A review by readivine
The Fever Code by James Dashner

5.0

It snowed the day they killed the boy's parents.

The book started off in Newt's ((chokes)) perspective when he was taken by W.I.C.K.E.D in the search for "the cure". Of course, I was screaming inside because, for one, this is another extended fan service for the Dashner Army!!! Here, we get to see more of our local gladers before all the shebang with the Grievers and Crank Craze had finally grown into full bloom. Most readers would argue that this seems to lack the pacing and action compared to the series but (duh) to tell you the truth that part doesn't really matter anymore here. This prequel seems to be more bent on fleshing out the friendship of the gladers before the Swipe and it seems like Dashner purposely did this for the fans, especially since the "main group" is conveniently friends with each other before.

It's like an Easter egg hunt, only this time the eggs are just perfectly disguised bombs, because every time you turn the freaking page, you wouldn't know who's the next (occasionally) dead glader to spring back to life before The Maze and all. By jove, Chuck. Oh mah poor heart aches for this kid, I kept on choking my sobs because he just seems to be more adorable by every chapter. Honestly, it would be all nice and dandy if none of these dead gladers were given more screen time here but ofc I wouldn't be reading this prequel, to begin with, if it weren't for that. Hahahahahhaha every time I see Newt's name, his last words with "Tommy" just seems to reverberate within my skull. Hey, and there's Alby, Gally, Ben, Aris, Rachel, Sonya, Brenda (that bish) and Frypan too! However, I was kind of expecting more of Newt's perspective than that of Thomas. Like c'mon, he had a full trilogy for himself to blab on ahhahaha.

Of course, this prequel also centers on how the Maze was built and frankly, it's as if Thomas and Teresa's role were just irrelevant if I must say. Other than being incredibly smart and all, I wouldn't really stretch how "elite" they are. I do love that I get to see more of Teresa here (she's my fave character contrary to popular opinion). However, the thing here is that I still couldn't grasp the idea of the experiment and how it was essential for finding the cure. The book's supposed to answer that crucial question but it always goes back to W.I.C.K.E.D's same old line of observing the kill zone/ the brain. Although the general idea of the answer was kind of alluded by Thomas' professor when she said that:

“One must know the problem better than the solution, or the solution becomes the problem.”

By the latter end of the prequel, I've gleaned from my analysis that it doesn't seem like they were hell-bent on finding "the cure" but more on exploring other pursuits of science that had sprung up alongside with their quest for purging the Flare. They were scientists after all and their passion is for finding and knowing such unfathomable things. What greater way can they practice this but through extending their experimentation with the Munies (As what the immunes were called in the book) and other potential test subjects. Frankly, if it were up to me, the cure is a simple extraction from the virus itself, its origin. I think I might have watched too much of Agents of Shield's alien encounters to know this much about finding an antidote for a virus. But then again, the Maze wouldn't materialize in the first place, right? Overall, this was a sentimental read and I'm very glad that Dashner had put this on the first dedication page: "For all the die-hard Maze Runner fans. You're crazy and full of passion and I love you." HUHUHU WE LOVE YOU TOO JD!