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a_picara's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-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
This book was just so bad. Like the second, Thomas spends a lot of time unconscious and other characters force plot upon him. This book fails spectacularly at world building because it doesn't follow any logic for economics, science, or politics. The 'scientific' explanations are offensive to anyone with a brain.
But at least it was quick to get through.
But at least it was quick to get through.
bookbedtimeprocrastination's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shellfishhuman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
swiftie1977's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. However now I want to know more.... I don't want to give away the ending though.
gracegetsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ihateprozac's review against another edition
3.0
This book seemed less intense than the previous two, it lacked the thrill of its predecessors and didn't have me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't devour the previous two fast enough, dying to get answers and see what the next obstacle would be. In The Death Cure we get answers, and they're not entirely satisfying. There aren't any man-made (WICKED-made?) puzzles left to solve, it's more a case of trying to not get killed by Cranks while playing it by ear to overthrow WICKED. The change of setting to Crank-ridden Denver also served to change the tone significantly, making it seem more like a zombie book than a sci-fi dystopian nightmare.
I didn't entirely understand the role of the Right Arm in this book. I'd hoped they would be this organised movement with roots in every institution around the globe, but they were more like a group of 5 scorned thugs with an endless supply of firecrackers. They said they wanted to start over and create a better world for the surviving population, but they didn't seem to give a shit about Munies dying when they blew up WICKED. I doubt they had the resources to effect real change anyway; while they might've made themselves feel better about eliminating WICKED, 99.9% of the population would've still succumbed to the Flare and died.
As much as I've come to loathe WICKED in the past 2 books, I can't help but wonder what the world would've been like if Thomas had sacrificed himself to science and thereby delivered a cure. It certainly would've made for an interesting ending with the protagonist dead, but it also would've been cool to see the world attempting to rebuild itself. The world had descended into total anarchy in those last few days, and I'm interested as to whether they could ever fully regain order.
I did like the ending we were given though, and that's probably due to its parallels with the Nicolas Cage movie Knowing, and Battlestar Galactica. The sun flares partially destroying the Earth immediately made me think back to Knowing, and I'd been hoping that WICKED were weeding out the brightest and best of the human race to start their own Garden of Eden elsewhere. They ended up doing exactly that, but it wasn't entirely intentional.
***SPOILERS FOR BATTLESTAR GALACTICA***
The process by which our Munies came to the Garden of Eden also reminded me of Battlestar Galactica. In the finale of BSG our survivors are fighting to the death with the Cylons, when the band of ships complete a faster-than-light jump into the orbit of an untouched, habitable planet (our Earth). They land on Earth and begin life anew with the remaining few-thousand members left of the human race. It's thenrevealed strongly inferred that the entire journey had been part of a higher power's plan.
In the Death Cure, our Munies are fighting to the death against WICKED and struggling to escape the building before it falls apart, when they stumble through a Flat Trans and wind up in Paradise. They're surrounded by a beautiful untouched landscape, and vow to essentially restart the human race with the 200 immune survivors. It's then revealed in a memorandum by Chancellor Paige that this had been her plan all along, that WICKED's goal to preserve the human race had been achieved, though not through finding a cure.
****END BSG SPOILERS****
I also enjoyed and couldn't anticipate the last little snippet Paige gives us in her memorandum: the Flare had been released intentionally as a means of population control. The Flare had been created as a biological weapon, but we were lead to believe it was released when the sunflares fucked with the security system at the Centre for Disease Control. Instead, some dumbass government decided to release it as a means of population control after half the population had already been decimated by sunflares. I can't say I understand the motivation behind it, and it's probably going to drive me nuts thinking about it, but it's a great little Easter egg!
On a random note, I am hella glad Teresa carked it and Thomas ended up with Brenda. I never wanted Thomas to forgive Teresa for what she did in the Maze and Scorch, and I'm so happy that she didn't make it to Paradise. She annoyed the shit out of me, spending 3 books telling everyone that WICKED is good when they'd done nothing but inflict pain and suffering. The fact that she got crushed by a rock trying to escape her beloved WICKED's building put a smile on my face, not gonna lie.
Overall: I really friggin loved this series. I picked it up in the hopes that it'd be a better version of the Hunger Games, but it was much more complex and thrilling. I've never before felt such a strong desire to plough through a book like I did with the Maze Runner, and I haven't enjoyed formulating theories this much since LOST was on TV. Though this book carries a different tone to the previous two it all came together nicely - though if you didn't like the ending of BSG or Knowing you're sure to disagree with me!
Now I wish James Dashner would release his prequel already, because I am dying to know what Thomas was like before the Maze and how he could possibly give the okay for the Trials!
I didn't entirely understand the role of the Right Arm in this book. I'd hoped they would be this organised movement with roots in every institution around the globe, but they were more like a group of 5 scorned thugs with an endless supply of firecrackers. They said they wanted to start over and create a better world for the surviving population, but they didn't seem to give a shit about Munies dying when they blew up WICKED. I doubt they had the resources to effect real change anyway; while they might've made themselves feel better about eliminating WICKED, 99.9% of the population would've still succumbed to the Flare and died.
As much as I've come to loathe WICKED in the past 2 books, I can't help but wonder what the world would've been like if Thomas had sacrificed himself to science and thereby delivered a cure. It certainly would've made for an interesting ending with the protagonist dead, but it also would've been cool to see the world attempting to rebuild itself. The world had descended into total anarchy in those last few days, and I'm interested as to whether they could ever fully regain order.
I did like the ending we were given though, and that's probably due to its parallels with the Nicolas Cage movie Knowing, and Battlestar Galactica. The sun flares partially destroying the Earth immediately made me think back to Knowing, and I'd been hoping that WICKED were weeding out the brightest and best of the human race to start their own Garden of Eden elsewhere. They ended up doing exactly that, but it wasn't entirely intentional.
***SPOILERS FOR BATTLESTAR GALACTICA***
The process by which our Munies came to the Garden of Eden also reminded me of Battlestar Galactica. In the finale of BSG our survivors are fighting to the death with the Cylons, when the band of ships complete a faster-than-light jump into the orbit of an untouched, habitable planet (our Earth). They land on Earth and begin life anew with the remaining few-thousand members left of the human race. It's then
In the Death Cure, our Munies are fighting to the death against WICKED and struggling to escape the building before it falls apart, when they stumble through a Flat Trans and wind up in Paradise. They're surrounded by a beautiful untouched landscape, and vow to essentially restart the human race with the 200 immune survivors. It's then revealed in a memorandum by Chancellor Paige that this had been her plan all along, that WICKED's goal to preserve the human race had been achieved, though not through finding a cure.
****END BSG SPOILERS****
I also enjoyed and couldn't anticipate the last little snippet Paige gives us in her memorandum: the Flare had been released intentionally as a means of population control. The Flare had been created as a biological weapon, but we were lead to believe it was released when the sunflares fucked with the security system at the Centre for Disease Control. Instead, some dumbass government decided to release it as a means of population control after half the population had already been decimated by sunflares. I can't say I understand the motivation behind it, and it's probably going to drive me nuts thinking about it, but it's a great little Easter egg!
On a random note, I am hella glad Teresa carked it and Thomas ended up with Brenda. I never wanted Thomas to forgive Teresa for what she did in the Maze and Scorch, and I'm so happy that she didn't make it to Paradise. She annoyed the shit out of me, spending 3 books telling everyone that WICKED is good when they'd done nothing but inflict pain and suffering. The fact that she got crushed by a rock trying to escape her beloved WICKED's building put a smile on my face, not gonna lie.
Overall: I really friggin loved this series. I picked it up in the hopes that it'd be a better version of the Hunger Games, but it was much more complex and thrilling. I've never before felt such a strong desire to plough through a book like I did with the Maze Runner, and I haven't enjoyed formulating theories this much since LOST was on TV. Though this book carries a different tone to the previous two it all came together nicely - though if you didn't like the ending of BSG or Knowing you're sure to disagree with me!
Now I wish James Dashner would release his prequel already, because I am dying to know what Thomas was like before the Maze and how he could possibly give the okay for the Trials!
arianah's review against another edition
3.0
This book was by far the best in the series. It reached a depth that the other books couldn't get to. Even though it was still predominately plot based, it dove into whether or not abandoning humanity was worth it if it meant saving the human race. Also, we finally figured out where the Flare originated and saw it up close in Denver. Just like the other books, Dashner always tried to end the chapter with some sort of cliff hanger which bothered me because the chapters were on average 5 pages long.
deez_knucles's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Probably the least entertaining from the original trilogy.
The reading was so clunky that I had to finish it through audio book.
The reading was so clunky that I had to finish it through audio book.
isaactr's review against another edition
4.0
To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with this end to the trilogy. PLEASE don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read but the bar was so high.. It just didn't have the big tie-up-of-loose-ends i needed. Some big things weren't properly done for me and for two of the best first and second books in a trilogy I've read... slightly annoyed at this book.