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ejozwiak's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Well written, just really depressing and at times very violently graphic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Blood, and Death
_ren's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The thing that caught me off guard is that this book is is not about Thomas, Teresa, or any of the cast members we have heard about in the main trilogy. It is about a completely new set of main characters; Mark, Alec, Trisa, Lana, and Deedee. I do not like this sudden change in casting for many reasons, but the main ones would be the lack of contribution they give to the main trilogy lore, and something that I personally noticed; the change in writing style from character-based writing to plot-based writing.
The change in writing style isn't necessarily bad in of itself, but coupled with thee lack of main trilogy lore that you would read the prequel for-- I would say that the book is definitely one that you could skip, and go right to reading the second prequel, "The Fever Code", since it actually does talk about the main cast and trilogy lore.
Although, if you are stubborn on understanding the basic lore that took place in a time before WICKED, but after the sun flares, I have written a paragraph worth of it below.
The change in writing style isn't necessarily bad in of itself, but coupled with thee lack of main trilogy lore that you would read the prequel for-- I would say that the book is definitely one that you could skip, and go right to reading the second prequel, "The Fever Code", since it actually does talk about the main cast and trilogy lore.
Although, if you are stubborn on understanding the basic lore that took place in a time before WICKED, but after the sun flares, I have written a paragraph worth of it below.
Lore You Might Need to Know...
The book introduces two new organizations we have not heard of that were in place before WICKED, with the two being the Post-Flares Coalition (PFC) and the Population Control Committee (PCC). The PFC is an organization that is comprised of the remaining government workers after the sun flares, and their job is to decide how to manage the world after its demise due to the sun flares. The PCC is the organization that initiated 'The Kill Order', which is what the main conflict in the story is about. 'The Kill Order' was initially a plan to, as peacefully as it could, kill off populations of people outside of major cities in order to save survival resources. Basically, they would scout out, in bergs, the remaining villages outside of the major cities, and would shoot every single one of their community members with syringes full of what they presumed to be a peaceful and slow-killing virus. In reality, it turned most people into cranks, and now the PCC and PFC have decided to switch their plans to finding immunes to find a cure for the virus. I believe that this switch in plans leads to the WICKED organization being officially created.
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And yeah, that's literally all the lore you'd possibly need to know before moving on to the Fever Code. Although, I have not yet moved on to reading the Fever Code, so this lore may be completely useless to people who don't completely care about the main organizations before WICKED.
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And yeah, that's literally all the lore you'd possibly need to know before moving on to the Fever Code. Although, I have not yet moved on to reading the Fever Code, so this lore may be completely useless to people who don't completely care about the main organizations before WICKED.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Violence, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Gun violence, and Death of parent
kyarabereading's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Like all the other books in the Maze Runner series, The Kill Order is a real page-turner. Chapter after chapter gets you sucked into all the action and madness that you can’t quite put the book down. Every gory detail, every action-packed scene, every mystery unlocked, every heart-wrenching moment - they all bring the reader into the tragic world Dashner created. This book was a great addition to the series, helping the reader better understand the events that led the Maze being created in the first place, all the pain the world went through during that time. It almost makes me wish this book came with its own series, so we can learn more about the characters, what the world was like before the flare, etc.
The book is a prequel to the events of the Maze Runner, and it follows the lives of Mark and his friends - people who were all alive when the sun flares first started. For fans of the Maze Runner, it may be odd to read a book with a whole new set of characters. But for me, it was actually sort of refreshing to get to meet a whole new group of people, and Dashner did an incredible job helping us get to know them. I loved seeing their dynamics within the group - the way they care about each other and the way they work together. Most of the book focuses on two characters (Mark and Alec) so if I had any criticism, it would be that I wish we could see more of the other characters that are important to the protagonist (Mark).
The events of this book hit you rather quickly, with the reader being sucked into this world Dashner created almost immediately. That can sometimes be a book’s downfall, but Dashner’s world- building and imagery are so incredible, they help introduce the reader to this world without confusing them. The book is very action-packed and Dashner does a good job of describing all that action. I will say that I do wish the book had more moments where it slowed down a bit so that the reader can have more time to get to know the characters in a less stressful situation/environment. While reading, I often got tired of the fight sequences and wished we could see the characters simply exist without another problem arising.
Finally, I’d like to say that this book is also incredibly emotional. Rarely, do I have a book that makes my heart feel as heavy as this one did. It reminds me why I love these types of dystopian books. They show communities coming together not just to survive, but to live. They show how important love and compassion are. And they show us how when people truly care, they are willing to do just about anything, sacrifice just about anything for one another.
The book is a prequel to the events of the Maze Runner, and it follows the lives of Mark and his friends - people who were all alive when the sun flares first started. For fans of the Maze Runner, it may be odd to read a book with a whole new set of characters. But for me, it was actually sort of refreshing to get to meet a whole new group of people, and Dashner did an incredible job helping us get to know them. I loved seeing their dynamics within the group - the way they care about each other and the way they work together. Most of the book focuses on two characters (Mark and Alec) so if I had any criticism, it would be that I wish we could see more of the other characters that are important to the protagonist (Mark).
The events of this book hit you rather quickly, with the reader being sucked into this world Dashner created almost immediately. That can sometimes be a book’s downfall, but Dashner’s world- building and imagery are so incredible, they help introduce the reader to this world without confusing them. The book is very action-packed and Dashner does a good job of describing all that action. I will say that I do wish the book had more moments where it slowed down a bit so that the reader can have more time to get to know the characters in a less stressful situation/environment. While reading, I often got tired of the fight sequences and wished we could see the characters simply exist without another problem arising.
Finally, I’d like to say that this book is also incredibly emotional. Rarely, do I have a book that makes my heart feel as heavy as this one did. It reminds me why I love these types of dystopian books. They show communities coming together not just to survive, but to live. They show how important love and compassion are. And they show us how when people truly care, they are willing to do just about anything, sacrifice just about anything for one another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Vomit, Child death, and Sexual harassment
tbs250's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
alaskayoung1734's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I enjoyed it although at times it could be hard to engage in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
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