Spoiler-Free Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner [The Maze Runner, #1]
by James Dashner

Genre: YA dystopian

My Rating: ★★

Description:

When Thomas wakes up in a strange clearing called the Glade, with no memory of anything but his name, he's desperate to get out. But soon, his life becomes less a search for truth than a race for survival.

The Glade is the only safe haven against the mysterious beasts that lurk in the Maze beyond -- and the Maze is the only way out. Thomas quickly signs up to become a Runner -- one of the few who dare to venture beyond the walls of the Glade to try to find an escape route. 

But when a girl is left in the Glade, all the rules seem to fall apart, and Thomas realizes he may have signed up for more than he bargained for. 

Overall Thoughts

When I picked up this book, I was expecting something that lived up to the amount of hype it received. I was honestly disappointed. This book did not draw me in. 

I had previously seen the movie, and was also not impressed, but I'd heard that the book was better, so I thought I would give it a try. After all, the concept itself is intriguing -- amnesia, boys trapped in a shifting maze, strange monsters... it's compelling. But the execution itself was not to my taste. There were elements I liked, just not enough to make up for the parts I didn't. 

I hate writing reviews that are less than positive, but I also feel that they're necessary, so here goes.

The Characters

Characterization was not a strong point in the novel. 

The main character, Thomas, experiences mood swings seemingly at random for the sake of the plot, and some of his desires and motivations were hard to understand, because it seemed the author was forcing them onto him. 

Teresa was plain annoying. Her character, while serving a role in moving the plot along, was very flat. 

The side characters were unremarkable. Most seemed more like cardboard cutouts, and I never really grew attached to any of them. That makes me sad, because I really wanted to like at least one or two characters. But for some reason, none of them appealed to me.

Plot/Pacing

I'm glad to say that the plot for The Maze Runner was fairly solid. The story goal stayed consistent, while still offering a few key twists. 

The pacing was excellent, and never slowed (which was one reason that I managed to read the whole thing.) In this respect, the book was well thought out. I like comparing the plot of The Maze Runner to a video game -- not particularly brilliant, but paced perfectly to keep readers engaged.

Worldbuilding

Set in the center of a giant shifting maze, the concept for the world was interesting. There were monsters (with mildly horrifying descriptions), a strange illness, and a mysterious elevator that brings up new kids and supplies to the kids living above. 

Later on in the novel, something happens that shows everything in the Maze in a new light -- but not one that I'm sure I completely understand. It left gaping plot holes in the storyworld. Without giving away spoilers, I was slightly confused.  

There was also a random telepathy element that seemed to have no bearing on the plot apart from adding elements of mystery.

Content

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

There was a good bit of violent content, as well as descriptions of blood. Several characters die on-page. Monsters were described in semi-detail, and could scare sensitive readers. Detailed descriptions of what characters look and act like when they are poisoned by a certain creature, which could be disturbing for some readers. 

Sexual content is limited to a kiss or two, as well as some suggestive comments. Teresa is the only girl in the Glade, and there are several comments about that. 

Language is mostly made-up, along with a few cases of mild swearing. 

Rude humor is fairly common and lessened my enjoyment of the book; it seemed juvenile, in my opinion.

Characters use a medicine in order to cure the disease caused by the poison.