Audiobook Awesomeness: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Synopsis via goodreads. 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.  

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. 

But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind

First, SPOILERS are ahead so read with caution. Second, this is the August/September selection for the book club that I participate in so I decided to borrow the audiobook and have it solve two tasks. One is that I have actually completed a novel for book club AND two is that I get to write an audiobook post about it.

This book is marketed specifically to fans of the Hunger Games and Divergent series and I have to say it delivers in that respect. There is the strange fantastical landscape with hints of potential apocalypse in the outside world. There is a level of mystery/intrigue surrounding the maze as well as the boys’ search for answers to its/their existence. I was also impressed with the social/political system the boys put in place once sent into the Glade. Though the book ends with more questions, clearly part of series (Son of a Biscuit!), we have some closure in parts. It was definitely not the situation I was expecting, which was a pleasant twist.

That being said, I did not like this novel as much as I liked the Hunger Games and Divergent series. Could this be because I am slightly biased towards a female protagonist? I am female so that could be the exact reason; however, there are plenty of books with male protagonists that I have enjoyed in the past such as Everybody Sees the Ants, Harry Potter, America, The Outsiders, Lord of the Flies, and The Chocolate War. So what’s my deal?

Perhaps it’s Thomas. As much as Thomas develops in progress with the novel, it seemed he still lacked personality.  My thought is that this is in reflection of his memory loss. Without those memories it is hard to predict Thomas’ actions or relate to him. It is hard to root for a protagonist when he has little personality, even if the reason behind that is a loss of memory.

Then there was the obvious solution to the memory loss dilemma. As soon as the solution presented itself, I shouted “well duh, why hasn’t anyone done that yet!” This is how it went in my mind (SPOILER):

”Oh you kids have memory loss? Well here are these Griever monsters that have needles that will inject a chemical into you which will give you back your memories. Oh yeah, why don’t I use that to help us get out of the maze! I’m a genius.”

Granted the “Changing”, which is the physical process of getting your memories back, was painful and a lot of boys went crazy afterwards, BUT you’d get your memory back and therefore would know more about this mysterious death maze you’ve randomly been placed. The “Creators” obviously and deliberately installed that characteristic in the Grievers so why don’t you use it!

Also, they used the terms “shank,” “schuck,” and “clunk” too much in the place of curse words. For example, they kept calling each other “schuck face” or “you stupid shank.” Even though I can appreciate the low level of cursing for those middle level readers, the use of these particular words was going into overkill. It felt like every other sentence out of a kid’s mouth used these three words. Seriously, did you kids not remember any other insults? 

In terms of the audiobook, the narration was ok. It was not the best I have heard (see Fault in Our Stars), but still decent. The narrator did excellent accents for Newt and Minho, but the general reading felt stale. There were times where I felt my mind drift away rather than focusing on the story; therefore, my engagement is a little lost.

The Maze Runner is considered to be a classic for future readers and even though it didn’t look like it, I enjoyed listening to it. Sometimes I get stuck on the littlest of things and therefore some of these postings seem more negative than positive. Just to clarify, so far there has not been a title that I truly detested. A great purchase to any YA collection especially since a movie is coming out.

Here are some suggested reads that are not Hunger Games or Divergent. This is based on Novelist, goodreads, and my own personal judgment.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (boys surviving on an island)

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld (touch of dystopia/apocalypse)

Variant by Robison Wells (kids trying to survive at a school with no adults)

Legend by Marie Lu (touch of dystopia/apocalypse)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (touch of dystopia/apocalypse)