The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner

Title: The Maze Runner
Series: The Maze Runner #1
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopia/Science Fiction

Maturity Rating: 13+
*WARNING*: SOME POTENTIALLY NIGHTMARE-INDUCING ELEMENTS
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Thomas finds himself thrust into a group of all boys who, like himself, can't remember anything other than their first names. If that weren't terrifying enough, their group is enclosed by mountainous walls that lead into a labyrinth, which seems to have no rhyme or reason. Then the first girl ever arrives, signaling that things are about to change. And it may not be for the better.

Initial Rating:
My Initial Response: "The night is dark and full of terrors!" Isn't that from Game of Thrones? No matter; it suits this book perfectly. I started this series when I was craving something akin to The Hunger Games, and I was not disappointed. The Maze Runner is a highly imaginative tale that will keep you up at night with it's fast paced writing and gripping story. As a side note, when I was looking for the image of the book cover, I came across fan art of the Grievers (one of those terrors of the book); it was absolutely incredible how real the images were to me. It goes to show what great descriptions that Mr. Dashner provides, because the images that these artists rendered looked exactly like the ones that filled my head while I was reading the novel. Truly terrifying.

The Grievers are way too creepy for their own good

Terrifying or not though, I could not put this book down. I remember talking to my boyfriend about it as I read it (a very bad habit of mine), and he was just as enthralled by the story as I was. And that was from my rambling second-hand account! The one reason why I can't give this a full five stars is because of how detached everything seems at times. There's a disconnect between the story and the readers due to a culmination of flat points.
I wasn't entirely sure where they were going with the overall plot because some of the mystery elements were a little dragged out; but, I can't say that I was surprised by the ending epilogue. Call me a cynic or just a generally desensitized person, but I could see this plot line playing out in an alternate future.

Technical Rating:
Character Building:
You know that board on Craigslist about missed connections? For some reason, that's all that comes to mind when trying to think of an adequate way to talk about Mr. Dashner's character building. There was a lot of initial spark, but the story sometimes had a way of trampling on character development. The plot had to move on, so some relationships ended up a bit neglected. At the very least, the foundation for the main characters was set.

Plot Strength:
The more that I consider the plot, the more that I realize that there were times when it was inconsistent. As you're reading it, it's easy to chalk up any plot holes as actual plot devices to keep you reading. After all, there is an air of mystery surrounding The Maze Runner. So what if a few things don't completely add up? In addition, this is a part of a trilogy, and some authors are known to throw in a lot of red herrings until the very end of the series. But, it can't be denied that this plot could have been a lot stronger if it made a bit more sense overall.

Sincerity:
Again, the lower rating is because of some of the flat spots within the writing. It's hard for me to elaborate on this without giving away anything, but suffice it to say, Mr. Dashner has the potential to improve this area in his next books.

Editing:
I didn't find any editing problems in The Maze Runner. I didn't particularly always like the new slang that Mr. Dashner came up with, but it works in terms of the setting that he built.

Pacing:
The Maze Runner probably would have benefited from slowing down slightly. Just as I stated with character building, sometimes it felt like Mr. Dashner was simply in a hurry to move the plot forward at certain times, and other elements of the story suffered. A mistake that I'm beginning to see for a lot of authors is the idea that a story has to be the same pace at all times; it doesn't. In that sense, I'd compare a story to that of a musical selection; not all music carries the same tempo throughout, and usually those are the most compelling pieces of art.

My Icing on Top:
If you're just catching on to the wave of The Maze Runner, you have impeccable timing! This series is set to be made into movies, the first of which is set to release in September, 2014. I sincerely hope that it sees better success than some of the other flops that have hit the screens lately, like Beautiful Creatures and The Mortal Instruments. Movies aside, however, I think that this series is worth looking into if you like the dystopian, young adult genre. I recommend it even more so to those who are tired of insta-love syndromes and overbearing romantic notions that saturate the young adult market at the moment. Just my two cents!

Before I sign off, I'd like to point out that I am having issues giving technical ratings without spoiling the story! I guarantee it will be something I'll be able to better address, however, when I have my website up and running.

Until then, happy reading!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

-K