Review: #647
Title: The Kill Order
Series: Maze Runner - 4th book
Author: James Dashner
Read Before: no
Comments: The Kill Order is a prequel to all of the Maze Runner books. Reading through The Kill Order, you can tell that the writing has improved astronomically and the pacing is much better although there are still many things left to desire. The events are more captivating and you genuinely care for the new characters that are introduced. From the very first moment Mark, Trina and Alec were introduced, you knew they were doomed just because of what happened in the Trilogy before it. The Kill Order goes through quickly how the sun flares destroyed civilization and then follows on how the remnants of humanity are surviving in the harsh post-apocalyptic world. The main characters are likeable and you can feel the same fear and hopelessness they feel when their lives are turned upside down once again. We get to slowly see how the Flare virus was unleashed upon the world, although the rationale behind using it was sketchy at best. The author tried to add too many things into the plot that it feels weird and unnecessary, from cults to deranged people, nothing was consistent. There were several moments where the constant violent and fights will start to feel generic and lose their momentum but the ending was excellent and serves as a fantastic conclusion to the story. However, once you finish the book, you feel as if the original Maze Runner novel was a standalone and then the author just backfilled the plot for the novels afterwards since all these events feel completely different in tone and intention.
Rating: 7/10
