The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 360 pgs
Rating: 5/5

The maze was only the beginning...
     Solving the maze was supposed to be the end.  No more puzzles.  No more variables.  And no more running.  Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.
     Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is now a wasteland.  Government has disintegrated - and with it, order - and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim...and meal.
     The Gladers are far from done running.  Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with with another trial.  They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks.  And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
     Thomas can only wonder - does he hold the secret to freedom somewhere in his mind?  Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

If you don't know The Scorch Trials is the second book in the Maze Runner series so if you haven't read the first book, I may spoil a little.  If you want to read my review of the first book, The Maze Runner, click here.

I really liked this book.  Just like the first, it is a nonstop adventure, but I found this installment much less predictable which was a nice surprise.  It actually scared the crap out of me a couple times.  I found it to be much more realistic which just helped the terror factor.  The Maze Runner is set in the maze, a world completely controlled by WICKED, but The Scorch Trials are set in the actual apocalyptic world in a ruined city.  This takes away any separation between the reader and the characters that I felt in the first novel.  Plus, in the Maze most of the characters were unknown to the reader allowing them to care less about the deaths, but now that the pack has been whittled down to about 20 and it's harder to be separate from their misfortune.  

The Flare infected Cranks are terrifying.  I thought the grievers were scary, but now there is a human element.  I don't know why, but human monsters that have lost their humanity are always the scariest monster.  What was interesting is while the Cranks returned to their bestial state, they still retained their intelligence to a certain extent.  They could talk and plan an attack, they definitely weren't zombies.  That being said, the nose man scared the CRAP out of me.  After I read that I had such a problem turning off the lights and trying to sleep. Even last night, approximately a month after reading that part, I was so scared thinking about it I couldn't turn off the lights!  

If you can’t tell, this installment was a lot harsher, scarier and therefore more interesting to me than the first.  Thomas now knows what's going on and is thinking about why and what he should be doing about it, questions that lead to a much better story in my opinion.  Also, I loved the additions of Brenda and Jorge, Aris, and Group B.  Both groups brought new elements to the story.  Now there are conflicting emotions and goals among all the characters and the reader is forced to look outside Thomas views and the Glader’s goals.

The one thing I didn't really like about the book was the romance.  Now, I can love romance, but I don't think it has a place in a story when there are much larger problems present and that's how I felt reading The Scorch Trials at certain points.  For example (semi-spoiler), when Teresa disappears in the beginning, that is all Thomas can think about not the multitude of bodies hanging from the ceiling!!! Thomas, I'm much more interested in your memories about WICKED than your maybe relationship.  However, this is just my personal opinion and dislikes, if you don't mind a little side tracking, there's a good story there, I just thought it was a little annoying how occupied his thoughts were of her not the boys around him.

All in all, it was a good read.  I finished it in a few days, though there was a month of rest between those days. I'm still deeply interested in WICKED's motives and future plans so the next book is now sitting on my bed waiting for me. The Death Cure, here I come!

Crossing Entertainment

Sometimes, you don't need to make music about a book because it already exists in popular culture. Recently, I've found music that illustrates books on the radio! Today, I thought I'd share two of these combinations with you.

"I'm sorry I don't understand, where all of this is coming from, I thought that we were fine. Your head is running wild again, my dear we still have everything and it's all in your mind."

Just Give Me A Reason - P!nk

This song is the novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  Every time I hear it I think of Anna and Vronksy's relationship near the end of the book.  In the story, Anna has trouble separating fiction from reality and thinks that Vronsky no longer loves her, which is far from the truth.  I see that same emotion in this song, especially in the parts sung by Nate Ruess. 

"There was time, a met a girl of a different kind. / Don't you worry, don't you worry child, see heaven's got a plan for you."

Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia

This connection may just be in my brain, but this song reminds me of the Maze Runner series.  When I finished the second one this song automatically came to my mind.  Just replace God with WICKED and it makes sense right? It also fits into the emotional crazyness at the end of The Scorch Trials.

It's crazy how perfectly similar unrelated things can be.  It kinda proves the idea that there only a few plots in the world retold in different ways!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 374
Rating: 4/5

     When Thomas wakes up i the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name.  He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is.  His memory is empty.
     But he is not alone.  When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.
     Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade.  All they know is that every morning, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened.  Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight.  Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift.  And no one wants to be stuck in the Maze after dark.
     The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival.  But the next day, a girl is sent up - the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade.  And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.  The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home...wherever that may be.  But it's looking more and more as if the the Maze is unsolvable.
     And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different.  Something is telling him that he just might have some answers - if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locking within his own mind.

This book is unstoppable and I mean that in the most literal sense.  There are no pauses in the action, no time for the reader to accustom themselves to the world.  Plus, like Thomas, you have no idea what is happening or why.  It's written in third person limited which was really weird to me.  At the beginning, I didn't catch and remember Thomas's name so every time the book mentioned him I thought they were talking about someone else. :P I found couldn’t but it down due to the fast pased action but I found when I did put it down, I didn't feel the urge to pick it up again for a few days.  However, I’m glad I finally did.  I read the last 2/3 of the book in one night!

I loved the characters, especially Minho and Newt. I loved how this group of 50 boys was functional even though they didn't agree 100%.  A scene in which they argue the fate of Thomas was great at showcasing this.  The leaders of their community all have different thoughts but have the common goal of surviving the Maze.  I thought it was a great way of showing the government in a small scale. Also, none of the characters were perfect.  Thomas was a loner who doesn't appreciate his first friend and Minho has a terrible anger management problem.

As a dystopian, I found the story to be good and not overused.  Unlike most, the characters in The Maze Runner are separated from the world.  They can't remember it.  All they know is how things work and the words for them but there are no previous memories attached.  There is also no oppressive government, only WICKED the organization responsible for the boy's predicament.  In fact, the boys have created their own democratic system in the maze which functioned well until WICKED begins to make changes in their environment.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Maze Runner.  It wasn't a difficult read, nor did it leave me deep in thought, but I did devour it. Plus, I could hardly bring myself to turn off the lights when I finally finished.  I was actually shaking and terrified that a Greiver would enter my room as soon as darkness fell.  This book is no Cloud Atlas, but it had great imagery and a bounding story line that could keep a sloth interested.