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William E Kaufman

Do NOT let a child read this.

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2019

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This is a horror book filled with nastiness, lack of empathy, and most revoltingly, the idea that it's reasonable and morally correct to torture and kill children in the name of possibly saving the human race. I forced myself to finish it to see if the ending had any redeeming qualities---it does not. A "teaser" for the second book begins with a brother and sister kidnapped after watching the murder of their parents. Apparently many adults, including respected reviewers, can maintain enough emotional distance to enjoy this sort of thing, but I am not one of them. And I certainly do not regard this as appropriate for children, or even teenagers.

SheR

I think....

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2017

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I got this book shortly after having watched the first film. The movie really drew me in and I had to have it. Now, altogether, I think I like the film much better than the book, but the novel has its merits too without a doubt.

I see a lot of reviews talking about how the characters were without personality, boring, unreadable, flat. In some ways I do understand the frustration. At times it's near impossible to read what is going on exactly, BUT I think I've found purpose to what so many deem madness. I mean, these are kids who woke up in a strange place with no memory of who they are, where they came from. To top it all off, they're trapped in a maze crawling with monsters at night. And no matter how much they try to escape, they can't. They have lived in a place with no idea of what they were, who they were supposed to be, or what they ARE supposed to be now. For me, it would only make sense for a stagnant environment to produce stagnation in the people occupying it. I know that may be reaching a little bit - but it's what has helped me to manage through the book with a peaked interest.

I couldn't put the novel down. Overall, I find the concept of the story good. And despite the blank slates of many characters, they are still fairly likable (except for Alby. Book Alby worked my absolute last nerve. He was a complete 360 from his movie self and I have never hated a character so much so quickly. I disliked him more than Gally >:( ). All in all, the movie made me want to dive directly into The Scorch Trials, so it definitely did something right. Honestly, I think the biggest issue that most people can agree with is the lack of personality in the characters. But in my perspective, I can kind of make it work in my head! I look forward to continuing these books.

Kelly Brigid

Lord of the Flies Meets Hunger Games

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2018

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It truly does upset me to face the reality of how I feel about this book now, but I need to say it. I don’t like The Maze Runner nearly as much as I used to. There, it’s out! In all fairness, this was only the second young-adult dystopian novel I had read at the time (the first being The Hunger Games). I was young. I was naive. Back then I wouldn’t dwell on the author’s writing style or his character development. I didn’t care about, much less notice, plot holes and amateur writing. It truly amazes me that I didn’t realize how two-dimensional Thomas was or how the writing was barely tolerable the first time I read it. I know I’m making this seem as though I hate it now, but I still like the book. It’s original, suspenseful, and has several likable characters.

~The Plot~

I always liked the concept of Lord of the Flies, which the author states was his inspiration for The Maze Runner, but it overall left me unsatisfied. The premise for The Maze Runner however, is incredibly intriguing: a group of teenage boys without any memories, trapped in a maze. At first I thought it sounded interesting enough, but something was stopping me from reading it right away. I guess I assumed it was too out of the ordinary to begin reading right away. I’m pretty sure my initial thought of the Maze Runner before reading the synopsis was something like this.

The reader has no idea what’s happening from the start, and I will tell you straight out that it gets frustrating. Not a single soul will answer any of Thomas’ questions. Hey, I just got stranded here with the rest of you, and I’d like to know WHY! But, as annoying as that is, it’s also one of my favorite aspects of the book. I needed to know what on earth was going on just as much as Thomas, and I wasn’t putting the book down until I found out, though it did drag on a little too long, if you ask me. Also, I imagine it’d be pretty funny if I was a teenage guy and don’t remember seeing a girl until Teresa showed up…

~The Characters~

According to psychological studies, the average person prefers to have bad news before good news. Hmph, very well. Let’s start with our oh so special snowflake. When I first read Maze Runner I thought he was okay, now however…I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Thomas is one of the most underdeveloped two-dimensional protagonists ever. What Dashner fails to realize is that there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Nearly every heroic, self-sacrificing act Thomas commits in the book is just plain stupid, unrealistic, and frankly, suicidal.

I’ve always hated Teresa. She serves no purpose to the plot whatsoever, except to be Thomas’ insta-love interest. Why??? Why does there always need to be a love interest in every one of these teen dystopian novels! If she was actually a useful character I wouldn’t have minded her as much, but she isn’t. Character development? I don’t recall any. Zero. Zip. Nada. She has personality…but it is that of an absolute shuck-face. I love to have a kick-butt female heroine, but she’s just a down-right jerk. “Ah, my Knight in Shining Armor. What, you don’t think I can fend for myself?” Who the heck does she think she is?

Chuck was awesome! If you ask me, Thomas didn’t give Chuck the time of day (another reason to hate him), but every time Chuck made an appearance I would quite complaining and listen up. It’s not necessarily that Chuck was the funniest character ever, but he’s just so darn, likable. Oh, and the actor who portrays him in the movie is perfect. Just thought I’d point that out.

Oh, Minho. What can I say? I love him! Sarcastic, snarky guys are my favorite! His remarks were the best. I actually liked it when Minho made that less than noble decision in the Maze. That was realistic! I don’t entirely agree with him, but it proved he isn’t a perfect little angel (like a certain other person…named Thomas) Also, thank you James Dashner, for not naming him Kai. Is it just me, or why does it seem like every Asian guy is named Kai or Ky?!

Newt was pretty amazing too. He was the voice of reason in this book, whenever Thomas suggested something, well…as Newt would say, bloody stupid, he’s the one who slapped some sense into him. I think I liked Minho slightly more than Newt, but I liked them both, quite a bit.

As for the other characters, I wish they were developed more, but they were all so boring that I couldn’t care less. Gally was interesting, but wasn’t in the book that much – a shame really, because it would’ve made the last part of the book all the more emotional.

~The Writing~

I didn’t really pay attention to writing until I actually tried to write a book last year. In doing so, I realized that it’s surprisingly pretty hard to write a full-length novel. I have the beginning and the end, now what do I fill in-between…The number one rule of writing is to show don’t tell. Dashner just tells the reader what’s happening and how Thomas is feeling. I know this probably didn’t bug that many people, but it’s just a huge pet peeve of mine. However, I do like the slang. It was amusing.

~Final Thoughts~

I think what really infuriates me about this book, is that it had so much potential. If a different author wrote this, I think it could’ve been outstanding. I really liked the concept, a few of the characters, and the setting, but it’s overall a very mediocre read. Despite it’s flaws, The Maze Runner was still a fun read that I’d recommend to newer fans of YA dystopias.

Top reviews from other countries

hibbzie.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (as always no spoilers)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2020

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This was the first book by James Dashner that i have read and it will not be the last.

Thomas Wakes up in an elevator with no memory other than his name, when the elevator doors finally open he finds himself among many other teenagers in a vast glade.

The glade is at the centre of a massive maze hundreds of feet high and made of stone, the other teens (known as gladers) have been trying to escape through the maze for two years without ANY success, for inside the maze are horrors that i won't describe here. You will have to read this excellent book to understand what i mean.

This novel is supposed to be for teenage readers, i am 52 years old and i really enjoyed it. I give it a very well deserved 5 stars.

vivette

Enjoyable thriller.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2018

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This story was captivating and held my interest throughout. Compared to other teenage dystopian novels, this is in my top ten. It would especially appeal to young adults who enjoy stories with peril, murder and mystery with a measure of science fiction. I, however was touched by the element of humanity that ran through the story. Highly recommended.

kuzhali

Woah! One of the best series i've ever read

Reviewed in India on August 16, 2018

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This series is amazing. especially the first and last book. Many people get the order of the series wrong . The series order in google is wrong. Spoiler Warning: The first three books are flashbacks and the last two books is how the story begins.
Please read in this order:
1. maze runner , 2. scorch trials , 3. death cure , 4. kill order , 5. fever code
U might find the the 3rd and 4th a little bit boring but continue to read to start the best book of the series ,the last one

Beatrice Joy

OK, but could have been done much better.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2020

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I saw the movie first and then read the three books in the series. Although I sort of enjoyed the books, they are quite different from the movie and the movie is way, way better. The idea is great, but poorly worked out: characters are shallow and do not seem to have logical conversations. They talk endlessly when things are on the verge of bursting. They react illogically given the dire situations at hand; not natural. Also quite a lot of repetition with all the beasties that appear from everywhere and one beastie simply being a variation on the previous beastie. Language constructs are poor and very simple. The author did unfortunately not exploit a great theme and I therefore gave it only a three star rating.

D Calvert

A confusing but enjoyable start to the series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2014

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Read the full review at: http://polkadotbookblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-maze-runner.html

When I started this book, I was extremely excited because I had heard good things about it and was told that if I was a fan of the hunger games then this book would be right up my street. I was imagining it to be an amazing dystopian book that would have me gripped from page one. But after the first 100 pages I realised that I had too high expectations and unfortunately it was not looking up to it. Which is why this book has me so conflicted on what to rate it because at some points I love it and at others I don't.

Yet there are still many things that I did like about this book. I liked the mystery and the concept that surrounds the series. But then I didn't like how drawn out it was in the first part. I felt that there wasn't any important action happening until the middle-end of the book, so I was constantly urging myself to keep at it.

The second half of the book is when I started to really enjoy it. I started to get the gripped feeling, where you cannot put the book down because you just had to know what happens. The pace became fast moving and the mystery and action started to get bigger and better, which was not seen in the first part. I just loved the twist at the end. I did not expect it and it is all this that making me what to continue on with the series.

Another thing I did like was some of the characters, not all of them but some. Some characters I absolutely adored (Chuck and Newt) but others I was just so uninterested in. I just felt that I had no clue as to what was happening so I couldn't connect with the characters like I wanted to. Yet I loved the subtle loyalty and friendship Newt offered and the vulnerability of Chuck, that just made me what to kiss them and cheer at the little things they did.

Overall, as a book there were so many things that had me going back and forth on whether I loved it or hated it. I loved the plot, the pacing of the second half of the book and some of the characters. But then I hated the pacing at the beginning of the book and was completely confused as to what was going on due to the writing style and confusion the characters themselves were going through. This is ultimately why the rating is 3.5, because what I loved about the book happened in the second half. While at the beginning I was constantly urging myself to just stick with it and not give up, at the end I just couldn't put it down and was thoroughly gripped.

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