It was almost like how, even though he couldn't see Minho, he knew his friend lay only a few feet above him.

I'd put my money on you against at least half these shanks.Ī long stretch of silence followed, though somehow Thomas could still sense her presence. Then he quickly added, Not that you need protecting. I'm pretty sure they locked the door when they left. Just on the other side of that big common room where we ate last night. Where'd they take you, anyway? She sounded so sad that he almost wanted to get up and look for her, but he knew better. But it sucks being alone after everything we went through. Melancholy seeped into his brain with her words, stuck to them like syrup. She was the only girl and the rest of the Gladers were teenage boys―a bunch of shanks they didn't trust yet. I hate that they separated me from you guys, she said. How ridiculous was it that he loved hearing her say something like that to him? That her sarcasm meant things were going to be okay? You're an idiot, he told himself, then hoped she didn't hear that thought. But what he said to Teresa was: It'll go away. His friend Chuck, stabbed in the chest, bleeding, dying as Thomas held him. Maybe even go completely nutso.Īnd above it all, he had one image burned into his memories as strongly as a branded mark from a searing hot iron. He figured that most if not all of them would have major psychological problems. Those images would never leave―the Gladers would be haunted by the horrible things that had happened in the Maze for the rest of their lives. How're we gonna get something like that out of our heads? Their disgusting skin and blubber bodies, all those metal arms and spikes. What do you think? Somehow she projected a jab of cynicism into the words. He stared at the bottom of the bunk above him―featureless and darkly fuzzy in the shadow―where Minho was currently breathing like a guy with ungodly amounts of phlegm lodged in his throat. Didn't give me much choice in the matter, did you? Kind of hard to sleep when someone's talking directly into your skull. Even though she wouldn't be able to see it, it would be embarrassing all the same. I was hoping you were awake to keep me company. He spoke back, forming the words with his thoughts. But he heard it all the same, though never could he have explained to anyone how it worked.Įxhaling a deep breath, he relaxed into his pillow, his razor-edged nerves settling down from that fleeting moment of terror. He was safe now, rescued and delivered to this dormitory. The soft breaths and gurgly snores of boys deep in slumber. But there was a faint light, and lumps of dim shadow gradually emerged throughout the huge room. At first he panicked his eyes snapped open as he imagined himself back in the Box―that horrible cube of cold metal that had delivered him to the Glade and the Maze. Thomas shifted in his bed, felt a darkness around him like air turned solid, pressing in. My review of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J.She spoke to him before the world fell apart. It had all been a dream” you will probably be able to hear my screams. If the great mystery around all the trials is resolved with “And then Thomas woke up. I really, really hope the third and final installment in the series – The Death Cure – isn’t a let down. I think the reader could be let in on a few more secrets without spoiling the big mystery around the trials and how they are apparently going to help save humanity. Near the end of the book, when one of the characters realizes that, once again, they’ve gone through a lot of bad stuff only to be sent back to square one (or has he, who knows?), he starts screaming and screaming and screaming. My criticism would be that we still aren’t told enough. Whereas in Book 1 the characters were stuck in one place trying to get out of the maze, in The Scorch Trials they have to make it from A to B, a linear quest which forms the backbone for a strong narrative arc. I think it has better structure, probably because Dashner has cleared off a lot of background stuff in Book 1 and can just focus on the action. I enjoyed this as much, if not a little more than The Maze Runner. Who will make it? And who the heck are WICKED, the organization behind the trials? And all in the name of helping to produce a cure for a disease which threatens to wipe out mankind. The survivors are now thrown into trial 2: a 100-mile trek across a post-apocalytic, sun-baked wasteland with all sort of nasties between them and a supposed “safe haven”. You can also read my review of The Maze Runner here. SPOILER ALERT! As this is the second book in the series, it’s pretty hard to talk about it with spoiling the first book for anyone who hasn’t read it.

Lots of action, familiar characters and a strong narrative arc make The Scorch Trials another quick, entertaining read.

The scorch trials