Title: The ScorchTrials [The Maze Runner 2]
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Length: 359
Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4 Star
Description/Synopsis:
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
Review – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Firs off, thank god. I was so not prepared to read another book that was just as down right painful at the first one, but I think the second book was leaps and bounds ahead of he first. While there were some serious things I still had issues with I overall really enjoyed this book.
Lets do the negatives first shall we? I still think the quality of writing could have been improved. The indecision or suspense in this book is still just as forced as in the first book. These things are not ones we should feel like we are being forced to care about. At one point in the book Tom goes through some… lets call it issues with another character and from then on he is pretty much going on and on about how he can’t forgive them. This would be fine if we were not also getting moments of togetherness just pages after the event, and then back to but I cannot forgive them! Things like this should not be treated like an indecisive person would treat ordering off a new menu. I’ll take the steak. No the salad. Yes. No. Yes. *Internal screams*
This was a pivotal in plot, character development and plot progression, a point I should have cared about but instead I wished Tom would just shut up about it.
Plot wise this book was far far better. Things happened! And it wasn’t just pretend things happening, it was real things. I don’t remember many moments in this book where plot progression wasn’t happening. The character are always going through something. I think the only plot issue I had with the book were the fact a love triangle was introduced (a very boring one I might add) and the overall question of how all of this will help stop people from getting a mysterious illness. There is always the next book for that one though.
I found this book to be far more dark and serious than the first one and I think this was one of the main reasons I liked it more than the first. I did panic about a few things that happened, and the overall feel is a lot more haunting and disturbing. I think this is because we finally get to see how the people outside of the maze are living and suffering and we are not in this one little place of relative peacefulness. If you know, forget that some random put them there are took away their memories.
We got some new characters in this book but I really feel no different about any of them. Newt and Minho are still my favourites and everyone is just bland and bare and I have issues finding any depth to them. They all seem to just float through the book. Its a struggling kind of floating, but floating none the less because I didn’t feel anything for them.
In conclusion the plot of this book made it far more enjoyable to the first for me. However, it was still nothing totally amazing and because I didn’t like the first at all really I will not be suggesting that anyone start this series. If it ends on a wow I shall let you know, but with just these two books I don’t think its worth the time investment.
Till Next Time…
