I’ve been shucked and gone to heaven
After watching the movie this weekend I was sure, I wanted to read The Maze Runner trilogy. I liked it, even though half the story was spoiled by the movie. But there are also a lot of things different from the movie
Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Rating:
Title & Author: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Genre: Dystopia, Adventure
Release Date: October 6 2009
Series: The Maze Runner
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Synopsis
If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
As I said above, I knew red line through this story. I had seen the movie and so most things were not a big surprise to me. But I do think I liked The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I like the names of the characters and the descriptions of things, for example Dashner’s description of a Griever. It made me shiver.
Thomas grows from young man, who was sure of where he needed to go, to someone who was unsure of himself and what he needed to do. And then to a man who knew what he needed to do to finish the suffering of the group of Gladers.
At the beginning of the story, Chuck is a young boy who does whatever he needs to to get by, but nothing more. He is unsure and is happy to befriend the weird Thomas, who is his only friend. He grows into the great friend, willing to give his life for him.
I feel Teresa does not add anything to the story, maybe she is going to be a love interest in another part of the series. But the only thing she does during this book is stir up more trouble for Thomas.
The explanation for why the kids were part of the experiment is a bit weak. But also the group that the Gladers meet when they get out of the maze is weird. They kill a woman with a bus for no good reason, even though they are against using children to find a way to save the world.
The Movie
A lot of the aspects from the book, that make it a completely different story, are not in the movie. In a way I understand, it makes is more confusing and/or just add too much info and are not necessary for the story to progress.
But some are the most interesting ones, like Gally’s disappearance and return and then being ‘controlled’. In the movie there is also no mention of the supplies coming in every week. Also nothing is actually said about supplies, only the crates that come with Thomas in the box. How Alby survived during the first few weeks in the Glade is never explained, even though it is in the book.
Also sees Thomas the letters WCKD are never explained in the movie, even though in the book W.I.C.K.E.D. is explained, World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department.
The movie is okay, I would not say it is the greatest, the same goes for the book.
Let me know what you thought of this book and/or movie!
If you have any requests for which book I should talk about next, please let me know in the comments down below.
For now, let books enrich your life!