The Death Cure, one of the most anticipated books of the year, is the final book in the highly praised Maze Runner trilogy. James Dashner, who previously scribed The 13th Reality series, for middle grade readers, manages to make The Death Cure into a satisfying, breathtaking conclusion to an amazing series.
Book 2, The Scorch Trials ended with a monumental cliffhanger-our protagonist, Thomas, inside an empty white room, with the phrase WICKED is good implanted inside of his mind. A phrase that exudes such irony to begin with, but has so much more meaning in the world after the scorch.
Needless to say, Thomas makes it out of his bright white room and into the hands of WICKED once again. This time, though, they’re offering to bring back the memories of Thomas and all of the other Gladers. It makes sense to work with them, but Thomas, along with some of the other Gladers- don’t trust them. And for good reason, too. WICKED watched as they were killed off like guinea pigs in an assortment of experiments. Watched as they faced fear, pain, and attack by the zombie-like people affected by the sun flares called Cranks.
Thomas pieces through memories that start to come back to him in his sleep that at one point, he and the other Gladers agreed with what WICKED was doing; that they were trying to cure all the people who were affected by the sun flares. But once he’s put back into the real world- he realizes he doesn’t care what he once thought before. He and the other Gladers escape WICKED and try to find a way to stop them. Now that he’s been a variable in WICKED’s plans, he realizes that he wants revenge- he wants to see them crumble.
The Death Cure answers all of the important questions fans have been wondering from the beginning- it’s not quite the ending we hoped for, but it’s definitely as satisfying as we could’ve dreamed of. James Dashner writes what is his best book yet- brilliantly rendered, jaw dropping, and enthralling. One of the best books I’ve read this year.
It’s a very mechanical dystopia, but it’s definitely well oiled. The characters are fleshed out and refreshingly human. The voice is compelling and will have the reader flying through the pages; as a warning, I advise readers not to make any plans within a good few hours of starting this book. That is, if they’re not good at doing things with one hand.
The action is non-stop; you can’t go one page without encountering an army of Cranks, Bounty Hunters, grenade launchers, mad scientists, or exploding buildings. This finale is epic in every way- most noteworthy, though, is that it manages to emerge as a top-notch spectacle of a dystopia. Five stars, plus.
Each book in the series has been unique in its own way. The Maze Runner was a thoughtful, inventive launch to the series. The Scorch Trials was dark, grim, and surprisingly violent. The Death Cure is an amalgamation of those traits- but it also stands out on its own. Credit goes to Dashner for his brilliant world building, expertly throttling the pace up and down at every corner, amidst shocking plot twists and intense action. He executes the book with breakneck pace, so that the book’s staggering load could only be fully absorbed with several re-readings.
As well as intelligently wrapping up all his plots and subplots, Dashner has his characters, who weren’t really as sympathetic in his previous books, take center stage here, as emotionally contemplative, complex humans. Their input into the storyline adds to the blurring of gray- is it better to kill off someone before they fall victim to disease? Or, in wider scope- is it better to waste resources looking for a cure, or helping people who might still have a chance? This thoughtfulness makes the book much more interesting and a standard higher than other modern dystopias.
Taut, haunting, and intricately drawn, The Death Cure ends the series on a dark high note- one that affirms James Dashner as one of today’s best dystopia writers.
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Grade: A