Book: The Kill Order by James DashnerGenre: YA Dystopian SF
Rating: ★★★☆☆
For: Review, Utah Book Month
From: Netgalley
In this, a prequel of sorts to the Maze Runner trilogy, we learn about what it was like when the sun flares first happened (13 years before the events of The Maze Runner.) We go back in time to meet Mark and Trina and bunch of their friends and how they got along, or not, right after the disaster happened. We also learn about the virus that has affected the world, and what REALLY happened with that. It's not pretty.
There's a bit of a glimpse into some stuff with Thomas and Theresa, main characters from the Maze Runner, but I never quite understood if they were connected to Mark and Trina from this book. Can anyone help me with this? Did I miss something, or was I trying too hard to make things connect?
Anyway, the story is pretty brutal. It's very violent and graphic and sometimes a bit hard to read. Lots and lots and LOTS of fighting and shooting. The people infected with the virus act like what I would imagine zombies to be like... even though I've not have much experience reading about zombie. And it was... gah... ICKY!
So... if you like that kind of thing, you are going to love this book! If that kind of thing makes you cringe, this one might not be for you. I enjoyed the back story, and the new characters, but I did grimace at the violence a bit. I'm finding more and more that I'm a reader that wants the personal parts to the story, and not necessarily the action. This book was all action. And still, there are a lot of unanswered questions and holes in the story. Will there be even another prequel? I'm wondering...
Have you read it yet? What did you think? I'm so curious to find out what fans of the series will have to say about this one.Bottom line: I enjoyed it... for the most part, but a bit over the top violent for me.
Other Reviews:
My Books. My Life.
Annette's Book Spot
The Sweet Bookshelf
The Dancing Reader Review
The trailer if you are interested:
I'm reading this right now. There is a lot going on, and I'm having a little trouble following along and trying to figure out what is happening. I was hoping for more answers, and I'm sad you said there were still holes. Gah!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I've been wondering if I should read this and now I'm thinking I might pass (at least for now). I'm not a big fan of a lot of violence and icky stuff. Especially since it sounds like it's not directly connected to the other books.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm on hold for this at the library, but maybe I'm sure if I'll read it. The last Maze Runner was a little too much for me, violence wise. Sad this one sounds like it's more adventures and gory-ness. I was really hoping there would be a lot more answers about stuff from the series.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...THE MAZE RUNNER series was a bit disconnected for me, and I wondered if this book might help. Sounds like not so much. I may snag this on audio at some point, just to see though.
ReplyDeleteI really should get back to this series. I have only read the first book and I don't really remember what happened...
ReplyDeleteWell...Deedee (as you can find out in the Barnes and Noble edition) is actually Teresa. In the epilogue they show Thomas being taken by WICKED and how he got his name (Thomas Edison) Mark and Trina i guess were just some new characters...
ReplyDeleteJust read it and I totally agree that the violence/fighting was a bit over the top. I've read other reviews that call it "real" but, I struggle to understand the physiology that would enable someone to keep fighting and functioning the way Mark and Alex do after some of the fights. Having never been in a physical altercation of any kind, I also have a hard time visualizing what's happening in the fight scenes and who's fist is hitting what . . . I was also left really unsatisfied with the account of what happened in the year after the solar flare; I wanted more details about how they made it to Ashville and what everyone elses' story was. How did so many people survive and how did they make it to the camps? The Thomas and Teresa part seemed confusing except I have a theory about who Deedee is . . . And lastly, I guess I am just a little confused about the Kill Order itself. Why did the Post Flare Coalition decide it was necessary? It seemed to me like folks were just sort of plugging along in small camps eating food they found in old factories and hunting. Were there really soooo many of them that they couldn't keep feeding themselves? I didn't even realize any of the settlements knew about the other settlements. All in all, I liked Maze Runner and Scorch Trial, tolerated the Death Cure, and probably just should have moved right on past this one. Unless Dashner is going to write another prequel that explains some more of this stuff.
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