The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The first in a young adult sci-fi trilogy, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, grabs the reader's attention immediately and never lets go.

While many questions remain unanswered at the end of this first installment, I thought the sci-fi concept and world building were plausible and well drawn.  A group of boys, have been dropped into a Glade located in the middle of a Maze where monsters called Grievers roam.  Their memories wiped clear of everything but their first names, the boys must learn to work together to survive, and avoiding the Grievers as much as possible, they must try to figure out where they are, why they have been put there, and how they can escape.  At regular intervals, new arrivals and supplies are delivered to the Maze.  Thomas has barely arrived in the Maze when the regular schedule of deliveries is abruptly changed with the arrival of a GIRL!   This throws everyone into a real tizzy as Teresa arrives with a message that everything is about to change.

What fascinated me the most and kept me reading, as usual, were the characters.  I wanted to know more about Thomas, Newt, Albe, Chuck, Minho and Theresa, why they were placed in the Maze, who they really were, and how their relationships developed as the story progressed.

Unfortunately, I didn't get many answers to my questions in this first installment.  Dashner does not share a lot of background information about the world outside of the Maze or the characters themselves, leaving the reader just as confused and lost as the Gladers.  The action in the story, on the other hand, is non-stop, as disaster after disaster occurs, leaving the Gladers little choice but to try to escape a situation becoming more desperate by the hour.  The reader must just hang on for the roller coaster ride.

I felt Dashner's style worked well to build suspense for awhile, but it ultimately left me as frustrated and exhausted as the characters. In addition, I felt I was more of an observer than a participant of the action as Dashner has a tendency to tell the story rather than allowing the reader to experience it. I never felt comfortable enough with this story or the characters to become one with the story.  This may partially be due to the fact that I listened to the Audible production of the book.  Dashner tends to over utilize  incomplete sentences, certain catch phrases, and exclamations, and this writing style may be more distracting in audio book form.  On the other hand, my oldest daughter and my nephew, both avid action-adventure fans, loved the non-stop action of the story and were extremely anxious to begin the next book in the series, The Scorch Trials.

The final verdict:  The young adults in my family who love dystopian literature raved about this series, this book, in particular. On the other hand, I thought The Maze Runner did not rank among the best of the many dystopian science fiction books written for young adults.  However, I liked the book well enough to finish it and I did eventually read the sequels.