Thomas doesn't remember much of anything about life before he arrived in the Glade. About all he does remember is his name. He woke up in a metal box elevator and when it opens he finds a group of 50-60 boys about his own age (15-18 years old) looking down at him. It seems that for the past two years this group of boys has been living in a gigantic stone maze where cybernetic monsters called "Greivers" come out at night to hunt. Woe betide any kid outside after dark. The boys do have one saving grace. Their living area, "The Glade", has a house for them to stay in and the openings that lead to the Glade close at night. So as long as you're in the Glade by the time night falls, you are safe. The leader of the Glade boys, Alby, runs a tight ship, and he has to, or life would disentegrate into something right out of Lord of the Flies. Every boy has their job and function in the Glade. One of the most dangerous is that of the Runners. Each day they go out into the Maze to map its layout, hoping to find a way out. What makes this job even harder is that every night the walls of the Maze reconfigure! I forgot to mention that all the boys have lost their memories just like Thomas. The only way you can get your memories back is to get stung by a Griever and nobody lines up for that prize. Kids that have gotten their memories back never talk about them and get more emo. The boys do know that someone made the Maze. They are called The Creators. But none of the boys know WHY they are there and what the purpose of the Maze is. A new boy has shown up every month for the past two years, until now. The day after Thomas shows up, a dead GIRL comes up in the box. Well, at least they THINK she's dead until she rises up Exorcist style and proclaims "Everything is going to change" and then collapses back into a coma. In her hand is a piece of paper that says "She is the last one. Ever." Things are about to get interesting.
The Maze Runner is a one trick pony novel that goes on a lot longer than it should have. The one trick pony gimmick comes from the lost memory and "what is going on?" cliches we've seen in countless Twilight Zone episodes and Japanese anime series. The annoying thing about Dashner's plotting is that the boys in the Glade DO KNOW a lot of things about their past lives and the Maze but the AUTHOR doesn't allow them to speak. For example, when Thomas arrives at the Glade and starts asking just simple questions, all the boys just tell him to shut up or even NOT to ask questions! Even when Thomas asks them what time lunch is, they tell him to shut up! So instead of giving new Gladers vital information that might help all of them survive, they withhold it. Dashner has no idea of how to create suspense except to keep his characters from askint too many questions. I guess in Dashner's mind, if the reader doesn't understand anything until the end of the book, it's supposed to be entertaining. It gets old really quick. Really, in the end, the author is using ignorance as his main plot device. What made it even worse was that even when Gladers got their memories back, they had some kind of biological inhibitor that made them go into convulsions anytime they wanted to talk about them. Convenient, Mr. Dashner. The Maze Runner probably would have done better as a short story. I will probably pick up the second book in the series just to see if it gets any better.
My Grade: C
Published by Delacorte Press, $9.99
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