A slow start, but I really liked
this book. Once the author got going I wanted to know what was going to happen
next. I was attempting to piece events and ideas together along with the
characters.
This is book 1 of the series.
Fortunately, it's not a cliffhanger; the book ends with the characters accomplishing
their goal and contemplating their future.
The epilogue has a sense of intrigue
that makes you want to read the other books in the series (which I already have
and will be doing soon).
*Spoiler alert*
If I had to play devils advocate I
could ask why they had to go through so much trouble just to determine if the
characters were strong willed and/or up to the challenge. These were extreme
lengths, although, the answer to that may be found in remaining books.
Movie vs. Book
I liked the movie and I felt that it
was close enough to the book to pass. It was small differences that irked me
though. Examples include:
§ The serum, which was already with
the gladers in the book. In the movie, the girl brought the serum down. The
movie has the gladers going crazy because of the bites/stings from the
grievers, whereas, the book has them responding to memories from the serum.
§ I pictured their dwellings
differently then the movie portrayed them.
§ The maps were a focus and the key to
codes needed to exit the maze in the book, not so in the movie, which only used
the sequence of the maze as the only code needed.
§ In the movie they did not explain
why Alby, who was not a runner, broke his own rule and left the maze. In the
book, Minho found a dead griever and Alby was going with him to check it out.
He was bitten because the griever was only playing dead.
§ In the book, Thomas didn't defeat
the griever by squishing in it between the walls, but by making it jump off the
cliff.
My favorite characters in the book
were Minho and Newt. Dashner did a good job with character development, but the
movie didn't quite get the characters right in my opinion. Examples
include:
§ Alby,
whom was portrayed as a no-nonsense kind of guy with a hidden soft side. While
the movie hinted at this eventually, the book showed it from Alby's
introduction. In the book, Thomas talked about how Alby was had a chip on his
shoulder and about how unapproachable he was. It Was Newt that greeted, showed
around and addressed Thomas' questions and/or concerns. In the movie Alby was
the welcoming committee.
§ Then
there's Gally. He already had the serum before Thomas came and didn't like him
from the door. He remembered Thomas' face from his serum induced memories.
§ The
boy who attacked Thomas wasn't coming in from the maze with a bite, but was
already bitten and going through the serum induced change when Thomas arrived.
I just listed a few
difference….I didn’t want to give everything away. If you don’t mind
spoilers, I would suggest watching the movie first – reading the
book first kind of ruins it for you. Then definitely read the book. The book is
always better than the movie.
Book description and picture taken from: http://jamesdashner.com/books/maze-runner-series/
Book Description
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
