And, yes, I know no one noticed since I don't do much here.

 

BUT!  This book was intense!

 

The suspense had me on edge and then this popped up:

 

"If someone's going to die every night anyway, we might as well use it to our advantage."

 

Newt frowned.  "Well, ain't that just cheery."

 

I laughed out loud.  Broke the tension just enough.  

 

 

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd think about this in book form, because I saw the movies first and loved them. I had to wait until the 3rd film came out and I saw how all the movies came together, what they formed, and knew the story, before I delved in.

I'm glad I did. Just like Harry Potter, the books are just as good, if not better, than the movies. And they provide so much back story that is lacking from the movies, which helps make the whole plot clearer and more rounded.

The book is both similar and different to the movie, in the best ways. It gives more detail, it makes the story refreshing, and it makes more sense of the things that weren't properly explained in the movies. However, I do feel that the films better portrayed a "survival" lifestyle better. Here, in the book, they have dishwashers, washing machines, houses with windows, watches, and read food like steak and ham and cheese sandwiches. I get that they can request things from the box, but it makes it feel a little less like a trial and far too comfortable, with the added luxuries. It's no wonder that there wasn't a huge revolt to find their way out of the maze sooner, because they had a pretty cushy life - they had the serum to cure stings, they had the walls to keep them safe at night. It was a perfectly comfortable set-up, rather than a savage and survival training landscape.

Saying that, I loved the way the book differed and made more sense. The conflicts with Gally made so much more sense, and I thought the fight between Minho and Gally was just epic! I also found Chuck to be much sweeter, more clueless and scared. At the same time, I have to applaud the casting of the movies, because the actors fit the personalities of the book characters perfectly. I could envision the actors playing out their parts, as I was reading.

Overall, the plot was strong, well formed, and well paced. Things were explained in a rational and reasonable manner, and timeframe, while the logistics of the discoveries after Thomas arrived were well explained and explored. The ending was nicely rounded off, to provide a complete story arc, while letting us know that there is so much more to come.

A well written, compelling read.

~

Favourite Quote

"I swear, Chuck," he whispered to no one. "I swear I'll get you back home."

this book seems exciting

German and english review

 

Ich geb dem ganzen 5 Sterne, weil ich es gleich nach dem letzten Teil gelesen habe und ich die paar Seiten so viel unterhaltsamer fand, als den letzten Teil. Ich fand die näheren Hintergrundinformationen mal richtig interessant und die Form wie es geschrieben war, war anders und es hat sich wirklich super schnell lesen lassen.

 

***

I'm giving this 5 stars, cause I read this right after the last book and I thought that these few pages were just so much more entertaining that the whole last book. I loved that we got more background informations, really interesting and the way it was written, different and so easy to read.

German and english review

 

Ich habe nicht wirklich viel positives über den letzten Teil der Reihe zu berichten, um ganz ehrlich zu sein. Es ist schon eine Weile her, dass ich den zweiten Teil gelesen habe, trotzdem hatte ich keine Probleme wieder in die Geschichte zurück zufinden. Der Schreibstil an sich, war wunderbar einfach und  gerade die kurzen Kapitel, haben es leicht gemacht durch das Buch zu kommen.

 

Doch das war es eigentlich auch schon. Ich mag wirklich nicht, wie die ganze Sache abgeschlossen wurde. Ich finde nicht, dass wirklich zufriedenstellend war. Die Charaktere, ich weiß nicht, ich war einfach nur genervt und wollte es so schnell wie möglich hinter mich bringen, damit ich nichts mehr über die Charaktere lesen muss. Waren die schon immer so nervig? Ist mir das nur in dem Teil besonders aufgefallen?

 

Es gab wirklich viel Spannung in dem Buch und auch sehr viel Action, doch die Antworten und die Lösungen, die uns gegeben wurden, waren einfach viel zu wenig. Ich hatte wirklich mehr erwartet.

 

***

 

To be completely honest, I don't really have many positive things to say about the last book in the trilogy. It's been a while since I read the second book but I didn't have any problems getting back into the story. The writing was really good and especially the short chapters made it easy to get through this book pretty fast.

 

But that's about it, really. I I don't really like how the story ended. I don't think that it was satisfying in any way. The characters, I don't know, I was just annoyed and wanted to get through this book fast, so I didn't have to read them anymore. Where they always like that? Did I just notice it more this time around?

 

There was lots of action and stuff like that going on, but the answers and the resolution to things, just weren't enough. I expected something different and way more than what they gave us.