Monday, September 21, 2009

PW Review of The Maze Runner

We were very excited to wake up this morning and see that Publisher's Weekly gave us a great review! Here it is (don't worry, no spoilers beyond back-of-the-book blurb):

The Maze Runner James Dashner. Delacorte, $16.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-385-73794-4

Dashner (the 13th Reality series) offers up a dark and gripping tale of survival set in a world where teenagers fight for their lives on a daily basis. It starts when Thomas, a teenage amnesiac, wakes up in the Glade, a fragile oasis in the middle of an enormous maze. Here, a group of teenage boys eke out a hazardous existence, exploring the Maze by day and retreating to the Glade at night. No one knows how they got there; no one has ever found a way out (“Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick,” the group's leader tells Thomas). Bizarre technological monsters called Grievers patrol the Maze's corridors, almost certain death for any who encounter them. Thomas struggles to regain his memories, but the arrival of a young woman with an ominous message changes the rules of the game.

With a fast-paced narrative steadily answering the myriad questions that arise and an ever-increasing air of tension, Dashner's suspenseful adventure will keep readers guessing until the very end, which paves the way for the inevitable continuation. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)


You can see it online, too: CLICK HERE.

We've had 3 trade reviews now, all extremely positive. I hope you guys agree!

In other news:

1. The Falcons are 2-0. Yes.

2. I had an awesome time at the LUW Roundup conference, and I'm looking forward to the Book Academy conference this Thursday at UVU.

3. We had another foreign rights sale: Spanish (North and Latin America). Yes! Spanish! I'm really, really excited about this one.

4. You can see all the details of my upcoming tour for MAZE by clicking HERE. I really hope to meet a lot of you - come see me!!!

5. Two weeks to release day. Two weeks. TWO WEEKS!

21 comments:

Carla said...

YAY

This is an Awesome review.

Transatlantic High Five!!!!! (i'm in the UK)

TWO WEEKS TO GO.........WOOP

Melinda said...

That's awesome. Can't wait to read it in TWO Weeks.

Brodi Ashton said...

Great review, James. More to come I'm sure!

Unknown said...

I can be happy about the Falcons until they play the Colts. Then all bets are off.

Way to be on the Spanish sale! I've got some friends who I know will buy that book in Spanish if I tell them to. I HAVE that power.

I've already pre-ordered my copy of Maze at my bookstore :-)

And I'm amibvalent about the Thursday conference...do I stay home and get my website completely up and running, or do I go? Sell me on it, James. Sell it to the Chops.

Cranberryfries said...

Go PW! And now you're in spanish. Awesome.

I signed up last week to go to Book Academy Conference. I'll see ya there.

Vanessa M. said...

yes! your coming to w. jordan!

Panda Queen said...

... and two weeks till my b-day! I know what I'm asking for! :)

Also, you must have messed up on your tour schedule! I don't see Texas on there at all... Heh heh...

I'm suuuppppper excited to read this!!

Anonymous said...

I'm so proud of you! Another great review. I can't believe it's only two weeks away.

Hope to see you at UVU!

James Dashner said...

What's up everybody! Man, we've been low on comments lately, even though our traffic is way up. Somebody explain that to me...

Graham, I'll be there. Need I say more? Kidding!

Dude, it's gonna be great. Or terrible. One of those two things.

Thanks for all the congrats!

James Dashner said...

Oh, I just remembered Panda Queen is my long lost almost-niece. Hi Amanda!!!! I really wish I was coming to Texas, too. :(

Unknown said...

Sold.

Melanie Goldmund said...

I'm getting almost as excited about The Maze Runner as you are! I've got a ten-Euro coupon from Amazon and since I'm probably never going to win a free copy, I'm saving it for your book! :-)

I hope you find a German publisher one day soon, too! :-) I can't bear the thought that anybody should miss out on your writing, especially not my sons or other members of my ward.

James Dashner said...

Melanie, there's a good chance we'll end up in Germany. Fingers crossed!

Taffy said...

Go James!
Go James!
Go! Go!
Go James!!

Everyone should go to James class at UVU because he has a great power point presentation!!

(Did I use enough exclamation points?!)

hidden reader said...

james, maybe no one is commenting because you aren't being absolutely crazy (as you usually are :P ). or it could have to do that school has started again.

Gavin Chatterley said...

I think it's more agonizing to wait for upcoming books when you get an update every few days. It's easier when you forget about it for a while. It must be weird for you to know so much about the other two books when most of the world hasn't read the first one yet.

Numberonedashnerfan said...

Hey ya,
What time does your signing end at on the 6th? I have ranges on that day. I havn't commented on your blog like crazy so that may have something to do with the decrease in your comments....Happy b-day to my dad hes on a buisness trip today on his b-day.... im doing chores like crazy for your book so it better be excelent jk its by thee James Dashner so I doubt I would hate it....Is it weird I like my licence picture more than my school pictures....TIKI TIKI DUDE

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

Yamile said...

I love that your books will be translated into Spanish. We're fully bilingual at home, and my son loves to read everything in both languages.

Angela said...

Hey James! Less than a week to go ... how are you doing?

I read TMR over the weekend and thought it was great!! Seriously, why did I try to talk myself into waiting? It was fantastic! I can't wait to pass it to my husband because I think he'll like it even more than I did. I also can't wait to give it to my nephews (most of whom are under 4, so it's going to be a while ... but since I don't have boys I get excited to give them the "boy books" I read and love).

Good luck with your big release next week!

James Dashner said...

Thanks Speed Reader! Made my day!