Spoilers for The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Holy crap! This book
starts of pretty much where the previous novel left off, with Thomas and the
others who have escaped the maze finally safe from dangers. Or so they think. Things just get crazier and crazier as things
speed along. Forced to go through yet
another series of challenges, they hardly get a single night’s sleep before
they are once again off and running. The
promise of a cure pushes them to move forward but it becomes increasingly
difficult to know who to trust.
Those how have been infected are called Cranks and they
become violent. In spite of this, Thomas
and the others join forces with Jorge and Brenda who help Thomas, especially,
to survive the dangers of passing through a city filled with infected people. Of course, Brenda serves as a love interest,
creating a triangle for Thomas with Teresa.
Frankly, this was the weakest part of the narrative conflict for
me. I prefer the tension of just surviving.
What I didn’t understand is why, when “The Rat Man” clearly
stated that the survivors couldn’t trust anything they saw, heard, or
experienced, the boys would trust anything
WICKED does. No, instead of mistrusting
the corporation that tortured these children in the maze, the characters just
go along with everything, even the cryptic significance of the tattoos they all
have upon waking up. Really? Why? Every teenager I ever met is more than happy
to question the authority of adults.
In spite of the
unquestioning faith the characters seem to have, I was sucked into the story
and desperate for one character in particular to survive to the end. Not just of this novel but the third. Which
is why I was so eager to get to the third book when I finished this one.
