Review: Maze Runner Trilogy

     I considered reviewing each book, (The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure;) but thought the trilogy would give a better picture of whether or not the trilogy is worth reading, seeing as once you've read the first you'll end up reading the next two.

     The first book was recommended to be but I remember not whom, but being an avid reader at the time, of post-apocalyptic fiction, the blurb sucked me right in. A maze? Runners trying to escape? What is all this madness?
A good blurb will definitely pull you in by giving you just enough information to want to read more, and Dashner's Maze Runner did that.

Book one, (without giving too much away,) is set in "The maze" with little explanation as to why or how Thomas and the other inhabitants of the maze got there. You essentially follow the story from Thomas' point of view, feeling just as confused as he does. This is part of the joy of first person: you discover the story as they do. Unfortunately, my problem with this is that I never really got as attached to the main character as first person't meant to make you. The character of Thomas' comes off as an arrogant self-important teenage boy, not someone you particularly want to sympathise with or root for. Flashbacks to his past certainly add to the sense of mystery, but do nothing for the character progression.

     It's hard to review the trilogy without giving too much away, but I enjoyed the second book much more than the first. You spend most of the first book confused and frustrated, and read the second book through sheer desperation for answers. What is the maze?! What are these strange Grievers with the mysterious words: WICKED IS GOOD.

The second book at least provides some answers, with the finale being a bit of an anticlimax, and not the great reveal we hoped for. I felt the first book built up so much mystery and suspense, that when things were revealed in a trickle of not-so-exciting tid-bits, the third book felt a bit of a waste of time. Like it wasn't really necessary.

     I think what I might have preferred was one larger tome, with the slower parts of the story condensed, and one great reveal at the end. Publishers these days seem to be aiming too eek books out into a trilogy as this means more money for them, but the stories do not always require this. Yes I bought and read the books, and yes I would consider them worth reading. But there is a certain lack of flow, that made me feel tired and somewhat bored by the end of the third book.
Author's take note! Not every book needs to be a series!

Note: there is also a prequel which I may get round to reading one day, but isn't essential to the trilogy, called The Kill Order.