The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure (Maze Runner, #3)

by James Dashner

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

Reviewed by Angie on

2 of 5 stars

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I am completely unsatisfied with this ending. I didn't hate The Death Cure, but it really didn't answer most of the big questions that arose during the series. In fact, that ending kind of felt like a subtle cliffhanger, and there's more to come. It's almost like the author had so many ideas and twists, but they got too tangled and messy, so he just wrapped up the one main plot and left everything else dangling. That is not how you end a series! Especially once that started out so fantastic!

So let's start with what I did like about The Death Cure. It's pretty fast paced, so I breezed through it. There's a lot going on, so I was never bored, just increasingly frustrated. The story took on this super escape vibe, which was pretty fun, until that turned into the whole resolution. Seriously. Thomas and everyone who is left escape from WICKED and that is the end. And...end of the what I liked portion of this review.

The Death Cure really doesn't provide any additional answers to what we were given in The Scorch Trials. Thomas and the other teens are being tested so WICKED can create a cure for the Flare. Okay, well, why those tests? It seems to be like a major waste of resources and time. Obviously nothing went the way they wanted or needed it to in order to make the cure, but instead of switching tactics, WICKED just continues on with their manipulative games. It took me like ten seconds to come up with an alternate way to map their brain patterns in response to various situations. Make a life-like simulation! They obviously have that technology, and they could control a whole heck of a lot more without the kids ever finding out until it was over! Same themselves some trouble, and put some money toward helping the healthy people in the mean time. Duh.

Teresa also continued to frustrate me to no end. Whenever she pulls the "we need to talk" card with Thomas she never says anything! She claims she's trying to help, but nothing that comes out of her mouth is helpful! She knows how she and Thomas fit into WICKED before they entered the maze, but she never says anything about it, and I'm certain that would be helpful information! Also, we never learn what their connection was! Thomas continues to have random snippets of memories, but the boy flat out refuses to have his memories restored, so we never know! This has been a major plot thread since book one and it's not even answered! WTF?! And why is WICKED good?! Telll me that, Teresa!

The Death Cure had a lot going for it until that ending. I was waiting for some big surprise to wow me, and it never came. I also waited for answers, which also never came. They all got out, so what? It seems like all this happened for nothing. The scope also got too huge. Everything was good when it was just the Gladers vs WICKED, but everything got out of the control. While I'm not happy with this ending, I am very curious about The Kill Order. I'll likely read that sometime soon, and hopefully it'll shed some light on the situation.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 August, 2014: Finished reading
  • 13 August, 2014: Reviewed