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I didn’t have much of a bar for this story to pass because I hadn’t heard much about it individually. If you read my review of the Maze Runner, you know I was frustrated at a number of elements in that story. I only hoped this one would be better than its predecessor. It had a promising start in this regard.
First, the world felt more realistic. This was a good change especially considering The Scorch was a real geographical location and not something built like The Maze. Still, the consequences the Gladers would face, such as the intense dessert heat and the possibility of losing your mind to something like The Flare, were much more dire and increased my investment in the story.
In addition to new challenges, we were introduced to a couple new characters. The ones that end up sticking around are Aris, Brenda, and Jorge. I don’t have much to say on Jorge; he wasn’t exceptional but he wasn’t poorly written either. Aris, however, is a character of interest.
On that subject, I’m still not a fan of the telepathy. I think this is because telepathy is closer to the middle of the Sci-Fi-to-Fantasy scale whereas the rest of this story is rooted firmly on the Sci-Fi side. Not that genre mixing can’t be done, but it just throws me off that this is the only thing that feels mixed. Although, it was intriguing to find another person who had that ability. It detracted from the “Thomas and Teresa are so special” thing that had also irked me about this neat trick of theirs. Additionally, it’s becoming a more integral part of the story without any good alternative, so I’ll bite my tongue on this matter.
Going back, I have to say, I didn’t like Brenda as a character. At first, I just didn’t trust her (despite shipping her and Minho for all of three minutes simply because of the line, “That’s one sharp knife. Makes me like you more.”). Still, unlikeable characters can be some of the better written ones, so I had hope for her. Then, time went on and she didn’t seem to serve much purpose outside of causing romantic drama with Thomas and Teresa. The two get introduced, jealousy ensues, and I roll my eyes. It’s a basic way to take that trope, and I’m looking for something unique in these love-triangle scenarios as an avid reader.
Like The Maze Runner before it, The Scorch Trials was also a weirdly timed story. Again, it felt like months had elapsed, when they specifically had two weeks to reach their destination. Then, they spend most of their time kind of dilly-dallying in a city left in The Scorch. The mission gave me anxious energy to think about, so I’d imagine these boys would be a little more pressed in their actions.
I was very satisfied with the ending of this book compared to the first. This time, there was a sense of true relief - of hope - that didn’t exist when the Gladers were swept away on a bus. It felt like we were given the tiniest glimpse of the end as the sky-jet-thing flew out of The Scorch.
Overall, I’m not disappointed at this read. It was a standard story that most audiences could find entertaining. However, it also didn’t stand out as a jewel of YA dystopian literature. While the tropes of the genre we’re properly used, Dashner didn’t offer much on their improvement. Still, the story has become more engaging and I’m now curious to see how it ends. Next up, The Death Cure.
They’ve finally made it to the end of the experiment. They made it out of The Maze, through The Scorch, and to WICKED’s headquarters we go. The Death Cure is the book we’ve been waiting for ever since they escaped the Maze. We’re finally going to find out how the Gladers and Group B will rebel against WICKED. Thomas is going to cure The Flare. It’s all going to happen, the question: how?
This world was the most fully formed, and I would hope it was after two other books.This book featured some basic elements of future-set stories, complete with flying cars. While no one is currently living in the Denver Dashner describes, it’s familiar enough with political strife, the Flare-ridden ghetto, and the rebellious groups that are probably just as bad as the people in power that there isn’t much new information that must be described and learned. So, we’re able to focus more on what’s actually happening in the story.
The first chapter has been THE BEST written passage out of the whole series thus far. It was so simple and real. It could’ve easily been way over dramatic, but Dashner treaded just how he should have to build on all the psychological hardships the boys have been facing without repeating the all relevant plot points. I’m starting to think it’s a strength of his to tie one novel back to the last without summarizing the entire plot.
Given the aforementioned standardness of the story, there wasn’t much that comes to mind when discussing it. Nothing was wrong with the progression of events, but they weren’t innovative either. As such, the part that sticks out the most in the story is the trip into The Flare ghetto. After Newt is taken there, we really get to see the underbelly of the world that decided this was the best way to care for the afflicted.
I think I've been spoiled with more recent dystopian novels, but the characters made this a very painful read. The concept and the world designed in the novel are so interesting and there's some great references/analogies/commentaries about citizen's privacy, ableism, capitalism, and ignorance when it comes to government. Additionally, there was this group of teens that were told they were just looking for something to be angry about when they were really informed and trying to influence the politics that controlled their lives, which I related to because young people are encouraged to get involved but are told their opinions don't count.
However, the bland, practically 2D characters made me wish I could re-write it. There were attempts at adding depth to Kayla, but there were just that: attempts. Mfumbe is probably my favorite and most fleshed out character; I probably would have enjoyed the book if it had been written from his point of view.
However, the bland, practically 2D characters made me wish I could re-write it. There were attempts at adding depth to Kayla, but there were just that: attempts. Mfumbe is probably my favorite and most fleshed out character; I probably would have enjoyed the book if it had been written from his point of view.
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Thirteen years before the events of The Maze Runner took place, there was simple village of people living in the mountains trying to recover from the massive solar flare that devastated Earth a year prior. The Kill Order follows a group of these villagers as they go from being attacked with mysterious darts to finding the people responsible. On the way, they experience what it’s like to become ground zero for a deadly epidemic.
I was excited to read this book because I was curious about how the world had reacted in the wake the the solar flare as well as how the solution for The Flare came to be a deadly maze. The world of The Maze Runner intrigued me more than the actual plot, so I was hoping this story was an exploration of that world more than anything. It didn’t happen exactly as I would have thought.
The Kill Order is, in my opinion, the best book out of the series. The biggest factor in my coming to this decision was the characters. There was more distinguishing features and personality to them that I was able to empathize with them all much more easily than I was with the characters in the main trilogy. I’ll admit Trina was kind of flat and Deedee’s description probably wasn’t expanded much further than “the four-year-old”. However, on the whole, the characters of this book were more easily separated from one another and we were able to learn more about them through their actions/reactions. This is in contrast to the Gladers, whose actions were all very functional.
The origin of The Flare was my biggest curiosity. Initially, we were told it had escaped a testing facility due to the solar flare damaging the facility’s security system. Then, we’re teased with a half statement about it being intentionally released as a means of population control. Setting a suburb up as ground zero was an interesting decision. When we think of deadly outbreaks, they are often thought of as starting in densely populated areas, so this was a refreshing take on ground zero. We also get to see how rapidly the disease changes over the first two months of it being released. By the end of the novel, we’re still not sure how it has reached its ability to lurk so well, but we are treated to the urgency the problem bring to society.
While I consider this story the best out of the series, it didn’t answer enough questions for me to be fully wowed with it. There were a few inconsistencies with the main trilogy that bothered me. However, the situation was more believable than what we’re exposed to in The Maze, so I wasn’t brought out of the story quite as often. I was glad to end the series with the best one.
