The Death Cure by James Dashner

☆☆☆☆☆
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Random House
Released: October 11, 2011
Pages: 384
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Source: Library (Pat is Awesome!)
TRAILER: YouTube


Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.
What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.
The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine. Will anyone survive the Death Cure?


We have followed closely on the running heels of the Gladers as they fought demonic beasts, survived in the harshest of terrains, and watch parts of their group die. We have survived with them, hearts beating at every turn of page and hoped against hope that they would make it beyond the grips of Wicked.


Here we are again with Thomas and his band of misfits as they try to unveil the truth of their existence. As always, James Dashner has delivered an incredible novel to complete the series. I have yet to be disappointed in his ability to shine every character's personality and to keep us enthralled with them from page one to the final word.


Though the conflict remains the same, the storyline is not repetitive. It's a new adventure for the groups with all new obstacles. Every question of mine was answered at some point, yet nothing was predictable. I think that is a talent that many authors do not have.


Each book has the ability to hold its own, but no one should deprive themselves of reading only one. Pick these books up from wherever you can find them and do not let go until the end of The Death Cure. They will keep your mind reeling for months!


P.S. James is the first author whom I have seen that thanked book bloggers in his acknowledgements. That is just too cool! :D

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

☆☆☆☆☆Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Pages: 360
Genre: Young Readers Fiction
Source: Own
ISBN: 0385738757

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

If James created Thomas to reflect himself, then I would be honored to meet such a person in real life. With such a large heart and a will to do what's right by his friends and even foes, Thomas is by far my favorite of the many characters. Minho is a close runner up with his drive to lead such a beaten down group of boys.

I could not put this book down.  I relished every break at work and every moment to sit down and eat! While I thought The Maze Runner had a slow start, The Scorch Trials definitely took off from page one. James made sure you felt as though your were walking through the desert with those boys. The heat, the storm, the lightening. You felt every death and tried to provide hope to the boys from the pages that you desperately clung to. Horror, disgust, envy, hate, rage, fear, despair, hunger, joy, heartache...those are just a handful of the emotions thrown into the mix.
A second in a trilogy and a wonderful addition to an amazing adventure. I cannot wait until the last installment to see where their story ends.