From Goodreads:
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
After reading The Maze Runner with so many unanswered questions and the writing style of James Dashner not sitting comfortably with me, I was hoping The Scorch Trials to be an improvement and shed some light on many of the concerns I had with the first instalment. I do enjoy the high stakes adventure and fight for survival, but it is the psychology of the characters that sometimes has me questioning what the hell I am reading.
I will say I enjoyed this book more than the first, but was still left with reservations like there was some puppet master directing the characters reactions. It failed to deliver the organic feel as did the The Maze Runner. Having said that, I appreciated how James brings in the uncertainty of trust with new characters and Thomas’ predicament. We got a taste of it in the first novel, but it’s turned up to the nth degree in this book. It really increases the stakes and propels you to read along.
The setting is great and Dashner’s descriptions really let you get a feel for the desolate and dangerous landscape. He’s not afraid to kill characters off either. The carnage you get in the first book continues here. Their demise is ugly and visceral – no laying in a field amongst wildflowers here.
I didn’t really find any surprises in this read – you are pretty much told the plot in the outset. The formula from The Maze Runner is repeated here. It’s a pity that these preconceived notions weren’t turned on their head – that would have made some amazing reading and the character much more compelling. Nonetheless The Scorch Trials is a fantastic adventure, very typical of formulaic action movies and highly entertaining.
I am looking forward to seeing the Film’s interpretation of the novel. I preferred the movie for the first instalment and hoping the next production improves my experience in the dystopian landscape even more. I can only imagine the special effects of a world on fire… and the new nasties Thomas and his friends encounter.
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Casey Carlisle 