The Maze Runner

I was ill last night and couldn't sleep. So between the hours of 2-6am I read James Dashner's "The Maze Runner."

It was good, Dashner's prose is quite strong throughout, and the story is interesting. In short a teenage boy, Thomas, wakes up in the middle of a huge maze, remembering nothing of his past. There are other boys there, all kids, but as soon as Thomas arrives the status-quo for survival that has existed in the past is upset. The goal is to get out of the maze. Naturally, there are bio-mechanical monsters called "Grievers" that roam the maze to make things interesting.

However, perhaps because it is a YA novel (directed at a younger audience), I found the story extremely predictable. I guessed every single plot twist before it happened, and I'm not exaggerating. I also think that Dashner struggles a little with accurate teenage dialogue, and sometimes character motivations seemed out of place. My last complaint might be unique to me, but I thought "The Maze Runner" had a similar feel to Susanne Collins's "Hunger Games."

Anyway, even with its flaws I found the book engrossing enough to read in one sitting. And, I'm intrigued enough that I will read the sequels when I get a chance.

BTW, Dashner is a local Provo, UT author. I have a link to his blog off to the side somewhere in my blogroll.