Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by barnswallow8
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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? Yes
2.75
I loved this trilogy, but The Scorch Trials was a painful read.
Coming off of watching the movie adaptations (see my review of The Maze Runner), I was expecting quite a different plot for this book.
Not only was it completely reordered for the movies, it was also slimmed down significantly. (Which I now appreciate, having read the source material.) The Scorch Trials is A LOT of the gang walking, suffering, and Thomas thinking about… stuff.
Theresa, WICKED, the state of the world, Theresa again. Brenda for a bit too.
-Why 2.75 stars?
Don’t get me wrong- leaving the Maze requires a LOT of material to be introduced, experienced, and explained. However, I felt like getting through most of the beginning and middle of this book was like slogging through the Scorch. While book Theresa is substantially more interesting than movie Theresa, I got tired of her charade pretty quickly. The development of relationships between Thomas and other Gladers was a bit dry (probably owing to the constant travel and exhaustion of the group, plus seperation later on), and I was somewhat underwhelmed by the introduction of Jorge and Brenda. (Lowkey my favorite characters, and they did not get the attention they deserve.)
The only thing this book did better than the movies in my opinion? Make the audience hate WICKED. I understood they were the villians in a practical sense while watching the films, but I could never find it in myself to truly be against them. Much of the horrors of the Scorch Trials didn’t make it to the big screen, but if they had— I know I would feel differently. This book is brutal. The tricking, manipulation, and suffering is wielded with constant intensity.
Altogether, definitely the lowpoint of the trilogy for me (as middle books often are), and I will not be reading this again.
Coming off of watching the movie adaptations (see my review of The Maze Runner), I was expecting quite a different plot for this book.
Not only was it completely reordered for the movies, it was also slimmed down significantly. (Which I now appreciate, having read the source material.) The Scorch Trials is A LOT of the gang walking, suffering, and Thomas thinking about… stuff.
Theresa, WICKED, the state of the world, Theresa again. Brenda for a bit too.
-Why 2.75 stars?
Don’t get me wrong- leaving the Maze requires a LOT of material to be introduced, experienced, and explained. However, I felt like getting through most of the beginning and middle of this book was like slogging through the Scorch. While book Theresa is substantially more interesting than movie Theresa, I got tired of her charade pretty quickly. The development of relationships between Thomas and other Gladers was a bit dry (probably owing to the constant travel and exhaustion of the group, plus seperation later on), and I was somewhat underwhelmed by the introduction of Jorge and Brenda. (Lowkey my favorite characters, and they did not get the attention they deserve.)
The only thing this book did better than the movies in my opinion? Make the audience hate WICKED. I understood they were the villians in a practical sense while watching the films, but I could never find it in myself to truly be against them. Much of the horrors of the Scorch Trials didn’t make it to the big screen, but if they had— I know I would feel differently. This book is brutal. The tricking, manipulation, and suffering is wielded with constant intensity.
Altogether, definitely the lowpoint of the trilogy for me (as middle books often are), and I will not be reading this again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Confinement