The Scorch Trials is a YA sci-fi novel by James Dashner and the second book in The Maze Runner trilogy.If you haven’t read The Maze Runner, I suggest reading yesterday’s review of the novel and avoiding this synopsis, since it will obviously contain spoilers of the first book. The Maze Runner was awesome, so don’t ruin it!!!
Otherwise, for all of you who have read The Maze Runner, proceed:
The Scorch Trials takes off right where we left our characters in The Maze Runner. Thomas, Teresa, Minho, Newt and all the other surviving Gladers have just been rescued from WICKED, the Creators of the enormous maze they were trapped in and, apparently, being observed in.
They’ve just had a good meal, a shower, and are laying down for a solid night’s sleep after days of awfulness and death – but Thomas’ dreams are cut short by a telepathic scream from Teresa.
When Thomas and the other Gladers wake up, nothing is what it was when they went to bed. None of their rescuers are around. They can’t seem to find a door out of the place. And wild, violent, insane people infected with a disease called the Flare are trying to get in.
Yet things get even worse from there. It doesn’t take Thomas and the others long to realize that Teresa is missing. In fact, it seems a random, unfamiliar boy they’ve never seen has been placed in her room and is just as surprised and alarmed to see them.
Obviously they may have made it out of the maze, but the game is far from over.
A new mission is laid out and Thomas and the others find themselves crossing a scorched, unspeakably hot desert dotted with crumbled buildings and dangerous Cranks (the term for those infected with the Flare), with new horrors around every corner.
But Thomas and the others aren’t giving up. They’ll find Teresa. They’ll survive.
And, eventually, they’ll find the Creators…
I tried to give a decent overview of the plot of The Scorch Trials without giving anything MAJOR out. I hope I succeeded.
I really, really liked The Maze Runner – and here in The Scorch Trials , James Dashner is at it again! This is another twisty, bewildering, conspiracy-theory, freaky, suspenseful, energetic, rapidly paced novel to continue a puzzle that seems to become even more complex with time. Yet I still feel like The Death Cure (the third novel in the trilogy, which I’ll be reviewing on Monday) will provide answers, so I’m more than happy to go on this trippy, scary, nail-biting journey with Thomas and the others.
Though I don’t know if I could say I was as pleased with it as I was with The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials takes the psychological side of the novels to a new high and really plunges you into a I-can’t-trust-anyone, what-the-hell-is-going-on? feeling that is fun to sink into.
I was never once bored. Not even a teeny bit. And when James Dashner throws in his own version of a zombie-like infection, it’s pretty darn creepy, if a tad familiar. Overall, though, this is a book that messes with your mind – it’s all a big enigma. You never know who’s telling the truth, what is planned and what isn’t, and if it will EVER be over. That’s what’s exciting.
So, I’m prepared to jump into The Death Cure – hopefully the answers and end will be as exhilarating and breathless as the journey to get there was!
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