Friday, April 17, 2020

The Death Cure by James Dashner







2013, first published 2012  


This is the third story in the Maze Runner series.  The ending is very open and there is a fourth book to follow.

Thomas is identified here as a type of final solution – WICKED wants his brain. They need to examine it in order to find a cure and antidote to Flare.  Flare is a pandemic.  The disease makes its sufferers crazy and also turns them into flesh-eating animals. Thomas and some of his friends who have been kept in the Maze are naturally immune.  Not all of them, however, and some of his friends are part of a “control “group.  Once they’re out in the real world one of his friends succumbs to Flare. 

The disease is called “Flare” because a solar flare caused it to escape forma laboratory.  It was a man-made disease.

Note, I read this at the time of the lockdown because of coronavirus. Flare causes completely different symptoms but it spreads in a similar way.   

Like in all of the Maze Runner novels the pace is fast.  This is partly achieved by the use of very short chapters – three to four pages long.  There are multiple twists and turns as well and the stakes are high throughout.  There is quite a bit of violence.  There are also several deaths and Thomas feels the loss of friends and loved ones, and guilt when he is forced to kill.  

It is a thick book, 328 pages long. The font is small and the text is blocked. Each chapter has a decorative representation of a maze in its header.    

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