The Maze Runner
written by James Dashner
I don’t like slugs. They are slimy, squishy, slow and I don’t know very much about them except what it might feel like to step on one. Now imagine how wonderful it was for me to discover that the main antagonists of this book are giant part-slug/ part-machine mutant killer creatures that are “programmed” to kill you with metal pinpricks. Are you interested in reading a book with those things in it? Cause, I wasn’t. But, I did read this book and enjoyed it, so let me tell you why.
Thomas is as disoriented as the reader when the book begins. He wakes up hurtling upward in a metal box into a world he doesn’t know. For once the first-person narrator knows exactly the same amount of information as the reader; nothing. Thomas didn’t know who he was or where he came from and he doesn’t know where he is now or the other teenage boys that populate it. Neither he nor the reader knows what we are getting ourselves into and through this effect the reader is submerged deeper into this book’s hypnosis as our emotions mirror Thomas’s. The reader feels his confusion, turmoil, terror, disgust, sorrow and triumph. He’s not the happiest guy, but don’t let that stop you from this experience. Just like a classic mystery, the reader is forced to pay close attention to what the other characters are saying and what Thomas is observing to try to glean any details about what is going on. Hint (slugs).
The first things uncovered about the place Thomas and the other boys are in are that they reside in the Glade, a safe enclosed space in which the boys have established a working community (think The Lord of the Flies but more stable). The Glade, however, has four enormous doors that open in the day and close at night. But, the doors do not lead “out”. The Glade is smack dab in the middle of a maze that goes for miles, a maze with no perceivable exit and filled with (you guessed it) slugs! It is the job of the Maze Runners to go out everyday to map it and hopefully find a way out, while avoiding the lethal “Grievers” (aka slugs).
The Grievers are as terrifying as they are relentless, but they, along with the maze, make Thomas wonder about the bigger picture. Who is keeping them here? Why can’t they remember anything besides this life in the Glade? They know they are being watched, but what could possibly be the reason for their imprisonment. The questions only multiply as the story progresses.
This book is labeled as a Young Adult book, but at times I thought The Maze Runner would be better suited buddying up next to Stephen King’s creations. It has the qualifications; an enclosed space (Under the Dome), a group of kids trying to solve a mystery involving an elusive monster (It) and most importantly, the ability to evoke powerful emotions in the reader (insert any Stephen King book here). Even though parts of The Maze Runner were a little too intense for my taste (slugs), I still have great respect for this work as a whole. It was tactful, original, to the point and deserves its place on my bookshelf. With that said I will not be re-reading The Maze Runner because of, well…slugs.
