So… I’m still finding books from long ago that I’ve not read because I was looking through my bookshelves and came across this edition of The Maze Runner! It’s probably a gift edition or a collector’s edition, given that it’s hardcover in a slipcase, but sadly it’s already slightly foxed.

Anyway, on to the story! I had just stopped a book that lost my interest when I started reading this and The Maze Runner was exactly what I needed. It drops us in the middle of the action, as Thomas wakes up knowing his name and not much else. All he can see is that he and the other boys are in the middle of a maze with no way of getting out. All he knows is that he wants to be a runner – one of the few who explore the constantly shifting maze and try to find a way out. But before he can even work his way up to becoming a runner, a girl arrives for the first time and the boys’ routine is upended.

This story was so exciting! While I didn’t quite find it unputdownable (I’m in that phase where I’m reading several books at once), I pretty much breezed through the chapters when I decided to read the book. By starting the book at the end of events in The Maze, Dashner keeps the action coming. Now that I’m done with book one, I do wish for a bit more characterisation and worldbuilding – one character’s explanations are explained in a very deux ex machina type of way – but this wasn’t something I was thinking about as I was reading the story.

By the way, if you’re not a fan of cliffhangers, you might not enjoy the ending. While Dashner resolves the main plot, it’s pretty clear that we’ve only skimmed the surface of this world and what the boys (and Teresa, the last girl who came) are meant to do. Essentially, everything in this book is just setting the stage for what looks to be a much larger conflict.

While I’m not a huge fan of dystopian novels, I’m definitely open to picking up the next book in the series if I come across it. This was a fun, fairly quick read and I am curious about what happens next.