The Kill Order

The Kill Order
Maze Runner Prequel

James Dashner

Synopsis:
A year has passed since deadly solar flares decimated the planet. With the help of former soldiers Alec and Lana, Mark was able to survive the initial weeks of flooding, radiation, and intense heat, and now he is living in a colony of survivors deep in the Appalachian mountains. Mark starts to think things are starting to become normal again, even if life has been changed forever. However, life turns upside-down once again when a berg shows up and shoots darts into many of the people in his colony. Trying to strike back while they can, Mark and Alec board the berg and attack the crew. Most of the crew is already dead, but two remain. While Alec interrogates the pair, Mark discovers a box of darts labeled "Virus VC321xb47" that look exactly like the ones shot into his friends. In an attempt to flee, the two crew members crash the berg, but Mark and Alec survive and slowly make their way back to the colony. However, when they return, things are far from normal. Large numbers of people are dead, and one of Mark's friends, Darnell is covered in bruises and blisters and has gone completely insane...

My Thoughts:
When I heard that The Maze Runner was going to get a prequel, I was incredibly excited to finally get some answers about WICKED. Unfortunately, there aren't nearly as many as I would like, and Mr. Dashner has shared that this is his last Maze Runner book. However, just because it isn't what I expected doesn't mean I didn't like it. Since Thomas and the other Gladers would have been so young at the founding of WICKED, writing about them wouldn't have fit. Instead, following Mark, Trina, Alec, and Lana through the fall of humanity fits the style of the other three books much better. Also, since these people are just normal people, not test subjects, the things that happen to them can seem even worse than the trials of the Gladers. An interesting aspect of the book was that the main goal seemed to change near the end due to the extremity of the situation. It changed from "get answers" to "save Deedee". However, this may have actually been the story behind Teresa... At least this is my theory. Teresa was one of the founders of WICKED, Deedee was sent near the outbreak of the disease. Deedee seemed really smart throughout the book, Teresa is too. Deedee and Teresa are immune. Deedee's age roughly matches up to what Teresa's would have been at the time of the maze. It just seems to work in my mind. The final thing that I want to say is that the book really makes you think about moral issues. The world doesn't have enough resources for the number of people on it, so no matter what, people are going to die. Lots of people are going to die. Who can really say if the intentions of the PFC/PCC were really all that bad?

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you Mark, would you be brave enough to follow Alec up into the berg despite the danger?

2. After returning to the colony and seeing Darnell, what would your reaction be? How careful would you be around other people who might be contaminated?

3. If you were in Alec's place, would you have the courage to put Toad out of his misery? Was it right for Alec to do so?


4. Obviously people were going to die, even after the flares, due to the lack of resources. Should the PFC have taken action to essentially kill off people so that the survivors would have enough to survive? If so, how would you go about deciding who dies and how they die?


5. Is the PFC good? Do their actions change your opinion of WICKED?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Synopsis:
Victor Frankenstein has always been fascinated by science, and when he is old enough to attend a university, he quickly blossoms into one of the brightest students. Frankenstein develops new scientific apparatus and makes important discoveries in numerous fields, but he is not satisfied by these developments. Instead, Frankenstein devotes himself with discovering the nature of life. After years of devoting himself to the study of anatomy and physiology, Frankenstein discovers the secret of creating life. However, not concerning himself with the results, Frankenstein refuses to rest until he endows the spark of life into an inanimate body. A body that becomes a monster...

My Thoughts:
The media gets almost everything about Frankenstein wrong. First of all, Frankenstein isn't the monster. Frankenstein is the scientists. The monster sadly does not have a name. Poor Monster. Also, the monster is not slow, is not green, isn't stupid, and doesn't have bolts sticking out of its body. It is actually faster, stronger, and more agile than humans, is almost normal colored though has a slight yellow tint, is very smart, and in general looks relatively like a human. He even wants to be compassionate, but isn't allowed to due to humans' judgmental nature. Really, the story isn't a horror novel at all. If anything, its a tragedy. And while much of the book is sad, I did still enjoy it. The language in the book is very sophisticated without being unreadable. Instead it just helps to enlarge my vocabulary. I will admit that some parts of the book had very lengthy descriptions of events that had no real value to the overall story, but in general, I very much enjoyed it. It shows many faults in humanity, which seeing as it was for my English class, was very helpful for writing a paper. Beyond just the confines of an English classroom, it does teach some valuable lessons; however, I won't go in to all of those here.

Questions for Thought:
1. Who do you think is the "bad guy" in the story?

2. Is Frankenstein morally justified in making a life? If not, are there circumstances that would make it justifiable?

3. If you knew the secret of bestowing life into an inanimate body, would you use it? What would you create?


4. Were you Frankenstein, would you have created your monster a female companion?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Synopsis:
As far as he can tell, Snowman is the last human being on Earth. That is not to say is completely alone. Snowman lives with a colony of humanoid creatures known as the Children of Crake, beings that were genetically designed to be an improvement of the human race. The Children of Crake, or Crakers for short, are perfectly designed to survive and have greatly improved social interactions that eliminate jealousy, hierarchy, and competition among them. They live in perfect harmony. However, Snowman does not enjoy these same traits, and is frustrated at his circumstances. He struggles to survive, and also struggles with his own past, including his own role in the destruction of humanity. When his supplies get dangerously low, Jimmy must return to the compound where the nightmare of his current life began, a quest that is as much about his past as his future.

My Thoughts:
Oryx and Crake was not at all what I expected. It was one of two novels I had to read for AP English this summer, so I expected a pretty old, drab book. However, It was actually published only a few years ago, and fits in nicely with many other dystopian books that I have reviewed recently. The story itself was very captivating from the beginning due to a lack of knowledge of the past. Somehow, the world has been decimated, the last human is barely surviving, yet there is a race of humanoids thriving in the wild. As the story progresses, it is not so much about Snowman/Jimmy's survival, but about his past, and the pasts of Oryx and Crake. (This made the synopsis a little difficult to write. Really, the majority of the story is in the past, but I feel like the more "correct" was of introducing the book is in the future.) While the story itself dealt a little heavily on sex and sexual frustration for my taste, Crake identifies that frustration with many of society's problems, so it is somewhat necessary for the story. I did really enjoy the book for its focus on genetic engineering. Jimmy is very worried about the engineers going too far, and it is a valid concern. Improving animals for better food or better compainions seems nice enough, but then what happens when someone like Crake wants a better human? It is a very slippery slope that the book addresses very well. It also is an enjoyable story. Jimmy is a likeable character and provides a good look into the elite world of Crake. Really, my only complaint is that the book focuses too much on the past, and not as much on the current state of the world and the lives of the Crakers. I would definitely recommend this book, but due to a fair amount of sexual content, I would only recommend it to upper level high school students and older.

Questions for Thought:
1. In your opinion, are the Children of Crake human? (Remember, their base DNA came from humans.)

2. Does Snowman need to stay with the Crakers? Or should he leave them alone, like Crake seemingly intended?

3. How far is too far with genetic engineering? How can limits be determined?





4. If humanity had not been destroyed, could they accept the Crakers into society? Why or why not?



Please leave your comments and answers!

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