5 Worlds Book 3: The Red Maze by Mark Siegel, Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, & Boya Sun is the continuation of the series that I started back in December 2018. [Reviews for Book 1 and Book 2] It's such a fun read but because it's a collaborative project there's a long break in between publishing dates. Therefore, if you're waiting for the next book in the series you're going to be waiting until later this year for it.

infuriating in a good way!

Thanks to NetGalley and to Ebury Digital for providing me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.

Although Who Moved My Cheese? was published a long time ago (in 1998) and I had seen it around, I only learned more about it when I was working on the translation of a self-help book. The author referred to Johnson’s fable in his text and I had to check it out. When I saw this sequel announced on NetGalley I felt curious.

Most of you will be familiar with the first book, but in short, it is the fable of two mice and two little people who live in a maze and feed on cheese that magically appears every day. Suddenly, after things have been like this for a long time, the cheese disappears. The two mice go as well, seemingly looking for more cheese, but the two little people don’t agree on what to do. One of them decides to try to find more cheese, while the other stays put, convinced that things will go back to the way they were soon enough. As is the case with all good fables, lessons are learned.

In this book, the central fable is framed by a discussion group. The class has been talking about the original book, and one of the students asks what happen to the character left behind. The teacher then comes back with a story, which is the follow-up to the previous one, but this time the protagonist is Hem, the character left behind. Throughout the book he meets hope, has to confront his set of beliefs, and learns invaluable lessons.

Like the previous one, this book is really short, under 100 pages, and that includes a note from one of the author’s collaborators and some background to this work. The author died from pancreatic cancer in 2017, and the story of how he handled his disease (including a letter he wrote to his cancer) is also an important part of the book.  

The book, like its predecessor, does not provide brand-new ideas or earth-shattering insights. Having said that, the lessons become easier to remember because they are provided in the format of a fable.  Having the distance and the perspective afforded by reading about imaginary characters in an imaginary situation allows people to think about their own lives and find similarities in outlook that might not be welcome if pointed out directly or if our behaviour is confronted head-on. Realising something for oneself is much more effective and causes less resistance than having somebody tell us where we went wrong.

The discussion group and its members also provide some examples of real-life situations and how to deal with them.

In sum, this is a short book, written in simple language, easy to read, and it can be useful to people who feel stuck in a rut and cannot see a way forward. It would also provide useful and easy read to course facilitators looking into topics such as belief-systems and how to change one’s perspective.

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."