Book of the Month - December Review

Title: Maze Cutter

Author: James Dashner

The Maze Runner series is definitely one of my top young adult fiction series. I always enjoy the character development, the science that is incorporated into all the books, and of course the underdog fighting back. It was so sad after I read the Death Cure because I felt that it was the end of the series. But that all changed…I was walking through my local library and there it was, another book in the series. The Maze Cutter!

It breaks into different storylines for four different characters within the book. Isaac and Jackie, who are the island descendants of the original Gladers (Thomas and his fellow survivors of the Maze Runner series), Alexandra, the goddess of the Godheads, and Minho, the “Orphan” from the Remnant Nations. James Dashner does a great job at setting the stage for each of these stories and getting to know each of these main characters. I also really do enjoy being able to see multiple sides of the story because I feel it really helps with connections between events and characters.

What I did not really like was that there seemed to be a lot of missing information. In all honesty, this might be all on me because it has been so long since I have read the previous book. Either way, most of the time I felt very lost and unsure what was actually going on and why. Granted the characters did not know what was happening either based on them continuously asking everyone they meet, but every response was you will find out. This was frustrating for me. I understand the need to wait a little bit longer in later books to answer many questions, but it felt like absolutely no question was answered.

I am still unsure how the Godhead and the Remnant Nation came about, and I still have no idea what group Kletter belongs to, she was the driver of the ship that took the original Glader back to the mainland. Again, maybe there were hints mentioned related to previous books that I just did not catch, so it might be a good idea for me to reread the series once more and see if I can fill in the holes that way.

Does this uncertainty make the book bad? No, I don’t think so. A lot of books like to keep the readers asking questions all the way up to the last book. My problem is I am that kind of person who wants to know everything right away. This is the issue with being a needy reader. My bad!

The big question is would I recommend this book?

Yes and No.

If you have read the Maze Runner Series you absolutely need to read this book. I mean Frypan makes an appearance so you at least have to reminisce with him. Plus I really enjoy the direction of the story with the evolution of the virus, the new post-apocalyptic nations, and also the collaboration between characters.

If you have never read the Maze Runner Series or even seen the movies, then I feel you will be even more lost than me. On that note, however, you all should read the Maze Runner Series if you enjoy “end of days” young adult fiction. And if you don’t want to read a whole series, then you can always try to watch the movies (FULL DISCLAIMER - The books are way better than movies!). After you have caught up with the first three books of the series, then read Maze Cutter.

So let’s rank it! Remember my ratings are feathers - based on the Polish golden eagle (I would like to add that my rating in no way means the book was bad…it more states that it just wasn’t my type of book but others should still try it out). One feather probably won't be read again and five feathers mean that this will be a book I read every year.

Maze Cutter: 3.5/5 feathers!

Action scenes were great and really kept me reading! But having so many unknowns made it difficult to follow the story sometimes.

Have you read Secrets of the Mist? What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them and possibly share them here with everyone. And if you haven’t read it, please do give it a try!

Like I always say -

GOTTA READ EM ALL!