AnxiouslyBold

I finished The Maze Runner Trilogy a little while back and I thought I’d do a review of the books before the film gets released in September. I may do a follow up review on the film depending on whether I have an strong feelings about it at the time. What I will say at the moment is that I think the casting is pretty good visually, I guess we’ll have to see if that carries through to their acting, and I hope they do a good job on the villains too!

I enjoyed reading these books, they were page turning and definitely entertaining. Lots of people liken them to The Hunger Games and I can see why, there are comparable themes and they both share a similar sort of tone. However, I certainly wouldn’t put them on the same pedestal as The Hunger Games Trilogy, which I completely adored. Why not?

I hate short chapters! Sometimes there was a new chapter every second page and I personally find that very irritating. It’s like the story lacks structure and just blends into one so much so that the defining moments aren’t emphasised as much as they ought to be. I wouldn’t say it ruined my reading experience, but it certainly didn’t enhance it.

Secondly I was disappointed with the conclusion. It felt unrealistic, rushed and somewhat unfinished. It’s such a shame because I thought the first book set up the premise incredibly well and I was so intrigued to find out about all what had happened with Thomas and Teresa before the maze but it just felt conveniently brushed over. I have so many unanswered questions and to be completely honest, I feel like the author just got a bit lost in the enormity of the story that he didn’t really know the answers himself. That being said I am yet to read the prequel that has since been released and I do indeed hope that this will be less of a disappointment.

The Scorch Trials, the second in the Triology was easily my favourite of the three. There was no awkward character development since we were already quite well acquainted with most of the characters and it was the most action packed of the three books. The “Hello Noses” scene, which I’m sure you’ll remember if you’ve read it, is one that has stuck with me since. It’s probably my favourite moment in the whole trilogy, I thought it was so clever, chilling and well written.

Now on to some spoilery parts of my review:

Much of the book felt like it lacked genuine emotion. I should have felt worse when main characters died, I should have been able to understand Thomas better through what he was feeling. Instead I felt detached from the characters and often confused by many of the choices Thomas made. Now this may well be my lack of connection and others may disagree, but that was why I felt frustrated at some points while reading the books. I didn’t like Brenda, she was a throwaway character in the second book and I couldn’t understand why she suddenly became so important in the third. I couldn’t bring myself to accept that they could just run away to paradise and start over. Too easy and too unrealistic. Also, if you knew that you had the Flare why wouldn’t you just kill yourself? I have much confusion. I have to say also that I didn’t like the weird slang that none of those boys would have invented in a million years. A silly, unnecessary additional confusion if you ask me.

I know there are a whole bunch of negative elements to this review and while the trilogy did come to a frustrating end, it was an enjoyable read throughout. The premise is intriguing and it definitely gets you thinking, which is always a good start.

xx

More Maze Runner Reviews || James Dashner’s Website || The Maze Runner Film