Book Review - " The Death Cure " by James Dashner

Thomas knows that WICKED can't be trusted. They stole his memories and locked him inside the Maze. They forced him to the brink of death by dropping him in the wilds of the Scorch. And they took the Gladers, his only friends, from him.

Now WICKED says that the time for lies is over. That they've collected all the data they can from the Trials and will rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission: to complete the blueprint for the cure for the Flare. But the Gladers must undergo one final test.

What WICKED doesn't know, however, is that Thomas has already remembered far more than they think. And it's enough to prove that he can't believe a word of what WICKED says. The time for lies is over. And the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever have imagined.

WILL ANYONE SURVIVE THE DEATH CURE?

MY REVIEW:

Well, Well, Well..... what has the "Dude" himself done this time???  As usual, I don't want to give too much away, but I'm gonna give you a look into what to expect.  And your expectations will be exceeded, that's for sure.  The question I am still asking myself even after finishing the book is one that I know you ALL have been wondering-  Is WICKED good?  I know once this is released, many of you will have your own opinion on that.  Me- the best answer I can give you is - I think so.

For starters, the "Rat Man" is back, and he is back with a vengeance!  This dude has a mission and he will not stop until it is accomplished.  His mission- find a cure for the Flare.  Or so it seems.  As one of the main characters in this one, he is paired with the usual- Thomas, Brenda, Minho, Jorge, Teresa, Newt (oh, poor Newt!) and a few more.

Here's the deal- most of the Gladers get their memory back, including some of the main honchos.  Which ones?? That's not up for grabs here... The idea is that WICKED gives it back (cool machine that does it too!) and they can understand what is needed to complete the puzzle for the cure.  Problem for WICKED is not all of the gladers trust them and those who "choose" not to get their memories back- well that's where the story gets interesting.

As I said I won't tell you guys too much to spoil things but I do want to tell you something that definitely makess the book a whole lot more interesting- there are some people called "munies".... Can you guess why? If not, I'll make it easy.... they are immune to the Flare!  Again, as to not spoil much, I wont tell you who is immune and who isn't.  Plays a big part, REAL BIG!  The cranks hate the munies, that's for sure!

So throughout the book, the jist is that WICKED is trying to get Thomas and co on board with getting that last piece of the puzzle for the cure.  Problem is, Thomas and co. don't really believe it's possible.  Hence, a story line is built.

There is one passage from the book that for some reason I singled out while reading that I just SO badly wanted to put in here.  I don't think it will give too much away, and I think you will appreciate it.  It gives you a bit of insight as to what the overall deal is that I know a lot of you have wondered about.  I promise it won't spoil anything, just give you some answers to some questions you may have had after reading the Scorch Trials... and for the record, it is Thomas recalling a small part of what he knows about WICKED and what happened... Here goes....

"The sun flares pummeled the earth. Security in many government buildings was compromised. A man-made virus engineered for biological warfare leaked from a military center for disease control. That virus hit all the major population centers and spread rapidly. It became known as the Flare. The surviving governments put all their resources into WICKED, who found the best and brightest of those who were immune. They began their plans to stimulate and map the brain patterns of all known human emotions and study how we operate despite having the Flare rooted into our brains. The research wil lead to..."

I really, really wanted to share that with you guys because I don't think it gives anything away from this book, but definitely answers a few quetions you may have had in your minds.

Anyway, so getting back to the situation, I want to leave you with a few things to wet your appetite a bit- first of all, the book is filled with surprises and emotions. Old enemies become new friends, the Gladers end up back in the Maze at some point (don't worry, it's only for a short amount of time!), we see our old friends again- the Grievers (again, very briefly, since this time it's a TON easier to disarm them!), Bergs again (the giant ships that reminds me of the millenium Falcon for some reason), people die- and yes Dashner kills off some people you would NOT expect to be killed off, the trans flat is used again- (man I loved that thing ever since the first time I read about it!), and as for the Death Cure- well, I'm gonna spin that one to a question- "What exactly IS the Death Cure?"  I believe your own opinion to that one will decide whether or not there really is one.

I'll throw this one in there in case the Dude himself happens to read this- Denver... just curious, why Denver? Never gave any clue as to "why".... must be a favorite vacation spot or something ;o)

Anyway, I'm going to end this sort of how I started it.... Is WICKED good? Again, I think so, but that's my opinion and that's all I have to say about that.  Dashner prevails again.

DAVE

***PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU GO DOWN A FEW POSTS AND ENTER TO WIN FOR THE CONTEST FOR ONE OF OUR FAVORITE AUTHOR'S BOOKS, LAURA BINGHAM AND THE ALVOR SERIES! POST A COMMENT HERE UNDER THIS REVIEW AND GO DOWN TO THE CONTEST AND ADD ANOTHER +2 ENTRIES FOR THE ALVOR CONTEST!***

Oh, and just cause I have to.... A review copy of this book was provided by Random House for review purposes only.  I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.