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)‬

Fall Approaches

Hey everybody! I know it's been a long time since I last blogged. I blame it on a tough, crazy summer. But the best time of the year is approaching, and I can already smell autumn in the air...

Over on twitter (follow me! CLICK HERE), I promised I'd blog today, so here I am. Keeping my promise. The only problem is I have no idea what to talk about. Hmmm...

1. First, I've never really officially announced this, but many of you have asked about the fourth (and last) book in my series, The 13th Reality. Right now it's planned to come out next spring or early summer. I would've really had to rush it to come out this year, and I didn't want to do that. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it. The series is going to have quite an ending, I promise.

2. Lots of people have also asked about what comes after the Maze Runner trilogy is done. Well, for some reason, no one ever lets me talk about anything. But I'll just say this: we have a couple of big announcements coming soon. Really big. You guys aren't getting rid of me yet. Ever, actually.

3. The Death Cure is coming out on October 11th. In case you're calendarly challenged, that's really soon. I'll be touring for three weeks, and I now know which cities: Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Billings, Austin, Chicago, Milwaukee, Vancouver (Yay Canada!), Lexington, Atlanta, and Las Vegas.

4. Until then, I'm just at home, working hard, writing. For my breaks, I've been watching the show called Breaking Bad, now up to Season 2. Holy crap. I love this show. My favorite since Lost.

5. The paperback for The Scorch Trials comes out three weeks from tomorrow, on Sept. 13. Random House has started a new imprint called Ember, and this will be one of the first releases under that imprint. Why? I honestly don't know.

6. How would one or two of you like to read The Death Cure early? Really? Okay, I'll ask my publisher if we can do a contest and send a couple out for the blog. Stay tuned...

7. My eleven year old son is playing quarterback. How cool is that?

8. I thought it was really cool that Elizabeth Banks, who will be playing Effie in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, mentioned my book in her interview for New York Magazine. If you want to read it, CLICK HERE.

9. We also got our first "official" review for Death Cure, by Jason Kennedy from the Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee. It made my day, and they said I could share it with you guys. Slight spoiler warning:

"I was hesitant to start The Death Cure, what more could WICKED put Thomas through? What horrible, what torturous, what painful journey would Thomas have to complete? Would it be enough? In the clutches of WICKED and infected with the Flare, the outlook does not look promising. James Dashner does not disappoint in this bleak and exhilarating finale--I can't wait to see what he comes up with next."

Thanks, Jason!!!

10. Has anyone else out there gotten their hands on an ARC? I'd love to hear what you think.

Okay, more soon. A lot sooner than later. I promise.

BEA Report (with pics!)

Warning: There is a picture of me with Tyra Banks in this blog post...

Hi, Duders! Did you miss me? You did? I missed you, too. But there's no reason for that because you can totally hang with me every day over on Twitter, where you can join the new #dashnerarmy. The awesome @verbvixen is helping sign up soldiers. CLICK HERE to follow me.

Anyway, on to BEA, where I saw cool things like this:

BEA (Book Expo America) was an amazing week. This is the biggest event in publishing where the publishers present and promote what they have coming. I honestly don't even know where to start. But I know you guys love a glimpse into the mad world of my industry, so here you go. It'll be brief...

Monday: I arrived in NYC. It took an hour and a half to get to my hotel, which was stinky. But then I walked over to Random House HQ and had a lovely meeting with my editor, Krista Marino and the Delacorte publisher, Beverly Horowitz. Much strategizing and laughing occurred. Then there was a yummy dinner where more of this kind of thing went on.

Actually, I just realized this was the WEEK BEFORE when I also went to NYC for the Random House Fall preview event. Haha. I'll leave it. I mean, it WAS a Monday.

Tuesday: I met up with my AWESOME publicist, Emily Pourciau, who would so kindly escort me throughout the week's events. First up: ABC Speed Dating, where I took 3 minute turns at about 35 tables with booksellers and librarians. Quite the whirlwind! Then I had lunch and good times with my superhuman agents, Michael Bourret and Lauren Abramo. Much strategizing and laughing ensued.

That evening was the Random House Children's Books party, where I was incredibly honored to be one of 10 authors among hundreds of book people. It was very swanky and was held on an aircraft carrier. Yep, first time for me, too. It was so fun!

Here are two pictures of me, one with Christopher Paolini (ERAGON) and one with Tyra Banks (the upcoming MODEL LAND). You can guess which is which.

Afterward, Michael and I had a very fun, long dinner where much strategizing and laughing occurred. He's seriously one of my favorite people on planet Earth, and I love hanging out with him.

Wednesday: I did a video shoot at the Barnes and Noble headquarters for some things you'll see on BN.com this fall when the book comes out. Then we headed back to the Javits center for my signing (the chapter samplers). I met lots of cool people! Afterward I did an interview with Justine Magazine.

That evening, I was honored to be part of a panel at the Mulbery Library that included some amazing authors: Lauren Kate, Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, Ally Condie, and Ellen Hopkins. We spent an hour or so answering questions and telling stories and laughing. Then we signed and met MORE cool people.

Afterward, another great dinner out with Krista and a few others from Random House.

Thursday: I had a meeting with the good people at Simon & Schuster, including the hilarious and Batman-loving Liesa Abrams, the editor for THE 13TH REALITY. I also got to meet fellow client of Michael's and superstar Lisa McMann, who has a big series debuting this fall called THE UNWANTEDS.

I saw the Buzz Panel for middle grade where Lisa and my good friend Matthew Kirby were honored. Matt's book ICEFALL also comes out this fall.

Then I walked the floor a bit with Michael, went back to my hotel, and wrote over 4,000 words before crashing. BEA inspires you to do such things. (both the writing and the crashing.)

Friday: Flew home!

I'll post again soon about what's going on in the Dashner world. In the meantime, here is a picture of me with the three most important people in my author career: Krista, Michael, and Emily.

The Death Cure cover

I present to you the amazingly awesome combined talents of artist Philip Straub and the Random House CB design team (click on the picture below to see it nice and big). I want EVERYONE to tell me what they think in the comments.

Here is my opinion: I love it!!! It's easily my favorite of the three books, and I loved all of them (hence the three exclamation marks).

Now, what do you think? I've also included the nifty 3D version for your viewing pleasure (no glasses needed).

Please spread the word and link all your friends and family to come and have a look. Also, you can now preorder it at your preferred location: CLICK HERE. This is the third and final book of The Maze Runner trilogy and will be available on October 11th.

Three Days.... And a Story

Just making sure that everyone knows we'll be revealing the cover for THE DEATH CURE in three days. On Thursday, the 28th, at 7:00 am EST.

Any predictions on what the cover art may look like?

See you then......

EDIT: Oh, and also, Shannon Hale is hosting an event today where a bunch of authors share an embarrassing or humiliating experience at an event. CLICK HERE.

Here's mine:

I'll never forget one of my very first booksignings. It was my first book, A Door in the Woods, which was done with a small indie publisher. I had grand expectations, of course. I mean, I was a freaking published AUTHOR now!

It was the first of many, many signings which taught me that I wasn't all that, or even close to it. In fact, I was pretty much none of that. I sold one book. I basically accosted this person, begging them to take a look at my newest bestest book. It was a pity sale, no doubt.

One lady asked me where the bathroom is. Another asked me where the cookbooks are. One of the employees stood about five feet from me at one point and kept trying to sell ANOTHER AUTHOR'S BOOK to people as they walked by. I watched as many people studiously examined the store for a way to walk by me without possibility of being engaged in conversation. You would've thought I had leprosy.

I felt about 2 inches tall when it was over. And I swore to always buy a book if I ever saw someone else in the same predicament! Which is why I own some very.... odd books. But they're signed!

See you Thursday.....

Awards, Movies, Events, Announcement

Hey guys! I have a few things to tell you about. You'll wanna make sure you make it all the way to #10.

1. I'm very honored that my book, The Maze Runner, just won the 2011 Kentucky Bluegrass Award for grades 9-12. I especially love this because it was voted on by the actual students. That means more than anything. Thanks, Kentucky!

2. For all you movie and Hunger Games fans, I did a guest blog today for the website, wordandfilm.com. It's my thoughts on five kinda obscure but awesome films you can watch while you wait: CLICK HERE.

3. Looking for a good book while you wait, too? Check out the latest from my good friend Frank Cole. It's called "The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter" and anyone who likes fantasy, adventure, and humor will enjoy it. CLICK HERE.

4. I know this drives my readers who don't live in Utah crazy, but I have another big event coming up here. (Don't worry, I'll be heading all over the country here and there throughout the year, especially when Book 3 comes out in October.) This one will be in Logan, UT, at the main library, at 6:00 pm, on April 22.

Oh, and it's not just me. Some other little authors you may have heard of: Shannon Hale, Ally Condie, Brandon Mull, Jessica Day George and the illustrator Nathan Hale. Lots of NYT Bestselling authors on that there list. And one Newbery Honor winner. And one guy who's owed me dinner for over a year (Initials BM, which also happens to stand for bowel movement).

5. Other upcoming events: TLA in Austin, TX (April 13-14), Signing at The King's English in SLC (May 4, 5:00 pm), Storymakers Conference in SLC (May 6-7), Battle of the Books in St. Louis (May 10), and Book Expo America in NYC (May 24-26). I sure hope to see a lot of you!

6. I just noticed this a little after the fact, but I wanted to thank all the fans who voted for me as one of their favorite Random House authors. Quite the group! CLICK HERE.

7. You guys really need to "Like" the official Facebook page for the Maze Runner trilogy. There is some really cool stuff on there. Check out the recent youtube videos with dreamcasts for the movies, done by Shay Cohen. CLICK HERE. And friend me if you haven't yet, too.

8. Following me on twitter yet? No?!?!? Do: CLICK HERE.

9. You all need to see the movie, Insidious. Unless you're scared of haunted houses, demons, or faces of creepy old ladies reflected back at you in the window. I loved the music in this film. I also really liked The Source Code and Limitless recently.

10. Announcement: we will officially be revealing the cover for The Death Cure (coming October 11) on Thursday, April 28th, first thing in the morning. That's three weeks from today! You guys are gonna LOVE it.

Oh, and thanks again, Kentucky.

Carrie Ryan in Utah! Greek Cover.

Calling all Duders in the Utah area: my good friend and fellow author, Carrie Ryan, will be in the Salt Lake City area today (Tues the 29th) and tomorrow (Wed the 30th). Please come out and meet her and get a signed copy of her newest book, THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES, the third in her series that began with THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and THE DEAD TOSSED WAVES.

I happen to know a lot of you are already fans because I've talked about her book before and some have thanked me for the recommendation. So come out!!!! If you're new to the series, I kind of envy you because you won't have to wait a year between books. They are creeptastic and unputdownable.

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday the 29th

Salt Lake City Library

7:00 pm

210 East 400 South

Salt Lake City

Wednesday the 30th

Barnes and Noble

7:00 pm

Jordan Landing off Bangerter

West Jordan

I'll be at one or both, so see you there!

In the meantime, check out Carrie's blog, which has a cool little trailer for the new book and more info about the series:

CLICK HERE

EDIT: I forgot to mention, Carrie and I are both blessed to work with the same editor at Random House, the genius otherwise known as Krista Marino, and we also share the same agency, Dystel & Goderich, which has changed both of our lives. So come out and meet her!

EDIT #2: I also just received the cover for THE SCORCH TRIALS in Greece, which comes out there on April 4th. I LOVE it!!!! What do you think:

The Greek cover for THE MAZE RUNNER:

EDIT #3: I also have another good friend with a book out today. Dan Wells, I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU. (No, that's the name of his book, not me restraining myself.) You can see him tonight at Sam Weller's bookstore at 6:00 pm in downtown SLC. It's perfect, you can go there at 6 then head over to see Carrie at 7...

Happy March Madness

With basketball in the air, I figured it was high time I get back on here and blog. I don't really have a whole lot to say because not much has happened other than working my hiney off to write and edit these here books.

I want to say that my heart goes out to Japan, especially any of my readers there. I actually lived there for awhile, and so this has been especially numbing and heartbreaking for me. I love the people there so much - they are kind and intelligent and grounded like no others I've met. And they'd do anything for those in need. Which is why I know they'll pull through this.

As for me, like I said, I'm basically just in a time of working. I have a whole month before I travel again, when I'll be heading out to Austin for the huge Texas Library Association's conference. And then a few scattered things after that.

We've had some recent sales of rights in foreign lands, which always gets me really excited. The latest places soon to be subjected to the rigors of the Glade are:

Italy

Vietnam

Korea

Romania

I would make a joke about that last one, something about Dracula and Thomas kickin' it with a Griever, but that'd be stupid and way too obvious. And an insult to our new friends in Romania, who I'm sure get very sick of that sort of thing.

Hmmm. What else has been happening. Not much.

Well, I did go on a cruise for the first time. And that was pretty cool. And I did have an incredible time at LTUE, where I got to hang out with many of you. And I did make a ridiculously silly appearance during Brandon Mull's launch party presentation for BEYONDERS. And I did save this old lady from getting hit by the Oscar Meyer Wiener truck. Ok, that last one isn't true.

Other than that, I'm just working, on lots of fun things. Stay tuned, because we ARE getting very close to revealing the cover for Book 3, THE DEATH CURE (release date, October 11). As well as some other announcements.

And a quick shout out for a friend: A very happy happy birthday on Saturday to Sam Van Hoose!!!!!

Talk again soon....

Stephen King, Judy Blume, LTUE Schedule

Before I tell you my detailed schedule this weekend (come see me!!!) at the symposium at BYU, I want to throw out something very random.

I really want to have dinner with Stephen King, my writing idol.

I know there has to be someone who can make this happen for me. Please help. I'm just throwing this out there for now, but I'm actually contemplating and scheming on what I can do to push it along. I'm thinking a charity may need to be involved. Stay tuned.

One of the shining moments of my life was when I had cupcakes and tea with Judy Blume. If you missed my embarrassing write-up on that, CLICK HERE (where there is also a picture to prove I'm not lying). As you can clearly see, this experience can only be topped by dinner with Abraham Lincoln or Stephen King.

Anyway, here is my schedule. Don't miss my reading from The Death Cure on Friday morning!!! All events are in the Harman Building over by the Marriott Center.

THURSDAY the 17th:

3:00 pm Panel: Slush Piles and what not to do when submitting your writing.

4:00 pm Panel: Dystopias and Utopias.

6:00 pm Panel: Marketing - what can you do?

FRIDAY the 18th:

10:00 am READING: First 2 chapters of The Death Cure.

12:00 pm Panel: What is an agent and what can they do for you?

2:00 pm Panel: Character's morals/theology vs. the author's.

6:00 pm Panel: How not to talk down to your YA audience.

SATURDAY the 19th:

11:00 am MAIN ADDRESS: That's me, giving the main address. There will be a Top Ten list!!!

1:00 pm: Signing books in room 1188

2:00 pm: Signing books again in room 1188

4:00 pm: Why write about worlds that don't actually exist?

7:00 pm: LTUE Banquet. (You MUST buy tickets to this before the actual conference. Even though the website says you can't anymore, tickets WILL be available through tomorrow. CLICK HERE to order them.)

I can't wait to hang out with those who come! See ya soon....

Upcoming Events and Etc.

I wish this post had all the many things I want to tell you about regarding what's coming down the pipeline in my career. Ya know, things like the cover for The Death Cure, what projects might come after that, other... stuff...

But, you'll have to be patient, I'm sorry. Patience is a virtue, ya know. Stay close, though. I don't want you to miss anything. There'll be lots to talk about. Soon.

At the end of this post I give you some absolutely free pop culture recommendations. But first...

There ARE a few events on the horizon, however, and I thought I'd pop in here and make sure they're all laid out. I hope I get to meet some of you...

Saturday, Feb. 5, 1:00 pm

Um, that's TOMORROW

Barnes and Noble, Southtown Mall

Sandy UT, 1:00 pm

This is an Authorpalooza, with over 40 authors, none of whom I'll name because I'd certainly leave out a friend!

Thursday through Saturday

Feb. 17 - 19

LTUE, a symposium at BYU (Harman Bldg)

I'm the Guest of Honor (hey, quit snickering!), so I'll be on lots of panels and will be giving the keynote address on Saturday at 11:00 am.

I'll also be doing a reading (first chapter or two from The Death Cure) at 10:00 am on Friday.

For more details and a full schedule, CLICK HERE.

April 12- 15

TLA (Texas Library Association)

Austin, TX

I'm not sure yet of my schedule, but I DO know I'm going!

May 6-7

Storymakers Conference

Salt Lake City, UT

For details, CLICK HERE.

May 9-10

Battle of the Books

St. Louis, MO

Sorry, I don't know many details, but I'll be there.

June 4

Festival of Books

BYU

Those are the only events that are solid on the schedule, but other things will happen, especially as we get closer to the release of Book 3 this fall.

Absolutely free pop culture advice:

Anyone else watch Downton Abbey on PBS? I am officially an old person, because I loved it. Blame my mother.

I'm reading an incredible book. Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes. I've always been interested in the Vietnam War, and this is about as authentic as you can get. Not for the faint of heart.

If you want a funny, leave-your-brain-behind movie to watch, go see The Green Hornet. I was pleasantly surprised (but I wouldn't call it a kid's movie) and laughed a lot.

If you'd rather be creeped out and see Anthony Hopkins channel Hannibal Lecter one last time, go see The Rite.

And I can't say this enough: go see The King's Speech. One of the best movies ever. I'm not lying. Ever. Unless you're eight, and then you might be bored.

Finally, I'm officially the last person on earth to join Netflix. I usually see movies in theaters, so I never got around to it. But... what? This is for real? 10 bucks a month? Unlimited streaming of bazillions of movies and TV shows? For real? Way too good to be true. I may have to stop writing books.....

(No, I'm not fishing for "you better NOT quit writing!!!" comments. Don't be silly.)

Have a great day and a great weekend.