Friday, August 26, 2011

Kirkus Review of The Death Cure

Wow, we are very excited to announce that Kirkus has given THE DEATH CURE an extremely positive review!!! (And yes, I'm aware that I've now blogged twice this week. Booyah.)


I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I've been so scared at how this book would be received since the last in a series is always held up to huge standards with lots of expectations. But this is the strongest validation we could've hoped for at this early stage.

Non-spoiler line: "Dashner again displays his mastery of the action sequence, making readers turn pages even as they become further invested in the well-developed characters.‬ ‪Heart pounding to the very last moment."

The full review is below, but I'm giving you a major warning. This review is FULL of spoilers. Full of them. Big ones. So if you don't like to know that kind of stuff, please don't read it.

SPOILER ALERT

Full Kirkus Review:

An explosive ending to The Maze Runner trilogy.‬

‪Thomas and the rest of the survivors of the Maze and the Scorch Trials are being held at WICKED (World in Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department) headquarters. Subjected to even more tests, they’ve learned enough to know that they’re all part of a massive experiment to find a cure for the pandemic Flare disease. But does any cure justify what they’ve been put through? Or the engineered deaths of their friends? It’s hard to believe that “WICKED is good,” even though that’s the message they’re bombarded with.

Discouraged, rebellious and definitely not trusting, Thomas, Newt, Minho, Brenda and Jorge break out and escape to Denver, now a walled city meant to be reserved for the uninfected and the immune. But it’s all too clear that Newt has already been infected and is teetering on the verge of madness. It’s equally clear that WICKED has put a bounty on their heads and won’t rest until they have these survivors back in hand—especially Thomas, who may have been part of all the experiments from the very beginning and is now the Final Candidate. Dashner again displays his mastery of the action sequence, making readers turn pages even as they become further invested in the well-developed characters.‬

‪Heart pounding to the very last moment.

(Science fiction/thriller. 12 and up)‬

25 comments:

Bethany said...

DASHNER!!! I need the death cure. Immediately. Great to see this positive review! :)

Laura said...

As it turns out, I'm reading The Death Cure right now. I went to New Jersey last week and Dave let me borrow his copy. Ahh. Intriguing.

Aydel said...

OMG!! I can't wait for The Death Cure!!!

Kathryn Packer Roberts said...

You know posting this just makes me more and more crazy to read it, right?? I'm dying here. Throw me a life line someone??

Aliah E. said...

I loooooooooove these books!!!!!!! ARCs? Pleeeeeaaaase!!!!

Tere Kirkland said...

Yes! DYING (of the Flare I think) to read the final installment.

The only person I know who wants it worse than I do is my husband, who never reads anything and read The Scorch Trials in a day.

Thanks for that!

booksforyas said...

I'm definitely looking forward to this final installment, too. I'm guessing chances for ARCs are past by now, or can up-and-coming bloggers still get ARCs to post glowing reviews? :)

Taffy said...

That's awesome, James! Congrats! You've definitely earned the praise.

Aubrey said...

Sounds EPIC, Mr. Dashner! I am RIDICULOUSLY excited. Your books are amazing!!! The Death Cure is number one on my wishlist, hands down!

Alice said...

Very cool. My daughter and i anxiously await the Death Cure. I didn't read the spoilers.

Adam Meyers said...

Awesomeness.

Vanessa M. said...

AHHHHHHHH! Do you know what you've done to me!!! I need an ARC!!! NOW!!!!

Sounds SO good!

Shireen said...

I just cant wait a whole month for that book Im obsessed with all of them!!!!! I repeat I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

Elana Johnson said...

I skipped over the spoilers! I have an iron will. Iron, I say! Congrats on the great review!

Madison Hammond said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! I cant wait to read it! But one question....... I read the spoilers an... where's Theresa?!?

Madison Hammond said...

I read the spoilers an.... WHERE'S THERESA!!!!!! It sounds AMAZING but i'm scared that she was one of the people that died!

Anonymous said...

WHERE'S THERESA!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I honestly believe that Tersa's actions in the scorch trials were justified
she did what she had to do to save her best friends life
i would have done the same had i been placed in her position, as much as i understand thomas' feelings towards what happened i realllllyyyyy like the friendship that the two of them have and i am praying that teresa does not die :(
i want the two of them to end up together
sighhh i really hope she doesn't turn out to be the opposite of who i believe her to be

DD-QA said...

I have multiple copies of each of your books in my classroom library and I can't keep them on the shelves. This kind of writing transforms resistant teens into readers. Thank you for that!

Breanna Michelle said...

I am so excited for the death cure to come out!! I am counting the days! But, I also read your other series the 13th reality. Are you not writing a fourth book???

Breanna Michelle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I got the book today! I can't wait to finish it!

Reeze said...

First of all, I LOVE your books! The 13th Reality is an absolutely amazing series, and The Maze Runner is even better. I really liked Teresa and was hoping she and Thomas would be together... :( I have been thinking about something... I think you should write a "parallel" series about Group B's adventures! That would be awesome! :)

Anonymous said...

Dear James Dashner,
I read your book The Maze Runner and ever since then I have had some questions and comments. Throughout the novel I was amazed by the many times Thomas shows his bravery, but not to impress people, but to stay alive. Do you have a close friend, or family member that shows this level of bravery, that inspired you to make Thomas’s qualities equal to theirs? Also, why did you chose to make some of the gladers stay behind in the homestead? Was it to prove that you should never give up, or were you implying that striving for the best is not always the right option? When reading the book, I noticed that the Gladers believed the maze had no end. How did you decide to have an invisible griever whole, which would bring you into a room with a computer that accessed the door to the exit? Were you pointing out that the answer is not always obvious? Then, once seeing the technology used inside the griever whole, why did you choose to make the exit behind the door a slide? Personally I would have chosen a more advanced transportation device such as a teleporter, or another puzzle that lead to the room you placed after the slide. Why did you decide to make teenage boys the main characters of the novel? Was it to prove that age doesn’t matter especially if teamwork is involved? Also, how did you come up with the griever’s appearance? Did you mix different animals and electronics together to form them? I really enjoyed the book, but will there be a movie? One thing that the book did inspire me with is that even if your friends give up doesn’t mean that you can not try. I learned this from when Thomas runs out of the Glade to help Alby who has been stung by the grievers, and Minho who is helping him get back to the Glade before the doors close. The doors shut and they are stuck out of the Glade. Minho says that their only chance of survival is to leave Alby there and run throughout the night, never stopping because of the grivers. Even though Minho leaves Thomas, Thomas doesn’t give up and he ties Alby to the vines on the walls and hoists him up. When Alby is safe, Thomas then starts to run. Your book has inspired me in many ways, and I wish I read your book the Maze Runner sooner.
From,
Andrew Joseph
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School
7th grade English

Anonymous said...

I m writing a papr on the deah cure so..... What made you write it? Connections to life/personal things that made u write Death Cure or the series.