The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Oct 01, 2014 Skip rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction

Was vacillating between a 2 and 3. Decent premise and suspenseful, but there were some flaws that kept me from liking it better, such as (1) lead characters are one dimensional, (2) main character immediately knows what he is destined to be, and connects with another newbie, with no foundational basis at all (due to amnesia), (3) unexplained and therefore undeserved animosities, (4) slang was grossly overused and pretty stupid, and (5) nothing was resolved at all, forcing readers into the sequel ...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it it was amazing

When I first heard about this book , it didn't really interest me at all but then something sparked this morning and I thought, alright I'll give it a whirl and to my suprisement I actually enjoyed it alot. It was a great read and I think since I've been on a tad bit of a dystopian buzz , it made me enjoy it more. This is one dystopian novels that those of the male sex will really really enjoy as the whole line-up are teenage guys except for one girl who shows up about halfway through the novel. ...more

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Jun 27, 2014 Christy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As the summary says, Thomas wakes up in a lift with his only memory being his name. Once he gets to his destination ‘The Glade’ he realizes that the many teenage boys surrounding him have no memory either. The Glade is a section of land surrounded by stone ways that only open during the day. Thomas quickly learns that lying outside the walls of the Glade is a Maze and in order to go back to wherever they came from, they have to solve the Maze. Only the Maze changes overnight and 2 years in and n As the summary says, Thomas wakes up in a lift with his only memory being his name. Once he gets to his destination ‘The Glade’ he realizes that the many teenage boys surrounding him have no memory either. The Glade is a section of land surrounded by stone ways that only open during the day. Thomas quickly learns that lying outside the walls of the Glade is a Maze and in order to go back to wherever they came from, they have to solve the Maze. Only the Maze changes overnight and 2 years in and no one has figured it out yet. Then the unthinkable happens they get another Glader the next day which never happens and to top that…it’s a girl.

As of writing this review, I’m having a hard time not kicking myself because I didn’t read it sooner. I don’t know how it slipped through the cracks, but unfortunately it did. But I can’t complain too much though because that just means I don’t have to wait forever for the next installment *happy dance*.

The Maze Runner starts off with a bang, there’s no slow world building that drags on for pages and pages. Instead Dashner spreads it out so that we are constantly learning something new about the “Glade” and the Maze and IMO this made the book soooo much better.

Another thing The Maze Runner has going for it, is its amazing and well thought out characters. All of the ones that we get to know are so diverse and different. You got Thomas who shows bravery and courage when no one else does. Chuck, who is so kind and sweet you wonder why he was even sent to the Glade. Minho, who I thought was a coward at one point in this book but turned out to be a fighter. Teresa, who goes into a coma within minutes of arriving in the Glade but turns out to be an important piece of the puzzle (hehe, like what I did there?)

After the first few chapters of this book you will be left with a ton of questions and by the end while we have answers to most of them, I still had a few lingering, although I’m sure they will be answered in the next two installments. My only peeve throughout the whole book was the slang, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t take me a while to get used to and to figure out what some of the words meant, but it wasn’t that big of a deal as the plot and the characters were too interesting for me to put it down.

Overall, The Maze Runner is an extremely unique and clever read, one that I would recommend to not only fans of the dystopian genre but to any reader. This book kept me hooked from the very beginning, giving just enough information to keep the mystery aspect going and keeping my attention from wavering, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next.
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Aug 01, 2009 A rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult, mystery, dystopia

Um. Wow.

Not what I expected, and I will read the next, but it didn't floor me either... let's go with a nice safe 3-star, and promise to re-evaluate later. ...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Anasheh Satoorian rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed this book and story... The last few chapters really had me on the edge of my seat!

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Oct 17, 2011 thuy rated it liked it

Shelves: book-own, young-adult, audio, 52-books-in-52-weeks-2015

in progress

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I am always a little wary going into a popular series that people love. I think the expectation is just sometimes too high and I end up disappointed. It may have helped that I saw the movie first and liked it. The film also gave me a good primer on the world here and it was easy to jump in. There were definitely changes from book to film but the overall spirit and plot of the book remains intact and I didn't find any huge differences.

T ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Kirstyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian, really-need-to-read

I'm starting to creep myself out..reading all of these books with plots that could potentially happen on Earth in the future. That being said, I thought this book was excellent. The world-building makes you feel like you're actually in the Glade and lets face it, the Maze is freaky! Disgusting Grievers are out to get you and while there is order inside the Glade, people aren't all too happy with you. Thomas is a great character and very likable, you feel yourself cheering for him to figure out h ...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Rebecca rated it liked it

FINALLY I HAVE FINISHED! Took me a couple of weeks because I've been in a bit of a reading slump, but I got there.
Not going to lie, the only reason I read this is because I want to go and see the film because Dylan O'Brien is in it. It was good and I liked the plot, however I didn't really like any of the characters and I felt some lines were cheesy and just not well written, Idk. I do think I'll like the film, and I hope the actors playing the characters will give them more life and make me fa ...more

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Oct 07, 2010 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian, upcoming-antidotes, post-apocalyptic

The first part of this novel earned 3 stars. I just couldn't get into it and I hated not knowing for so long, but at some point in the last third of the book, it exploded and became a 5-star book. That's why I'm compromising. Truly unique, and while it was a bit too much of a boy book for me at times, I really enjoyed what became of the story! ...more

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Aug 13, 2014 Kam Brooksmoore rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopia, read-in-2014, spark-a-reaction, young-adult

Holy crap this book is awesome! The mystery kept me turning the pages, and I kept wanting to know what happened next, and Thomas, I think, was an awesome narrator. The end of the book left me panting for the next book! I definitely recommend this to people who want a big mystery in their book!

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