything.

Reading over my review, I realize I don't give too many plus points about this novel so it might be confusing as to why it's a three and a half stars read. The thing you've got to understand - the mystery and intrigue and the confusion is this books plus point. It's what made it readable and enjoyable. So despite all the minuses, I still had fun with it.

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[inlibrisveritas]

The Maze Runner is one of those books that fall into to the ‘hyped-up’ category. Everyone said I should read, even some of my customers…so I decided to cave in and just do it. Unfortunately this one didn’t hit the mark for me at all.

I struggled greatly through the entire book. I had issues with the plot, the characters, and the world-building…and in the end I was just happy it was over. The Maze Runner takes place in a odd place called the Glade and the surrounding Maze, which rearranges itself every night. This place is filled with teenage boys, who have all woken up in the elevator to the Glade with no memories of who they are or why they are their and now they must work together to survive and try to figure out the way out of the Maze. It really does sound promising, but after the first few chapters it became glaringly obvious that I wasn’t going to have my questions answered anytime soon…in fact I didn’t get most of the answers until the last 5% of the book. The book actively tries to keep information from the reader. Someone knows something? Well…now they’re dead, crazy, or can’t talk. The world building is non-existent. We don’t know where they are, why they are there, what the purpose is, or when any of it takes place…until the last 10%. The meat of the book is simply focused on Thomas as he tries to puzzle out the maze itself and survive the horrific things called Grievers. I’m the sort of reader who needs to be baited a long. You don’t have to give me huge mind-blowing answers to every questions I pose, but you need to get me atleast a clue here and there to keep me interested.

I can’t say I enjoyed many of the characters either, and I don’t really feel like I know them. Thomas is driven by his gut feelings the entire time, making him seem reckless to the other boys…but other than I’ve got nothing. The other books range between tolerable and utterly irritating. None of them are forthcoming with the information they have, they all act put out when someone puts in extra effort to try to understand or help out, and they all this incredibly frustrating use of slang that made me quit listening to the audiobook and pick up my paperback instead. Not to mention it’s mentioned they are supposed to be a really smart group of people…if this is what intelligent teens are actually like you should kiss the world goodbye because these guys were dense…

So in the end, it wasn’t for me. I do see the potential for the book series, and I can understand why some people love these books with all their hearts…but I just don’t have it in me to put in the extra effort to continue this one.

[Kim Deister]

This is one of the few books that I read AFTER seeing the movie, the movie making me want to read it when I previously had no interest.  And I loved it and the premise of the story.

The story opens with Thomas, locked in a metal box-like lift that is moving through the darkness.  He remembers nothing more about his life than his name, although he has flitting memories of other random knowledge with no connection to anything else.  When the Box finally stops, the ceiling doors open and he finds himself surrounded by strangers, boys like him with no memories of their lives before coming to the Glade.  Each of them has come to the Glade in the same mysterious way, in the Box with no memories beyond their names.  An enormous maze surrounds the Glade behind towering walls, inhabited by mysterious half-human/half-mechanical creatures called Grievers that usually only come out at night, but which are deadly.  Because of them, no one is allowed into the maze, with the exception of the Runners.  The Runners are Gladers assigned to run through it each day, mapping it and searching for a way through it.  From the beginning, Thomas is more curious than most, almost obsessed with finding a way out.  He becomes desperate to recover his lost memories and to find answers about the Glade and why they were all there.  There are moments throughout the book that underscore that Thomas is somehow different, somehow integral to the Glade and to the Maze and to whomever is behind it all, a mysterious group of people known as WICKED.

There is so much mystery surrounding the stroy and the boys living in the community of the Glade.  We know of WICKED, but very little about them, about who they are, what they are doing, why they are doing it.  That kind of mystery kept me on the edge of my seat, just wondering what was going to happen next in the story.  

As much as I loved the book, there were a few things that I didn't like.  One of these things I understand the purpose of, one I thought was unnecessary detail that just didn't play well, and the third was not really a breaking point either way.  The first was the characterization of Teresa.  As the only girl in the group, for much of her story within the book, she was rather one-dimensional.  Most of the time, she seemed relegated to "pretty girl" status, rather than given a whole lot of strength and intelligence of her own.  If it was a purposeful choice by the author, rather than just my interpretation, then I understand it, even if I didn't really like it.  It underscored the reality that she was the only girl and that the boys around her just weren't sure how to feel about that.  The second thing I didn't like was the use of invented slang among the boys, words like "shank" and "klunk" as a part of their language.  It felt too contrived and not natural.  For me, it took away from otherwise important moments and gave them a silly quality.  The last thing had to do with the telling, rather than showing, of the characters' emotions.  We never really got into the characters' heads, primarily Thomas, to feel what he was feeling.  Instead, we were told how it was feeling.  I am the type of reader that enjoys getting into the heads of the characters and being a part of the story and I didn't have that nearly as much with this read.

My Recommendation:  However, none of these things were enough to turn me off of the series.  I loved the premise, the characters, and the mystery and anticipation of it.