Maze Runner Series - Box Set Paperback – 3 Sept. 2015

I have read all these books before, and got this set for my cousin as I thought he would enjoy them. They arrived in perfect condition, no complaints there.I'll do my best to tell you the story without spoiling it. The Maze Runner is advertised as a must for fans of The Hunger Games, and as a fan of The Hunger Games I can say that there is a little truth in this, but not entire truth. HThere are definitely similarities in the fact that there is a dystopia world where children fight to free themselves (and the rest of the world) from oppression of a kind, but I believe they end there. I didn't find it had any of the moral-challenging aspects that I wrestled with through The Hunger Games (which, btw, is one of my favorite series).The story is good, and it is fairly compelling to read as you associated with the main characters feelings. There are lots of unexpected moments which you probably won't have guessed, and a lot of the story involves the protagonist's attempts at divining what is actually true.Here comes my main criticism. James Dasher always seems to go over the top in his writing. In multiple places, things become a little too fanciful, a little too weird, or more confusing than they need to be. What would have otherwise scored 5/5 for me lost 1 star because of this. Some of the beings, characters and events just have these slightly wacky descriptions, and it detracts from the story a bit.Conslusion: good book. Definitely a "teenagers book" (sorry if you are a teenager and feel patronised, but know that I am one too). Motivation to read is fairly consistent, but some of the weird stuff detracts from what would otherwise get a top score from me.

It is worth reading the first book even if you've watched the movie, because many details have been modified for the movie.My verdict: The movie was better than the books.The movie wasted no time trying to be a psychological thriller. It was a straight up action movie. The book is also pretty much an action story, but it tries way too hard to also be a psychological thriller and it fails at that. The writing style is too straightforward and simplistic to pull off anything more complex than action.The overall story is original and very interesting and I think it had great potential, but it was let down by the narration. I found the experience extremely clinical, with no emotional investment in the story or the characters.The narration focuses entirely on the protagonist, while all other characters are left completely undeveloped, nothing more than stage props, even the recurring key ones. If, like me, you don't like the protagonist much, there are no other options, no other characters with enough development to create an emotional connection with the reader. Since the story is not narrated in first person, to justify the exclusive focus on the protagonist, it should have taken turns narrating from the point of view of different characters. I think that would have made it a truly epic experience.Regarding the physical books:The books I received were not the version shown, with the black cover and fancy letters. They were the coloured cover with the relatively plain 2-tone print, despite the sellers assurance in the description that it would be the new cover.The books are a set, but it is NOT a BOXED set. There is a wrap, like the paper cover they put over hardcover books and that's all. Of course it didn't claim it was a boxed set, but usually that's how it goes with book sets, doesn't it?

Having watched the movie of the first book before reading it, I was so disappointed that it was touch and go whether or not I would buy the book at all! However, the film's confusing conclusion left so many questions unanswered that I did go ahead and buy the Kindle collection of all 4 of the 'Maze Runner' books ... and I'm so very glad I did! The story line starts with the main character, Thomas, being unceremoniously dumped into a maze which is already populated by around 50 other boys. The characters cannot remember anything from their past prior to the maze and are struggling to survive on a day to day basis. Their objective is to escape the maze and they have been trying to do this without success for 2 years. Of course, when Thomas arrives, things begin to go wrong and this creates some conflict between the boys. As the story develops across books 1-4, it becomes clear where these boys came from, who is driving them and for what purpose, but I should warn you that it's only really when you get to the end of book 4 that everything is absolutely crystal clear. Initially, I was concerned that book 4 centred around completely different characters to the ones I had followed in books 1-3. Don't be put off by this though - it's a real page turner, (as all of the books are!) and I was actually really sad to finish reading them.

Great book but there are some flaws. The writing and dialogue isn't great. There is more telling than showing, lots of repeated phrases and repeated descriptions throughout, and characters always withholding information from the antagonist which gets tiring fast.The characters could definitely be fleshed out more. They are not cardboard cut-outs but they aren't three-dimensional either. I actually found Thomas quite dull and daft and liked the other characters more.Despite the flaws, I really enjoyed it and I couldn't put it down because the plot is so unique and gripping and each chapter ended on a cliff hanger. It was an easy and relaxing read and I care enough about the characters to check out the other books.