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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Book of the Month - October 2011

The Book of the Month award for October 2011 goes t0...

...The Death Cure by James Dashner

I think that it is safe to say I knew that this would be the book of the month before the book even came out. You all know I love this series as Maze Runner was last December's Book of the Month, and now that I have read each book a few times I think that Scorch Trials may have really deserved it, but as I said in Death Cure's review, it tops both to be the best in the series.

Anything else would be redundant, and since I just wrote Death Cure's review about a half an hour ago, I don't feel like restating all of that, so I'll just leave you plenty of links to the review. Like this one.

Wait, I do have more to say! As I briefly mentioned in the Death Cure review, James Dashner is writing a prequel to the Maze Runner Trilogy! It will be entitled "The Kill Order" and is scheduled to release next August.

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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The Death Cure

The Death Cure
Maze Runner Trilogy
Book 3

James Dashner

Synopsis:
Thomas and the Gladers have been told that they are finally done with the Trials. WICKED has all the data that they need to create the blueprint for a cure. Or so they say... After all of the Lies, Thomas, Minho, and Newt don't know what to believe, and when Rat Man Jansen brings them to get the Swipe removed, the trio decide they don't want their minds messed with any more. After a failed escape attempt and period in confinement, Jansen says that WICKED must restore Thomas, Minho, and Newt's memories, but surprisingly Brenda, who has worked for WICKED the entire time, helps them escape at the last minute. After wandering the surprisingly empty WICKED complex, the group escapes with the help of Jorge and his Berg. After arriving in Denver, the group is confronted by a group known as the Right Arm, a secret organization trying to overthrow WICKED! After all they have been through, all of the friends they have watch die, Thomas, Newt and Minho finally have a chance to strike back at the organization that started it all...

My Thoughts:
Wow. I knew this series was good, one of the best I had ever read, but The Death Cure pushed it WAY over the top. For this first time in my life, I can actually say that I have a favorite series: The Maze Runner Trilogy. (Which won't exactly be a trilogy for long....if you saw my facebook post the other day you already know this: a prequel is in the works! I'm pumped!) Okay, I guess I need to focus just on THIS book. Alright, first of all, James Dashner did a phenomenal job at creating the outside world. I can only imagine how complicated it would be to create a world that is advanced enough to have WICKED's technology, scared enough to be ravaged by the Flare, and is still realistic. However, his description of Denver and the Crank Palace are very believable and logical. Little details such as holographic ads in the city and all of the glass at the Crank Palace being broken for weapons show just how much thought was put into making a realistic environment. Also, the character development is great. The whole conflict with Newt as he nears the Gone is.... well I don't even know how to describe it. You become Thomas in those scenes. The emotion in them is so powerful I had to stop reading for a few minutes just to pull myself back together. Another complicated relationship is Theresa. With her betrayal and love of WICKED she becomes hard to like, but the relationship she and Thomas developed in the first book still makes you want to like her. Although Brenda certainly complicates the relationship. And then WICKED..... I still don't know if they are good or not. That last page of that report at the very end of the book was so strong I was in shock for a few minutes. (I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I was sort of the same way after finishing Everfound, but even worse this time.) And then how WICKED wants to get the last information from Thomas....it reminds me of Unwind....I really freaked out when they were about to start the final procedure... All of the complexity and detail of this series continues to amaze me, even after rereading the books multiple times. Even more incredible is that each book continued to get better and better, which so rarely happens. This last book captivated me so much I read it in one day. I downloaded it to my Kindle the moment I woke up the day it was released and read until I finished it that night. And this was on a school day. Since then, I have been able to convince a few of my friends to start this series and they have all loved it. Some of them haven't read for fun in years and this series has rekindled a joy of reading. I think that is the ultimate compliment a book can get.

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you react if you were one of those not immune?

2. Would you choose to get your memories back? Why or why not?

3. Would you risk trying to escape, or would you play along with WICKED?

4. Could you really trust Brenda after learning she lied to you in the Scorch?

5. How would you react knowing that Theresa and the other Gladers left you behind?

6. After escaping from WICKED, where would you go? Would you go to Denver to make sure WICKED can't control you anymore, or would you run to some secluded part of the world and start a new life?

7. Would you be able to trust Gally after everything he did in the Maze and immediately after?

8. How would you react to Newt in the Crank Palace?

9. Would you be able to kill one of your closest friends if they desperately wanted it? Especially if it would save them from suffering and hurting others?

10. Would you be able to sacrifice yourself for the hope that it would cure the Flare?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Blog Update....8 Weeks Late

Hey guys! How's it going?

What? Not good? Oh yeah, my bad, I guess I should have told you that this update would be late instead of right on July 3rd when I got back from camp....

Well, there isn't anything you can do about it and you have 11 posts (now 12) in 2 days to make up for it! (If you are looking at the post dates of some of them, thinking "Wait, some of these were posted back in June and July, they didn't come today..." should first of all be thinking "Dang! How did he manage to pile 4 blog posts into one minute, conveniently the last minute before the month changed?" and then realize that I have magical computer powers that lets me go back in time to look like less of a slacker. Well, really it is just to keep the Books of the Month in the right month, but anyway, the "not looking like a slacker" thing is a nice bonus. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. That isn't regularly scheduled at all.)

So sorry I have not posted in a timely fashion, but hopefully all of these posts will help make up for it, especially this one.

Well, school has started, and unlike my dreadful premonitions of having absolutely no time to read and therefore not being able to post here, I have read more in the last week or so than in the previous two months. Of the recent stuff, I was totally pumped about Outside In. It was definitely a step up from Inside Out, and even that was really good. So check it out. (That means both of them if you haven't read Inside Out.)

I have been in book-lover heaven recently because I have realized how much stuff is coming out soon! Here is what I can remember quickly, but I am sure there is more.

Inheritance
Well, as many of you know the Inheritance Trill- I mean Cycle (Stupid series name change....gets me every time....) is one of my all time favorite series. I am such an Eragon nerd that I was Eragon for Halloween one year and won the Shur'tugal costume contest. Plus, my most popular posts have all dealt with the Inheritance Tri- Cycle (Dang, it still got me!), especially the Eragon Book Three Predictions. I may or may not make a predictions post in the near future. It depends on how much homework my teachers want me to have. (So if you really want a post, you should email them and tell them to not give me much. ;) )

Anyway, the final installment, Inheritance, is coming out November 8! Still pretty far away, but I'm pumped, nonetheless. You can see the cover below with the green dragon that was originally going to be the cover for #3, but Chris decided that the trilogy should have a fourth installment....If you are interested in a chapter exerpt, check out the Barnes and Noble page for Inheritance. You have to scroll down a little ways to get to it. To see some thoughts by the experts at shurtugal.com, click here and look around. There is some very intriguing stuff.

The Death Cure
One of my more recent favorite series is The Maze Runner Trillogy, which I will probably reread in the near future. Its conclusion, The Death Cure, will be released on October 11. I am super pumped! Here is the cover:Some information can be found at the Maze Runner Website, and the Kirkus review can be seen on James Dashner's blog. Both places have info on the book, but you will probably find more on the blog. I hope we finally get some answers in this one!

A few other books of importance (not that books not mentioned aren't) will be released soon, such as Rick Riordan's Son of Neptune coming out in early October, and others have already been released, like Pittacus Lore's The Power of Six! With all of these fantastic books coming out, it is hard to keep track of everything, so make sure to visit your local library and/or bookstore often for the latest teen reads! (Wow that was cheesy, but it really is good advice.)

I would like to have discussed some new Hunger Games material that has been released, but that will have to wait for another update. If you have any announcements about the movie, please comment and let me know! I'm not always good at keeping up with the latest news!

As always, please leave your comments, questions, complaints, concerns, etc. You can contact me in a multidue of ways. First of all, you can comment here on this post, or any other post here on the blog! I love to hear from you all, even if it is a "Sounds like a good book!", so take the twenty seconds to post. The next way is to post on the Corey's Book Talk facebook page! Another method is to @ mention @CoreysBookTalk on Twitter. Finally, if you are lucky enough to know me in person, you can talk to me about book stuff any time!

Well, that's all for now. Happy reading!

Corey

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Book of the Month - December 2010

The Book of the Month award for December 2010 goes to...

...The Maze Runner by James Dashner!

I LOVED this book, as my review says, and I am totally hooked on the series. This is one of the creepiest books I have ever read, and definitely the most suspenseful. I hardly stopped reading once I started, and I began reading the sequel the following day.

Great work Mr. Dashner! I am ready for #3!

Maze Runner Game

Hey everyone!

I ran across this game (Get it?!? 'Cuz its the Maze RUNNER! Haha! Okay... sorry...) on James Dashner's website, so I thought I'd share.

Looking for the Book Review? Click here!

Sorry it is so large, it kind of invades my side bar...oh well....it will move down eventually...

The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials
Maze Runner Trilogy
Book 2

James Dashner

The Gladers think they are finally safe from the terrors of the maze, sleeping in clean bunks with plenty of food. When they wake up to the acrid stench of the bodies of their now dead rescuers hanging from the ceiling, they know that are far from safe. Outside their windows, humans, or what remains of them, are covered in giant blisters that are rotting their flesh, moaning, looking for relief. Haunted, the Gladers stumble out into the main room to discover that they are to begin a new set of trials: The Scorch Trials. The hardships that plagued them in the maze will seem like child's play compared to the things that WICKED has in mind for them in the real world. To make matters worse, Thomas' one comfort, Teresa, is gone, replaced by a boy named Aris. Aris is from another set of teens that made up Group B, all girls except for Aris, that also escaped the maze. In the morning, the Scorch Trials begin, and the Gladers will have no rest until they reach a supposed "Safe Haven" 100 miles to the north.

Wow. I don't think that this one topped the Maze Runner, but it is hard to compare, especially since they all really form one story. The horrors that face the Gladers are way worse now, facing actual people, some of which are friends. The mystery surrounding WICKED and the controversy in Thomas' mind over whether it is good or not even has me wondering.**SPOILER ALERT** The whole Teresa betrayal still has me confused, the different layers of it make it very complicated. I watched Inception last night (Awesome movie) for the first time and the confusion the book gave me totally made me compare it to the movie. I want to like Teresa, but I can't help but like Brenda as well. While we are still in a spoiler, I am also confused by Thomas' situation at the end of the book. Is he simply being punished for Brenda and Jorge, or can they really not cure the Flare in him (most likely because of the creepy nose-rose guy)? And what is with the whole Brenda in his head? I NEED the next book with some answers! **SPOILER OVER (That was a long spoiler....sorry)** I would say this book is SLIGHTLY less suspenseful, but only slightly. (As you can see, it took me only two days to read it, and there isn't much of a chance on Christmas.) I still totally love the way that questions are not answered, making me anticipate the next book, and even while reading the book anticipate the next chapter. (It also is driving me crazy for the next book. Anyone know when it comes out? I'll look it up later...) Well I'm not really sure what all to say. These book are really great, definitely some of my new favorites of all time.

NOTE: I must caution this book even more so against younger readers. This book is also very intense with lots of violence, and this time there is more blood and gore since many enemies are human. (Once again, there is frequent language in the book, but it is all made-up swear words, so this still isn't really a problem)

What is your take on WICKED? Good, bad, both, neither, right ends but wrong means, etc.

Should Teresa be trusted? Could you ever trust somebody after that kind of betrayal?

How would you have reacted to the question that the soldier asks at the end of the book: Kill Brenda or Jorge?

Thanks for listening (well, reading...) and please leave your comments!

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner
Maze Runner Trilogy
Book 1

James Dashner

Thomas arrives at the Glade knowing nothing more than his name. He is welcomed by about 60 other boys, all in the same situation. Thomas learns that they live in this large field and everyone works hard to survive. He learns that they are surrounded by a giant maze, covering miles. At night, Thomas is frightened when the walls surrounding the Glade seal shut, closing the entrances to the maze. An older member shows him why. Looking through a window, Thomas sees the most terrifying thing he could imagine: a slimy mass that seems to be a cross between a machine and animal. The creature, known as a Griever, is extremely deadly, appearing to be a giant slug covered in elecrtic saws, razor sharp claws, and needles filled with a terrible toxin. Even with the danger in the maze, Thomas has the feeling that he is to be one of the runners, brave members of the community that explore the maze, looking for a way out. One day, he sees a runner trying to drag Alby, the leader of the boys, out of the maze just as the doors are closing. To the shock of everyone, Thomas steps into the maze just as the doors close, trapped until morning. Nobody has ever survived a night in the maze.

Whew, that was a long summary. This book needs a long one though, since it is very complicated. Still, this book is ABSOLUTELY one of my new favorites, and I am so glad that it is a trilogy and the sequel is waiting for me on my Kindle! The book is action packed and excessively suspenseful, filled with dramatic twists and turns. The reader is constantly asking questions, and not all of them are answered. Though this can be frustrating, I enjoy it because every reader can have their own interpretation of events. The characters feel very real, showing weakness and emotion that many books and/or movies can leave out. (Also, an English Teacher would want me to say that I was impressed by the number of similes that the author used.) Another random reason that I liked it was that Thomas was a runner, and I am in cross country, so this was a connection I could make. Overall, this book was GREAT, very suspenseful and intense, that has me itching to start reading the next.

NOTE: I must caution this book against younger readers. This book is very intense and there is a lot of death and violence, and lots of it is very personal as you get to know characters. (There also is frequent language in the book, but it is all made-up swear words, so this really isn't a problem)

Check out the Maze Runner Game here!

If you were stuck in the Glade, what position would fit your personality? Why?

Would the threat of the Grievers and a night in the maze keep you from trying to help two mere acquaintances from the maze?

Were you one of the Keepers, what course of action would you recommend be taken by Tom after escaping the night in the maze?


Please give your thoughts and opinions!