The Maze Runner by James Dashner had been a book I had heard about in relation to the books of the earlier 2010’s. It came about during the crazes around The Hunger Games and Divergent in the early 2000′s. It seemed like The Maze Runner was their not-quite-as-popular-but-still-well-loved relative in the YA dystopia family. So, with that and the fact there was going to be a movie adaption (which I’m always a sucker for), I put it down on my To-Read list.

The concept of the world is pretty devastating.

The population of near-future Earth is trying to regain its footing after quite possibly the worst kind of natural disaster: a sun flare. One of the major things standing in the way is a deadly disease named for that same disaster. In order to cure it, scientists create an enormous experiment with a group of teenage boys to serve as their subjects.

The world is fascinating and brings up so many questions.

That’s the world readers eventually enter, but, intiatilly, all they know is the Box that brings the main character, Thomas, to the Glade. The Glade is home to that group of teenage boys, which fills out the majority of the story’s cast of characters, and these boys don’t know how to start off on the right foot.

I became incredibly frustrated when the Gladers wouldn’t tell Thomas anything. Maybe this frustration was supposed to put the readers in Thomas’ shoes. However, if that was the goal, it fell short for me. Instead, not getting any answers -  not even a “I’ll explain it later” - made it hard for me to get into the story. I would think after two years of people showing up monthly, they would have a short spiel to give the newbie, or “Greenie”, in this case. It would’ve been nice to be given some basics to tide us over until the full explanation.

After much longer than I would’ve liked, a basic world was build up for readers. We understood how the Glade worked. We understood, to a point, there would be some futuristic technology (like the Grievers) involved. We understood that something out of the ordinary and most likely bad was happening when Teresa showed up. We understood this world of the Maze.

There was already so much about Thomas - and later Teresa - that made them so incredibly exceptional. I felt like adding a perfectly clear channel of mental communication between them was just overkill. Perhaps if it hadn’t been so much like a face-to-face conversation and had instead been something like, “I have an idea that I don’t know where it came from, but I trust it,” then I might have been more receptive to it.

It took me about half way through the book before I was really drawn into the drama of the story. The story takes place over a week or two, but it move more like it took place over a couple months. I think the best written, most engaging part of the book was the planning and execution of the Gladers’ final plan to escape the Maze. Writing action sequences and building that tension can be a tricky beast to tame. It’s easier in movies when there are multiple elements to rely on, but Dashner timed this part well and had level of detail that made me eagerly turn the page, wondering if Thomas was right.

I don’t want anyone thinking I absolutely hated this book. I was wholly drawn into the world and wanted to see if Thomas and his friends would triumph. It’s just that there were some elements that aren’t as strong as I thought they would be for a book that’s gotten so much praise. If it hadn’t been as popular as a series as it was, I probably would’ve quit reading it. However, it was a popular title, so I can only hope it’s a story that grows on me.