The Scorch Trials

The Maze Runner Trilogy, book 2

by

James Dashner

The Scorch Trails picks up right where The Mazer Runner left off. Though Thomas and the others boys believe they are finally in a safe haven, the illusion lasts only a matter of hours. They wake up in the night to find that Theresa is missing, a new boy left in his place, and a new trial is presented to them. They are told that they’ve all been infected with the deadly illness known as the Flare. If they wish to obtain the cure they must cross the inhospitable landscape known as the Scorch.

This book has more emotional intensity than the first. We see a lot more of Thomas’s emotions now that he knows the other boys and because of the separation from Theresa and our glimpses of their past together. Their predicament is dire and painful to read especially for anyone who’s able to guess where it’s going. The story itself also moves at a much quicker pace as the boys move from one danger to the next with barely a moment’s pause. It’s also much darker than the first book as we learn more about the dystopic future it portrays and the violence within is swift and brutal if not overly graphic.

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner Trilogy, book 1

by

James Dashner

When Thomas wakes, he has no memory of his life save his first name. Stranger still, he find himself with a group of other teenage boys in the same situation, all living in the Glade. The Glade, a protected grassy area complete with farm and basic housing for the boys, lies in the centre of a gargantuan stone maze – a maze filled with monstrosities called Grievers. It seems clear that the boys are part of a brutal experiment in which their lives hang in the balance. When a girls appears in the Glade bearing a chilling message, Thomas finds himself in the centre of a mystery that only he can solve. Thomas and the others must escape the maze… or die.

The mystery of the maze and why Thomas and the others have been put there is the what will keep readers turning pages. Mystery upon mystery is heaped upon readers, with hints of a dystopian or post-apocalyptic world somewhere beyond the maze wall. Thomas is likeable as are his friends, though I can’t say I ever felt deeply attached to him or emotional about the book. It’s suspense that drove me forward and the pacing of the book is extremely well done. There’s lots more left unsolved at the end and it left me anxious to start volume two.