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Book Review of The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, Bk 1)

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, Bk 1)
merciersj avatar reviewed on + 71 more book reviews


I had heard all the hype about this book, and we had just gotten the DVD, so I was excited to read the book and jump onto the bandwagon. Unfortunately, because I have read so many similar books in the dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre, I believe I set my expectations rather high and this book simply did not meet them.

The characters were flat, and the reasoning behind the decisions they made was flimsy at best. I felt completed disconnected from every single individual in this book, and because of that I didnt care one bit what happened to any of them.

The plot and backstory as well as the ultimate reveal felt half-done and, at times, totally illogical. There are so many questions and so many flawed, nonsense conclusions and connections that it makes the entire story unbelievable. I understand this is a fictional dystopian novel, but speculative fiction like this should at least attempt to make the storyline flow well, and the reasoning moving from one conclusion to the next should make a bit of sense.

I found this book to be totally underwhelming. The characters, the plot, the writing, everything was flat and uninteresting to me. There are so many better books to read in this genre, I simply do not understand the fame this series has. I currently own the other books in this series, but I highly doubt I will be reading them, probably will donate to the library. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. If youre thinking about reading The Maze Runner, go pick up The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Under the Never Sky instead. The plot and characters are significantly more engaging, and the overall feel is similar to The Maze Runner.