Just Finished Reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner

After finishing my reading of James Dashner's 2009 dystopian young adult novel The Maze Runner, I was stunned to discover that not only was it the first book of a five-part series, but also had been made three years ago into a blockbuster hit movie...I guess that shows how far off the beaten track I roam.  I had never even heard of it until I happened to be browsing the shelves of my local public library here in northern Gainesville and happened upon a "Playaway" audiobook unabridged edition of this novel.  So I listened to the eleven-plus hours at my own convenience and came away with the conclusion that I must be an addict for this kind of whacked-out fiction.  After all, I like stories and series like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Age of Miracles, Wither, and the like that mix together the angst of youth with a seemingly hopeless, nightmare future.  The Maze Runner fits in perfectly with this genre...

Thomas, a teenager armed only with the knowledge of his first name, his only solid memory of his past, finds himself transported upward within a box that is opened in the presence of other boys in a bizarre setting: The Glades.  The Glades are surrounded by four walls that go up into the sky...beyond them is an elaborate maze, populated by gruesome, murderous creatures called grievers...half-living and half-machine. Some of the boys, including eventually Thomas, daily run through the maze...which changes slightly from one day to the next...in order to look for a means of escape.  Only boys stung by grievers and then afterward treated with serum that is also provided by means of the box can recover some of their memories.  Each month a new boy arrives, like Thomas devoid of memory about his past.  But only one day after Thomas gets there, a girl named Teresa comes up in the same box...and with some disturbing messages...

So the maze and the reasons for the boys being sent without memory to this nightmare scenario is a big puzzle that needs to be solved.  Thinking that this was a standalone novel when I checked it out, I was a little disappointed that many questions were left unanswered at the end.  And then I heard the words "END OF BOOK ONE".  Groan...it's a series...

Still, I liked Dashner's writing in The Maze Runner and recommend it.  Of course, you may have already seen the movie in which case you probably wouldn't want to bother with reading it.  If I can get it on Netflix I think I'll watch it and plan to read the second book...which probably won't explain everything, either...