James Dashner
Author of The Maze Runner
About the Author
James Dashner was born in Georgia and attended Brigham Young University. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in finance. He is the author of The 13th Reality series, The Jimmy Fincher Saga, the Mortality Doctrine series, and the Maze Runner series. The Journal of Curious Letters was show more chosen for a 2008 Borders Original Voices pick and The Maze Runner won a 2015 West Australian Young Readers' Book Award in the Older Readers category. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by James Dashner
The 13th Reality Books 1 & 2: The Journal of Curious Letters; The Hunt for Dark Infinity (2015) 77 copies
The 13th Reality Books 3 & 4: The Blade of Shattered Hope; The Void of Mist and Thunder (2015) 50 copies, 1 review
Maze-Runner-Schuber (6 Bände im Taschenbuch-Schuber inklusive Bonusband mit »Crank Palace« und »Die Geheimakten«) (2021) 9 copies
Lối thoát Tử thần 1 copy
The Maze Hunter 1 copy
Preview: The Fever Code 1 copy
Associated Works
Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration (2018) — Contributor — 178 copies, 7 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1969
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Brigham Young University (MA|1999)
- Organizations
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Agent
- Michael Bourret
Lauren Abramo - Short biography
- James Smith Dashner (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer of speculative fiction, primarily series for children or young adults, such as The Maze Runner series and the young adult fantasy series the 13th Reality. His 2008 novel The Journal of Curious Letters, first in the series, was one of the annual Borders Original Voices picks.
James Dashner was born on November 26, 1972 in Austell, Georgia, as one of six children in the family. He was raised a Mormon. At the age of 10, he would type on his parents' typewriter. He graduated from Duluth High School in 1991. He moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Provo, Utah to study at Brigham Young University, where he received a master's degree in accounting. Dashner and his wife, Lynette Anderson, a former student of Brigham Young University, have four children and are now living in Utah.
Dashner is the author of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series that includes The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order. He has also written The Eye of Minds (book one in the Mortality Doctrine series), the 13th Reality series, and two books in The Infinity Ring series: A Mutiny in Time and The Iron Empire. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Georgia, USA
- Places of residence
- Georgia, USA
Utah, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
Found: Sci-fi other dimensions children in Name that Book (August 2024)
the maze runner series in Book talk (February 2016)
the maze runner in I read dashner (January 2016)
Reviews
Having suffered burn-out from so many YA trilogies (a few good, most not so good), I initially passed on The Maze Runner when it was released. When the film came out, I decided to give a try – and loved it. I thought the film had a great mix of action and character beats, and was much scarier than I anticipated. I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait 3 years to see how the story ended, provided it even got those sequels, so I ordered the books immediately.
Thomas awakes in a dark elevator/box show more which dumps him in the Glade. He doesn’t remember who he is or how he got there. Neither do any of the 50 or so boys already in the Glade. The Glade is surrounded by the Maze, which a few boys, known as Runners, have been exploring looking for an exit. The Maze houses traps and deadly Grievers. The boys and the Maze have been following a routine for nearly 3 years. When Thomas arrives, followed by Teresa the next day, things change.
Though there are definite similarities to “The Lord of the Flies,” I was grateful that they were only superficial. (I hated that book). Instead, the book introduces mystery amid all the action – who trapped these teens in a maze and why? Who or what is WICKED? The book is told from Thomas’ POV as he learns all that the teens know about their situation, even as it takes a turn for the worse, and spurs them to change tactics and fight against the Creators.
I truly enjoyed this book mainly because it stands apart from other YA dystopias. Thomas is innately curious; he’s a rebel simply because he has to know; has to find a solution. And, even characters you come to like can and do die. It added an urgency to the story that I found appealing and provided a realistic support for all the action. Most importantly for me, there is an underlying mystery. The teens aren’t just being tortured by a despotic regime because it has the power to do so – there is a reason. Finally, despite being the first in a series, the book has closure that left me satisfied while still eager for more. Overall, highly recommended. show less
Thomas awakes in a dark elevator/box show more which dumps him in the Glade. He doesn’t remember who he is or how he got there. Neither do any of the 50 or so boys already in the Glade. The Glade is surrounded by the Maze, which a few boys, known as Runners, have been exploring looking for an exit. The Maze houses traps and deadly Grievers. The boys and the Maze have been following a routine for nearly 3 years. When Thomas arrives, followed by Teresa the next day, things change.
Though there are definite similarities to “The Lord of the Flies,” I was grateful that they were only superficial. (I hated that book). Instead, the book introduces mystery amid all the action – who trapped these teens in a maze and why? Who or what is WICKED? The book is told from Thomas’ POV as he learns all that the teens know about their situation, even as it takes a turn for the worse, and spurs them to change tactics and fight against the Creators.
I truly enjoyed this book mainly because it stands apart from other YA dystopias. Thomas is innately curious; he’s a rebel simply because he has to know; has to find a solution. And, even characters you come to like can and do die. It added an urgency to the story that I found appealing and provided a realistic support for all the action. Most importantly for me, there is an underlying mystery. The teens aren’t just being tortured by a despotic regime because it has the power to do so – there is a reason. Finally, despite being the first in a series, the book has closure that left me satisfied while still eager for more. Overall, highly recommended. show less
Ugh, what a slog.
It's been a long time since I've read anything of Dashner's, so the writing style came at me like I was reading it for the first time. I want to call it a lot of "telling, not showing", but there's something to his verb choice that aggravates me. There's an awful lot of "Thomas now saw..." and "Thomas understood that..." and "It was obvious to Thomas." The deeper I got into the audiobook, the more grating these descriptions were. Thomas was at all times both omniscient and show more clueless. Always making the exact right choices to get in the exact wrong situations from which he'd make the exact right choice to get out of... and then end up in another wrong situation, from which he'd make (you guessed it!) the exact right choice to escape. And on it goes. It was repetitive and monotonous.
Usually when I continue a series I'm not particularly in love with, I'm in it for a character. And almost always, *somehow*, I pick the character that the author chooses to kill off or otherwise destroy in the next book. I don't know how I do it - it's a knack, I guess. But that happened again here where we were and will forever be stuck with THOMAS. Boring, shallow, unexciting Thomas. If you're going to have a Chosen One (which now he indisputably is) at least make him interesting. The concept of this series remains really interesting, but its execution is subpar.
I'm definitely done with this series. THE DEATH CURE was a long walk to nothing. There was little to no character development, little to no plot progress, and the writing was grating. There are so many better books to read by authors who do not sexually harass women and then gaslight them. show less
It's been a long time since I've read anything of Dashner's, so the writing style came at me like I was reading it for the first time. I want to call it a lot of "telling, not showing", but there's something to his verb choice that aggravates me. There's an awful lot of "Thomas now saw..." and "Thomas understood that..." and "It was obvious to Thomas." The deeper I got into the audiobook, the more grating these descriptions were. Thomas was at all times both omniscient and show more clueless. Always making the exact right choices to get in the exact wrong situations from which he'd make the exact right choice to get out of... and then end up in another wrong situation, from which he'd make (you guessed it!) the exact right choice to escape. And on it goes. It was repetitive and monotonous.
Usually when I continue a series I'm not particularly in love with, I'm in it for a character. And almost always, *somehow*, I pick the character that the author chooses to kill off or otherwise destroy in the next book. I don't know how I do it - it's a knack, I guess. But that happened again here where we were and will forever be stuck with THOMAS. Boring, shallow, unexciting Thomas. If you're going to have a Chosen One (which now he indisputably is) at least make him interesting. The concept of this series remains really interesting, but its execution is subpar.
I'm definitely done with this series. THE DEATH CURE was a long walk to nothing. There was little to no character development, little to no plot progress, and the writing was grating. There are so many better books to read by authors who do not sexually harass women and then gaslight them. show less
The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin): Book Four; Origin (The Maze Runner Series) by James Dashner
I know anyone who reads this review is probably going to be shocked by this, but "The Kill Order" is actually my favorite book of the Maze Runner franchise thus far. I don't know, man. This just feels like a much more solid read than the previous three books.
For one thing, Dashner's writing style isn't that bad this time around. The dialogue doesn't feel that shallow and annoying anymore. Sure, there is the occasional "he was starting to like her more and more" that has grown to be my least show more favorite phrase in the entire franchise because of how lazy it is, but, for the most part, the dialogue feels like it comes from real human beings in this book. It's just a lot more organic and vibrant.
In addition, the characters are pretty solid. I actually enjoy reading them more than I do the characters from the previous three books. They're less shallow. I really empathize with their struggles and hardships. These characters go through absolute hell throughout the course of 12-18 months, and you really start to root for them by the end. Despite the fact that the characters in the Maze Runner trilogy go through even more trauma than these people, I honestly couldn't give a crap by the end of that trilogy because the writing was so bad and the characters were so unlikeable.
Mark's development in this story is extremely fascinating. Through flashbacks, you see how he started off as a laid-back, carefree teenager who wanted nothing more than to screw his next-door neighbor. However, as the book progresses, you watch him become stronger, fiercer, and more resolved. By the end, not only has he become a hardened soldier who has persevered through so much trauma, but he's also become extremely compassionate and caring. The scenes where he rescues Trina and Deedee from the basement of a house and from the barracks of the Berg are absolutely incredible. You see how truly resolved he is to keep the girls safe. While all this is happening, though, he is slowly succumbing to the Flare and becoming more and more insane. Despite that, he fights with every ounce of willpower he possesses to remain sane long enough to complete his final task: getting Deedee to the PFC so she can help develop a cure. He is a great character, and it makes me all the more angry that his, Alec's, and Trina's sacrifices all go to waste because Dashner decided to pull fast one on us and deliver one of the worst endings to any franchise ever with "The Death Cure". Sigh.
This book is also easily the bloodiest, goriest, and scariest book of the series thus far. Dashner doesn't hold back with the horror elements here. Things get pretty intense. However, it never feels gratuitous nor forced. It just feels like a good zombie-apocalypse story, one with a heavy emphasis on the theme of survival.
I enjoy this book quite a bit, but I wouldn't classify it as great or anything. I did get quite emotional in the last 75 or so pages, but most of the rest of the book is just... fine. The only parts I really like besides the final sections are the flashbacks. They're pretty nicely spaced apart, and they're quite interesting, honestly. I do kinda wish we got some more view-points of when the Flare first struck the Earth, but I'd say I'm quite satisfied with what we got.
So, yeah, I like a lot of things about this book, but it is just okay for the most part. Honestly, if the whole franchise was written as well as this one was, I would have a lot less to complain about. show less
For one thing, Dashner's writing style isn't that bad this time around. The dialogue doesn't feel that shallow and annoying anymore. Sure, there is the occasional "he was starting to like her more and more" that has grown to be my least show more favorite phrase in the entire franchise because of how lazy it is, but, for the most part, the dialogue feels like it comes from real human beings in this book. It's just a lot more organic and vibrant.
In addition, the characters are pretty solid. I actually enjoy reading them more than I do the characters from the previous three books. They're less shallow. I really empathize with their struggles and hardships. These characters go through absolute hell throughout the course of 12-18 months, and you really start to root for them by the end. Despite the fact that the characters in the Maze Runner trilogy go through even more trauma than these people, I honestly couldn't give a crap by the end of that trilogy because the writing was so bad and the characters were so unlikeable.
Mark's development in this story is extremely fascinating. Through flashbacks, you see how he started off as a laid-back, carefree teenager who wanted nothing more than to screw his next-door neighbor. However, as the book progresses, you watch him become stronger, fiercer, and more resolved. By the end, not only has he become a hardened soldier who has persevered through so much trauma, but he's also become extremely compassionate and caring. The scenes where he rescues Trina and Deedee from the basement of a house and from the barracks of the Berg are absolutely incredible. You see how truly resolved he is to keep the girls safe. While all this is happening, though, he is slowly succumbing to the Flare and becoming more and more insane. Despite that, he fights with every ounce of willpower he possesses to remain sane long enough to complete his final task: getting Deedee to the PFC so she can help develop a cure. He is a great character, and it makes me all the more angry that his, Alec's, and Trina's sacrifices all go to waste because Dashner decided to pull fast one on us and deliver one of the worst endings to any franchise ever with "The Death Cure". Sigh.
This book is also easily the bloodiest, goriest, and scariest book of the series thus far. Dashner doesn't hold back with the horror elements here. Things get pretty intense. However, it never feels gratuitous nor forced. It just feels like a good zombie-apocalypse story, one with a heavy emphasis on the theme of survival.
I enjoy this book quite a bit, but I wouldn't classify it as great or anything. I did get quite emotional in the last 75 or so pages, but most of the rest of the book is just... fine. The only parts I really like besides the final sections are the flashbacks. They're pretty nicely spaced apart, and they're quite interesting, honestly. I do kinda wish we got some more view-points of when the Flare first struck the Earth, but I'd say I'm quite satisfied with what we got.
So, yeah, I like a lot of things about this book, but it is just okay for the most part. Honestly, if the whole franchise was written as well as this one was, I would have a lot less to complain about. show less
I was looking forward to reading this book; I didn't expect it to be this bad. The first hundred pages or so were excruciatingly annoying and boring, and I had to force myself to sit down and finish the book after two weeks of dawdling. What was annoying about it? Everything. The writing style with its constant repetition of things that were just revealed and the constant questions of "why? what did it all mean?" by the protagonist while he *knows* that half of the things he's asking can't show more be answered, and the other half *won't* be answered - annoyingly - until the plot calls for it. There's also a lot of sudden feelings the protagonist experiences out of the blue, and they are ALL told, not shown. Add to that two plot-driving devices that just SCREAM deus ex machina - amnesia and, later, telepathy , and you have a rage-inducing mix. So a lot of the book was spent with conversations and descriptions like this (no dogs or backyards in the book, random example made up by yours truly):
"Oh no. There's a dog in the backyard", Newt said. Thomas felt cold all of a sudden. "There's a dog in the backyard?", he asked. "Yes." He couldn't quite explain why, but a chill of foreboding ran down his spine. What did that mean? "You're saying there's a dog in the backyard?" "Yes. A brown one", Newt said, looking away uneasily. A dog in the backyard? And a brown one? Why was it in the backyard? What did it all mean? "So that is... bad?" Thomas asked, trying to discern what Newt's worried expression could mean. For some strange reason he was starting to feel annoyed, but somewhere in his brain something clicked. Like - a flicker of recognition. A déjà vu? "Just... don't ask", Newt said curtly and stood up. "You'll find out soon enough."
I was ready to tear my hair out or give the protagonist a wedgie by page 40.
And it didn't get better. Over-capitalisation was rampant in the book, I tells ya. The simplest words were capitalised just to give that Lord of the Flies* feeling and to make stuff sound ominous (the Box, the Glade, the Doors, the Cliff, the Tour, the First Day). I get that things need names, but really, they already *have* names. At one point someone calls for a collar, and I thought "not a Collar?", but then someone brought the Pole and I thought "Ah. Ok then".
Then the Girl is introduced. Ok, I made that up. So, the girl is introduced. Dunn dunnnn! She's pretty, and perfect, has the bluest eyes in Texas that apparently glow in the dark they're so amazing, she's "thin, but not too small", has skin that is "pale, white as pearls" - no scratch that, she's "more than pretty. Beautiful. Silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips, long legs." I kid you not. That's a quote. A bunch of boys that range between pimply, fat, tall, small, muscly, and different ethnicities, and the author goes ahead and introduces a girl straight out of a teenage boy's dream as the ONLY female character. Not only that, but she's looking all pink lips and perfect skin, and our smart protag-chan thinks she's dead. Then a boy-medic starts to examine her, and one of the boys, who are supposed to be between 12 and 16, makes a rape-joke about the possibly dead girl. Awright, mate? I can't even find the words for all the head-shaking I did. And I mean, if her beauty was intentional - like, "introduce a pretty girl, see how the boys will react" it would have been a different story perhaps, but that's not the case - she's pretty because she's the token love interest. (She's also smart, see, or so the author tells us. More on everyone's smartness later.) She also smells of flowers after having been bedridden for days and having spent a day in the Slammer, which is an impressive feat since I'm sure there are no creams or shampoos tailored to women in the Glade. Boys: if a woman smells like flowers, it's usually a cosmetic product.
Then, protag-chan. He's supposed to be smart, and he's supposed to be our focal character. And he is such a jerk. He's a walking double standard. He keeps asking, but not answering when someone asks *him*, he keeps thinking badly about people who are trying to befriend him and switching between being nice and being a jerk to them, he keeps butting in without knowing anything, then being all sulky and angry when he's rebuked, because he's just trying to help, you idiots. He wants to be a runner - pardon, Runner - and thinks he should become one, because, you know, he wants it so badly and wouldn't he be such a big help? And of course he keeps asking why and what it all means, and it gets even more annoying in the second half of the book, when things go awry and it is incredibly clear that NOBODY has any idea what is going on.
In between he keeps thinking about the girl, who spends most of the book incapacitated and in storage, so to speak. The author takes her out of her box later to bob along and give helpful insight and advice - think Legend of Zelda for gameboy, where characters will follow you around for certain quests and give nuggets of wisdom in places where they are needed. That's our girl. There's also a certain gift and some memories conveniently popping up when the plot calls for them, so the unraveling of the mystery is not done by action, really, but by something that was already in place for the whole of the book. It's infuriating. Moreover, the restrictions put on everyone else don't seem to apply to her: she's supposed to be in the same situation as Thomas on his First Day, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be much need for explanations for her. Instead of sending her through a phase of disorientation, the author just lets her conveniently grok everything.
Now for the Maze. It could have been brilliant. It's not. (Keeping it short here, because I've had about enough of thinking about this book.) The underlying mystery is pathetic, the "monsters" are pathetic (and just one kind! You'd think there'd be several, uh, species), and the way they can be overcome is absolutely ridiculous. The supposedly smart boys, who have to solve a puzzle that their lives depend on, do the same bleeping thing for two years and keep insisting that they have tried everything. Of course, the actual solution involves doing something that should have been a very, very obvious thing to do, and I can't believe no-one has tried something even remotely similar in all that time. But then again, the actual solution also involves something nobody COULD have thought of, because it's tied to Thomas speshul status and the convenient thing lurking behind *his* mystery. It's all such a mess! And I got the feeling the Maze was like a Rube Goldberg machine the size of a small country, built to open a pickle jar. Major-ish spoiler in the tag:A testing ground? For people who have apparently passed tons of tests already? The hell. Wouldn't it be simpler to just send the "winners" on that mission and see if they succeed, if it's so important? Why kill them off beforehand for nothing? . I think the author just wanted to build something bombastic, without finding a proper explanation for it. Also, why no climbing? Why? What does it MEAN?
And the ending. Gawd. NOTHING makes sense, there's more of the Rube Goldberg machine thing going on - really - why not stairs? Or even an elevator? , there are pathetic attempts to evoke some feelings, Thomas keeps being a double-standard asshole - It's apparently fine to beat someone to a pulp who is obviously being controlled, because he's the Bad Guy, and you're doing the Right Thing even if you have no fucking idea what is going on, because you're the protagonist. , and the book was not FINISHED. Trilogies are fine, but don't just dump your readers in the middle of the road, dear authors. It's bad form. And the world sounds like a farce, the overarching storyline sounds like an even bigger farce, and I'm pretty sure the author has NO idea where to go with this. Or had no idea at this point, since the trilogy is finished. I won't be finishing it though, because I'm very, very sure that it will a) only get worse, and b) have a tremendously underwhelming explanation for everything in the end, if there is one.
Ok, this got long, but the book just annoyed me so much. 1 star because it *did* pick up a little in the second half and I have read worse writing. Half a star for the promise the Maze held, but maybe that's just because the film's promo thingy looks amazing. Sigh.
*This is not Lord of the Flies, but I think it wants to be. At least LotF held some meaning and tried to do something besides look cool. show less
"Oh no. There's a dog in the backyard", Newt said. Thomas felt cold all of a sudden. "There's a dog in the backyard?", he asked. "Yes." He couldn't quite explain why, but a chill of foreboding ran down his spine. What did that mean? "You're saying there's a dog in the backyard?" "Yes. A brown one", Newt said, looking away uneasily. A dog in the backyard? And a brown one? Why was it in the backyard? What did it all mean? "So that is... bad?" Thomas asked, trying to discern what Newt's worried expression could mean. For some strange reason he was starting to feel annoyed, but somewhere in his brain something clicked. Like - a flicker of recognition. A déjà vu? "Just... don't ask", Newt said curtly and stood up. "You'll find out soon enough."
I was ready to tear my hair out or give the protagonist a wedgie by page 40.
And it didn't get better. Over-capitalisation was rampant in the book, I tells ya. The simplest words were capitalised just to give that Lord of the Flies* feeling and to make stuff sound ominous (the Box, the Glade, the Doors, the Cliff, the Tour, the First Day). I get that things need names, but really, they already *have* names. At one point someone calls for a collar, and I thought "not a Collar?", but then someone brought the Pole and I thought "Ah. Ok then".
Then the Girl is introduced. Ok, I made that up. So, the girl is introduced. Dunn dunnnn! She's pretty, and perfect, has the bluest eyes in Texas that apparently glow in the dark they're so amazing, she's "thin, but not too small", has skin that is "pale, white as pearls" - no scratch that, she's "more than pretty. Beautiful. Silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips, long legs." I kid you not. That's a quote. A bunch of boys that range between pimply, fat, tall, small, muscly, and different ethnicities, and the author goes ahead and introduces a girl straight out of a teenage boy's dream as the ONLY female character. Not only that, but she's looking all pink lips and perfect skin, and our smart protag-chan thinks she's dead. Then a boy-medic starts to examine her, and one of the boys, who are supposed to be between 12 and 16, makes a rape-joke about the possibly dead girl. Awright, mate? I can't even find the words for all the head-shaking I did. And I mean, if her beauty was intentional - like, "introduce a pretty girl, see how the boys will react" it would have been a different story perhaps, but that's not the case - she's pretty because she's the token love interest. (She's also smart, see, or so the author tells us. More on everyone's smartness later.) She also smells of flowers after having been bedridden for days and having spent a day in the Slammer, which is an impressive feat since I'm sure there are no creams or shampoos tailored to women in the Glade. Boys: if a woman smells like flowers, it's usually a cosmetic product.
Then, protag-chan. He's supposed to be smart, and he's supposed to be our focal character. And he is such a jerk. He's a walking double standard. He keeps asking, but not answering when someone asks *him*, he keeps thinking badly about people who are trying to befriend him and switching between being nice and being a jerk to them, he keeps butting in without knowing anything, then being all sulky and angry when he's rebuked, because he's just trying to help, you idiots. He wants to be a runner - pardon, Runner - and thinks he should become one, because, you know, he wants it so badly and wouldn't he be such a big help? And of course he keeps asking why and what it all means, and it gets even more annoying in the second half of the book, when things go awry and it is incredibly clear that NOBODY has any idea what is going on.
In between he keeps thinking about the girl, who spends most of the book incapacitated and in storage, so to speak. The author takes her out of her box later to bob along and give helpful insight and advice - think Legend of Zelda for gameboy, where characters will follow you around for certain quests and give nuggets of wisdom in places where they are needed. That's our girl. There's also a certain gift and some memories conveniently popping up when the plot calls for them, so the unraveling of the mystery is not done by action, really, but by something that was already in place for the whole of the book. It's infuriating. Moreover, the restrictions put on everyone else don't seem to apply to her: she's supposed to be in the same situation as Thomas on his First Day, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be much need for explanations for her. Instead of sending her through a phase of disorientation, the author just lets her conveniently grok everything.
Now for the Maze. It could have been brilliant. It's not. (Keeping it short here, because I've had about enough of thinking about this book.) The underlying mystery is pathetic, the "monsters" are pathetic (and just one kind! You'd think there'd be several, uh, species), and the way they can be overcome is absolutely ridiculous. The supposedly smart boys, who have to solve a puzzle that their lives depend on, do the same bleeping thing for two years and keep insisting that they have tried everything. Of course, the actual solution involves doing something that should have been a very, very obvious thing to do, and I can't believe no-one has tried something even remotely similar in all that time. But then again, the actual solution also involves something nobody COULD have thought of, because it's tied to Thomas speshul status and the convenient thing lurking behind *his* mystery. It's all such a mess! And I got the feeling the Maze was like a Rube Goldberg machine the size of a small country, built to open a pickle jar. Major-ish spoiler in the tag:
And the ending. Gawd. NOTHING makes sense, there's more of the Rube Goldberg machine thing going on
Ok, this got long, but the book just annoyed me so much. 1 star because it *did* pick up a little in the second half and I have read worse writing. Half a star for the promise the Maze held, but maybe that's just because the film's promo thingy looks amazing. Sigh.
*This is not Lord of the Flies, but I think it wants to be. At least LotF held some meaning and tried to do something besides look cool. show less
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