Scan barcode
cmzukowski's reviews
704 reviews
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
4.0
So I flew through this book and liked it a lot more than I did the Maze Runner. Maybe I just love the whole dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting more than the maze, but I also think a lot of it had to do with the story. This book was much most fast-paced than the first and I feel like it was a lot more exciting. The story started to come together more and we got more of an understanding of the purpose of WICKED, the trials, the Variables, etc. Thins started to click in my head and I feel like the story is starting to make a lot of sense and we are getting to the heart of the matter finally. We are learning that this isn’t just about some kids being tortured, it is something on a global scale that goes way beyond a maze and some teenagers and some creatures. It is more of a battle to save Earth and the human race in a story that has many pros and cons.
As I said in the beginning I liked the post-apocalyptic landscape that was caused by the sun flares as well as the extreme weather that was created. During the lightning storm scene I was so fully absorbed and reading so quickly because of the tense nature of the scene and the visual I was able to get in my head. It also strikes a chord in the reader about where we could possibly headed with the changes in our weather and the extremes we could face. Sun flares and extreme heat and devastating storms are a real possibility in our future so I feel like a little of a reality check was forced to happen in regards to extreme weather changes and an Earth in disrepair. I also liked the Flare disease that was created. It was rather zombie-esque in nature yet with a more human aspect to it in that the people could still speak and think and plan. I feel like it showed a good degradation of the human race but I wish it was explained more. They explain something about a disease being unleashed during the sun flares but I feel like it was a little glossed over which disappointed me. I would have been very interested to learn more about it.
I feel like there has also been some character improvement. You still do not get much attachment to them or backstory but it improved from the first book. I think sticking to a few main characters helped for the author to tie you to them a little more and care more and I also feel that as the characters continue to get memories back you will feel for them more. However, by the time that happens the story will almost be completed and I wonder if it will all come too late. I will also say that the emotions of the characters are a little fleeting. I couldn’t keep track of how many times Thomas went from trusting to not trusting, loving to hating Teresa and Brenda. I mean, I get he is a teenager and that may be the case but he is also in a wasteland where he is fighting for his life. I feel like if someone screws you over once then that is one too many times and they don’t deserve your trust. Boy needs to be a man in this case.
On another negative note, I still feel the timeline is off and doesn’t seem to be written in way that makes a whole lot of sense. They had weeks for this trial but the way it is written seems like only a number of days pass by. Maybe Thomas was too busy passing out for us to get the entire several weeks’ worth of story though, who knows.
One of my biggest disappointments was no further explanation about the Grievers and the introduction of a whole new creature at the end, a creature we know nothing of that just came out of nowhere to attack the kids. No explanation whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some biotech but it needs to be explained! Sci-fi and biotech are so interesting and complex and you need to go more in depth into explanations, not just introduce something and then take it away. Just a little explanation goes a long way in stories like this and I feel an elaboration on the biotech creatures would have really added to the story.
Overall, the story had me sucked in from the beginning, even with the open ends still and the holes. I am hopeful that during the third book a lot of these holes will be filled and everything will be brought together. We have already seen the fitting together of some of the puzzle pieces between this book and the first and I would like to think that will continue to happen in the third book.
As I said in the beginning I liked the post-apocalyptic landscape that was caused by the sun flares as well as the extreme weather that was created. During the lightning storm scene I was so fully absorbed and reading so quickly because of the tense nature of the scene and the visual I was able to get in my head. It also strikes a chord in the reader about where we could possibly headed with the changes in our weather and the extremes we could face. Sun flares and extreme heat and devastating storms are a real possibility in our future so I feel like a little of a reality check was forced to happen in regards to extreme weather changes and an Earth in disrepair. I also liked the Flare disease that was created. It was rather zombie-esque in nature yet with a more human aspect to it in that the people could still speak and think and plan. I feel like it showed a good degradation of the human race but I wish it was explained more. They explain something about a disease being unleashed during the sun flares but I feel like it was a little glossed over which disappointed me. I would have been very interested to learn more about it.
I feel like there has also been some character improvement. You still do not get much attachment to them or backstory but it improved from the first book. I think sticking to a few main characters helped for the author to tie you to them a little more and care more and I also feel that as the characters continue to get memories back you will feel for them more. However, by the time that happens the story will almost be completed and I wonder if it will all come too late. I will also say that the emotions of the characters are a little fleeting. I couldn’t keep track of how many times Thomas went from trusting to not trusting, loving to hating Teresa and Brenda. I mean, I get he is a teenager and that may be the case but he is also in a wasteland where he is fighting for his life. I feel like if someone screws you over once then that is one too many times and they don’t deserve your trust. Boy needs to be a man in this case.
On another negative note, I still feel the timeline is off and doesn’t seem to be written in way that makes a whole lot of sense. They had weeks for this trial but the way it is written seems like only a number of days pass by. Maybe Thomas was too busy passing out for us to get the entire several weeks’ worth of story though, who knows.
One of my biggest disappointments was no further explanation about the Grievers and the introduction of a whole new creature at the end, a creature we know nothing of that just came out of nowhere to attack the kids. No explanation whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some biotech but it needs to be explained! Sci-fi and biotech are so interesting and complex and you need to go more in depth into explanations, not just introduce something and then take it away. Just a little explanation goes a long way in stories like this and I feel an elaboration on the biotech creatures would have really added to the story.
Overall, the story had me sucked in from the beginning, even with the open ends still and the holes. I am hopeful that during the third book a lot of these holes will be filled and everything will be brought together. We have already seen the fitting together of some of the puzzle pieces between this book and the first and I would like to think that will continue to happen in the third book.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
3.0
I want to start off by saying that I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved the story; it reminded me a little of a cross between Hunger Games and The Long Walk (by Stephen King) with a completely different sci-fi twist. What is great about the concept and how it was delivered is that it is highly intriguing and makes you want to just keep reading and try to unravel on your own what is going on before the characters do. I can best explain my feelings while reading it as I was reading a sci-fi story that I was also making into a detective story in my mind. And it definitely left me hanging enough to want to continue reading the series so all the pieces of the puzzle can come together so I can get the big picture of what is going on. I also was able to get a good idea of the settings (Maze, Glade) from the description that was given, which is important to me because I like to get good mental images while reading. Maybe I enjoyed the story so much because I have always been a big fan of sci-fi and if you aren’t into sci-fi you may not enjoy it as much. But I can honestly say it was a fun read for me.
Now for the bad. I feel like this book was rather simply written. It felt like Dashner’s choice of language could be novice at times and his description of peoples’ moods and the way he expressed their emotions was pretty basic (E.g. “He said in an excited manner” “He said absently”) and the made up slang used by the Gladers really did get on my nerves at times. Also, there was very little character development. By the end of the book I didn’t feel like I really knew and of the characters. I even had a hard time being sympathetic towards them at times when they were going through something tragic because I wasn’t emotionally attached to them at all. I also feel like the timing in the book was off. Gladers had been in maze for years working on it and someone new shows up and a few days later everything is solved. I get that Thomas had some connection but I also feel like the revelation was too fast and slightly anti-climactic. As far as the Grievers, I know a lot of people were unhappy with them but I am intrigued. I am holding out hope that they will be in the other books and that they will be explained more and actually have an interesting back-story.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. It is good for a quick read and not too intense in terms of making you over-think things or have to re-read passages. The story is interesting and moves quickly and the mystery behind everything makes you want to keep reading. I wish you could give half stars because I would give this book a 3.5. If I were judging on story concept alone I would easily give it a four but the problem I keep coming back to is the characters. I am the type of reader who loves to be pulled into the characters’ lives. I want to feel their emotions and I want to miss them when they are gone. So I think that makes me have to go with a three star but I am still going back and forth about if that is how I really feel or if I feel a four. So it may change the more I think. I am holding out hope that the next two books improve in that aspect and the storyline continues to be good.
Now for the bad. I feel like this book was rather simply written. It felt like Dashner’s choice of language could be novice at times and his description of peoples’ moods and the way he expressed their emotions was pretty basic (E.g. “He said in an excited manner” “He said absently”) and the made up slang used by the Gladers really did get on my nerves at times. Also, there was very little character development. By the end of the book I didn’t feel like I really knew and of the characters. I even had a hard time being sympathetic towards them at times when they were going through something tragic because I wasn’t emotionally attached to them at all. I also feel like the timing in the book was off. Gladers had been in maze for years working on it and someone new shows up and a few days later everything is solved. I get that Thomas had some connection but I also feel like the revelation was too fast and slightly anti-climactic. As far as the Grievers, I know a lot of people were unhappy with them but I am intrigued. I am holding out hope that they will be in the other books and that they will be explained more and actually have an interesting back-story.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. It is good for a quick read and not too intense in terms of making you over-think things or have to re-read passages. The story is interesting and moves quickly and the mystery behind everything makes you want to keep reading. I wish you could give half stars because I would give this book a 3.5. If I were judging on story concept alone I would easily give it a four but the problem I keep coming back to is the characters. I am the type of reader who loves to be pulled into the characters’ lives. I want to feel their emotions and I want to miss them when they are gone. So I think that makes me have to go with a three star but I am still going back and forth about if that is how I really feel or if I feel a four. So it may change the more I think. I am holding out hope that the next two books improve in that aspect and the storyline continues to be good.