Movie Review: Pan (2015)
I'm tired of movie retreads. But I wasn't tired of the Pan remake of the classic Peter Pan story. It was imaginative, colorful, fluent, evocative, and most of all, it was fun. For all ages.
This version of the classic Peter Pan tale tells the story of Peter's origins. He is an orphan, left as a baby on the doorstep of a nunnery in World War II London. The nunnery runs an orphanage, and the orphanage sells the young boys to pirates, who arrive in the night to drop down from sailing ships in the sky to take them away to Neverland. In Neverland the boys are "freed" to mine for "pixem" (fairy dust) on behalf of the most famous and fearsome pirate of all time, Blackbeard. But when Peter's mother left him at the nunnery, she left him with a small token around his neck: a tiny pan or flute that proves that he is no ordinary boy. He's a foretold boy who can fly, who will save the inhabitants of the island.
Lifted up to Neverland with other boys one night, Peter is taken to Neverland to toil away on Blackbeard's behalf. And the battle to save Neverland and kill Blackbeard begins. Along the way, Peter meets Hook, an adventurer who befriends the young lad, and Tiger Lily, who protects the fairies from the pirates. When it is discovered that Peter can fly, the conflict between Peter and Blackbeard is set up and the battle between them begins, with Hook and Tiger Lily at his side against Blackbeard and his band of merry pirates.
The acting in this film is superb. Hugh Jackman is barely recognizable but brilliant as Blackbeard. The film introduces Levi Miller as Peter, commanding in the role for one so young. Garrett Hedlund is Hook, surprisingly likable for the scourge of a character he is usually portrayed. And Rooney Mara is Tiger Lily, a beautiful but fearsome tribal princess sworn to protect the fairies.
The staging, the set decoration, the visuals, the color, the effects are all wonderful. Even the flying sequences are accomplished effortlessly. One example of the brilliance of this film is that gunshots are seen not simply as gun flashes with shot flying but as bursts of powdery color. The fairies are winged sparkles of color. The tribe's encampment is a concoction of colorful wigwams and tents and tree houses, almost carnival like. The Neverland island is an amazing amalgam of jungle-like rain forests and caves. Mermaids are beautiful swimming creatures with shimmers in their tails. And the crocodiles are giants that can leap through the air. Neverland and the trip there are a fantasy voyage of the imagination.
In Neverland mythology, the boy who can fly comes to kill Blackbeard. And Blackbeard is intent on mining the entire island of pixem, which rejuvenates him, the last part of the island not yet mined being where the fairies live, hidden. And so the final epic battle is between Blackbeard and Peter, who doesn't believe he can really fly. But when all of Neverland is at stake, Peter's faith in himself is put to the test. Ships fly, fairies fly, crocodiles fly - oh why, oh why, can't I?
I've seen a lot of the Peter Pan films and I think this is one of the best. For sheer fun and imagination it tops all the others. Pan makes for a great evening of family entertainment. Watch it on DVD.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Victor Frankenstein: Campy, Hokey - Still, Not Your Typical Frankenstein Remake
Movie Review: Victor Frankenstein (2015)
Enough already of the movie remakes! Victor Frankenstein is one of those. Hollywood is hurting for good scripts - I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Victor Frankenstein features James McAvoy as the named character, now as the rich-kid medical student who doesn't feel fulfilled by his medical studies and is failing, so he decides to go off on his own and research bringing the dead back to life. Daniel Radcliffe is his sidekick, a bumbling but brilliant hunchback picked up from the circus, who creates chaos during an act that results in a death. Hunted down for that murder, Frankenstein gives the Radcliffe character the name of his "traveling" roommate, Igor, and invites him to be his assistant. Turns out the hunched back comes from an abscess along "Igor's" spine, which Frankenstein removes and then straightens his spine. Lame excuse to give Radcliffe the Igor name to fit in with the Frankenstein franchise (sorry, pun not intended, but we'll keep it).
What is unique about this version is that instead of just working on a re-animating a human, this story begins with Frankenstein attempting to reanimate other dead animals first. Also new, Frankenstein and Igor are pursued by a policeman driven by evidence from the death at the circus that leads him to believe someone is toying with nature, against his puritan beliefs. In some ways, he is almost a caricature of Sherlock Holmes in his methods and his intensity. It isn't until Frankenstein presents his findings before the royal medical society, fails, and is driven out of London that he moves to a remote location that Frankenstein pursues the re-animation of a human. Igor has given up on the effort for moral reasons, but then suddenly has a change of heart and seeks out Frankenstein again.
All of the elements of this story converge at the coastal location as a strong storm approaches from the sea and Frankenstein attempts to bring a human form back to life using lightning. Igor arrives in time to assist, while the police officer arrives in time to try to stop him. I won't spoil the ending other than to comment that the closing was hokey.
There is a love interest in the story, Lorelei. Instead of being for Frankenstein, Lorelei is for Igor. That's totally different, as is the entire story being told from Igor's perspective.
I've never been a fan of "monster" stories, of which I would label any Frankenstein story. This version was sufficiently different to make it a diversion, but parts of Victor Frankenstein were so campy or hokey as to make them a distraction. So I can't recommend this film wholeheartedly. Perhaps come Halloween, if you want a silly monster movie for the fun of it, this one would make a good chuckle.
Enough already of the movie remakes! Victor Frankenstein is one of those. Hollywood is hurting for good scripts - I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Victor Frankenstein features James McAvoy as the named character, now as the rich-kid medical student who doesn't feel fulfilled by his medical studies and is failing, so he decides to go off on his own and research bringing the dead back to life. Daniel Radcliffe is his sidekick, a bumbling but brilliant hunchback picked up from the circus, who creates chaos during an act that results in a death. Hunted down for that murder, Frankenstein gives the Radcliffe character the name of his "traveling" roommate, Igor, and invites him to be his assistant. Turns out the hunched back comes from an abscess along "Igor's" spine, which Frankenstein removes and then straightens his spine. Lame excuse to give Radcliffe the Igor name to fit in with the Frankenstein franchise (sorry, pun not intended, but we'll keep it).
What is unique about this version is that instead of just working on a re-animating a human, this story begins with Frankenstein attempting to reanimate other dead animals first. Also new, Frankenstein and Igor are pursued by a policeman driven by evidence from the death at the circus that leads him to believe someone is toying with nature, against his puritan beliefs. In some ways, he is almost a caricature of Sherlock Holmes in his methods and his intensity. It isn't until Frankenstein presents his findings before the royal medical society, fails, and is driven out of London that he moves to a remote location that Frankenstein pursues the re-animation of a human. Igor has given up on the effort for moral reasons, but then suddenly has a change of heart and seeks out Frankenstein again.
All of the elements of this story converge at the coastal location as a strong storm approaches from the sea and Frankenstein attempts to bring a human form back to life using lightning. Igor arrives in time to assist, while the police officer arrives in time to try to stop him. I won't spoil the ending other than to comment that the closing was hokey.
There is a love interest in the story, Lorelei. Instead of being for Frankenstein, Lorelei is for Igor. That's totally different, as is the entire story being told from Igor's perspective.
I've never been a fan of "monster" stories, of which I would label any Frankenstein story. This version was sufficiently different to make it a diversion, but parts of Victor Frankenstein were so campy or hokey as to make them a distraction. So I can't recommend this film wholeheartedly. Perhaps come Halloween, if you want a silly monster movie for the fun of it, this one would make a good chuckle.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Room: Creepy and Scary Yet Also Brilliantly Told
Movie Review: Room (2015)
Room is both creepy and scary, yet it's also intelligently told not as a horror tale nor as a thriller. It delves deeply into the experiences of the victims of a pedophile kidnapped as a teen and the son who is birthed as a result of her imprisonment as a teen.
The film begins simply enough showing the mother, Ma , and her son, Jack, living a normal seeming life in a small apartment. There's a bed and a bath and a kitchen. As the story expands, so does your sense of their isolation. The only window in the room is a skylight. They exercise there, play there, do chores there. But never do Ma and Jack ever leave the room. Food is provided. And while Jack wakes up in Ma's bed, you find that when Jack goes to bed he sleeps in the bottom of the wardrobe. When the pedophile Old Nick shows up, there's an electronic series of tones, and Ma puts Jack to bed. Old Nick then gets into bed with Ma.
Jack's toys are simple. They are the occasional books, some of which are beyond his reading age. Others are toys he has made out of everyday objects, like egg shells and toilet paper rolls. Ma tells Jack stories, and they imagine a world beyond that of their small room. But you then realize, Jack has never seen anything or anyone outside the walls of what turns out to be a backyard shed.
Never sensationalized, Room is adeptly told with realism. Theirs is a world of isolation and terror. Old Nick comes for his predatory sex, although you never really see that - it is implied. Then one night Jack is awake and emerges from the wardrobe to find Old Nick in bed with Ma. He quietly walks over to the bed to investigate and Old Nick wakes up. Curious about Jack, he talks to him and Ma wakes up and attacks Old Nick. "Don't ever touch Jack!" Old Nick rolls over on her and nearly chokes her, demonstrating his dominance. He angrily leaves and turns off the power to the room. It's winter and the room gets cold. Very cold. It's then that Ma comes up with her plan to help Jack escape.
Jack is courageous as he pulls off Ma's escape plan. Never having seen anything outside the room, Jack is exposed to a seemingly limitless world, overwhelming to his senses. But Jack is strong. And Jack brings help for Ma. But their struggle is only half over. For while Ma coped with her imprisonment and bringing up Jack in their isolation, now freed she must cope with their freedom and the implications of their confinement and the violence and shame of their life with a pedophile. It's a long, enduring journey. And in the end, it is Jack's strength that rescues Ma.
With extreme sensitivity, Room brilliantly tells the story of their journey. While I don't recommend this film for every audience, it is a story well told for many. I can now see why it was nominated for and won so many top awards. It will help you understand what families go through when a child is kidnapped and is years later rescued.
Room is both creepy and scary, yet it's also intelligently told not as a horror tale nor as a thriller. It delves deeply into the experiences of the victims of a pedophile kidnapped as a teen and the son who is birthed as a result of her imprisonment as a teen.
The film begins simply enough showing the mother, Ma , and her son, Jack, living a normal seeming life in a small apartment. There's a bed and a bath and a kitchen. As the story expands, so does your sense of their isolation. The only window in the room is a skylight. They exercise there, play there, do chores there. But never do Ma and Jack ever leave the room. Food is provided. And while Jack wakes up in Ma's bed, you find that when Jack goes to bed he sleeps in the bottom of the wardrobe. When the pedophile Old Nick shows up, there's an electronic series of tones, and Ma puts Jack to bed. Old Nick then gets into bed with Ma.
Jack's toys are simple. They are the occasional books, some of which are beyond his reading age. Others are toys he has made out of everyday objects, like egg shells and toilet paper rolls. Ma tells Jack stories, and they imagine a world beyond that of their small room. But you then realize, Jack has never seen anything or anyone outside the walls of what turns out to be a backyard shed.
Never sensationalized, Room is adeptly told with realism. Theirs is a world of isolation and terror. Old Nick comes for his predatory sex, although you never really see that - it is implied. Then one night Jack is awake and emerges from the wardrobe to find Old Nick in bed with Ma. He quietly walks over to the bed to investigate and Old Nick wakes up. Curious about Jack, he talks to him and Ma wakes up and attacks Old Nick. "Don't ever touch Jack!" Old Nick rolls over on her and nearly chokes her, demonstrating his dominance. He angrily leaves and turns off the power to the room. It's winter and the room gets cold. Very cold. It's then that Ma comes up with her plan to help Jack escape.
Jack is courageous as he pulls off Ma's escape plan. Never having seen anything outside the room, Jack is exposed to a seemingly limitless world, overwhelming to his senses. But Jack is strong. And Jack brings help for Ma. But their struggle is only half over. For while Ma coped with her imprisonment and bringing up Jack in their isolation, now freed she must cope with their freedom and the implications of their confinement and the violence and shame of their life with a pedophile. It's a long, enduring journey. And in the end, it is Jack's strength that rescues Ma.
With extreme sensitivity, Room brilliantly tells the story of their journey. While I don't recommend this film for every audience, it is a story well told for many. I can now see why it was nominated for and won so many top awards. It will help you understand what families go through when a child is kidnapped and is years later rescued.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Ex Machina: Intelligent AI Movie with a Potent Surprise at the End
Movie Review: Ex Machina (2015)
Ex Machina isn't so much a robot movie as it is a movie about artificial intelligence (AI). It just so happens that this AI has a body and so takes the form of a robot. And so the whole plot for this movie revolves around AI consciousness issues. And it explores those issues intelligently and with a potent surprise at the end.
As the story begins, the main character, Caleb, wins a company competition to spend a week with his reclusive boss, Nathan, on a top secret project. To what purpose? As the smartest, most adept company programmer, it's his job to determine if Nathan's latest AI model, Ava, can pass the Turing Test and appear totally consciously aware.
The setting is a secure remote location that is so removed from civilization, access requires arrival by helicopter and a walk along and across a river. Nathan immediately sets boundaries, like providing access to only certain rooms of the underground bunker by swipe card. And Caleb interviews Ava behind a reinforced-glass barrier. Throughout the interview process, Nathan watches by video - in fact, there are times Nathan watches Caleb by video when Caleb isn't at all aware of the surveillance.
As Caleb interviews Ava, he asks a series of questions to determine if Ava is actually thinking on her own or she is merely acting on an algorithm that mimics individual thought. Pretty soon the question isn't just whether Ava can think on her own, but whether Ava "likes" Caleb. And the questions continue to morph as the interviews progress.
Ava has control over the bunker power and turns it off occasionally, using the short power outages to say things to Caleb while the sound is cut to Nathan. She creates doubt in Caleb's mind whether Nathan is telling Caleb the truth. When Caleb has finally had enough, he creates a plan to escape with Ava.
But then we discover that as much as we think we know what's going on, we find new twists to the plot, twists the lead to a real surprise.
I have to say, this is one of the creepiest AI movies I have seen. I'm not all comfortable with the idea of developing AI to its fullest extent as it is, and Ex Machina does nothing make me any more comfortable with the idea. As a story, it's a brilliantly executed bait-and-switch, not that you aren't expecting twists and turns, but more that you aren't expecting what you finally get.
This movie obviously isn't for kids. Teens will probably lap it up. Techies and geeks will likely love it. If you like science fiction/mystery and technology and are interested in the idea of artificial intelligence, likely you will like Ex Machina, too. But I'm betting you won't see the end coming and it's really worth seeing the movie just for that surprise.
Ex Machina isn't so much a robot movie as it is a movie about artificial intelligence (AI). It just so happens that this AI has a body and so takes the form of a robot. And so the whole plot for this movie revolves around AI consciousness issues. And it explores those issues intelligently and with a potent surprise at the end.
As the story begins, the main character, Caleb, wins a company competition to spend a week with his reclusive boss, Nathan, on a top secret project. To what purpose? As the smartest, most adept company programmer, it's his job to determine if Nathan's latest AI model, Ava, can pass the Turing Test and appear totally consciously aware.
The setting is a secure remote location that is so removed from civilization, access requires arrival by helicopter and a walk along and across a river. Nathan immediately sets boundaries, like providing access to only certain rooms of the underground bunker by swipe card. And Caleb interviews Ava behind a reinforced-glass barrier. Throughout the interview process, Nathan watches by video - in fact, there are times Nathan watches Caleb by video when Caleb isn't at all aware of the surveillance.
As Caleb interviews Ava, he asks a series of questions to determine if Ava is actually thinking on her own or she is merely acting on an algorithm that mimics individual thought. Pretty soon the question isn't just whether Ava can think on her own, but whether Ava "likes" Caleb. And the questions continue to morph as the interviews progress.
Ava has control over the bunker power and turns it off occasionally, using the short power outages to say things to Caleb while the sound is cut to Nathan. She creates doubt in Caleb's mind whether Nathan is telling Caleb the truth. When Caleb has finally had enough, he creates a plan to escape with Ava.
But then we discover that as much as we think we know what's going on, we find new twists to the plot, twists the lead to a real surprise.
I have to say, this is one of the creepiest AI movies I have seen. I'm not all comfortable with the idea of developing AI to its fullest extent as it is, and Ex Machina does nothing make me any more comfortable with the idea. As a story, it's a brilliantly executed bait-and-switch, not that you aren't expecting twists and turns, but more that you aren't expecting what you finally get.
This movie obviously isn't for kids. Teens will probably lap it up. Techies and geeks will likely love it. If you like science fiction/mystery and technology and are interested in the idea of artificial intelligence, likely you will like Ex Machina, too. But I'm betting you won't see the end coming and it's really worth seeing the movie just for that surprise.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
The Kill Order: Full-on Apocalyptic
Book Review: The Kill Order by James Dashner
I'm not a fan of apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic literature, although I did enjoy reading The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure, all part of the Maze Runner series. But The Kill Order is the prequel to that series that tells what led up to the three-part series. This book is full-on apocalyptic.
It's full of rich detail like Dashner's other books, has a main male teenage hero who has crush on a female teenager, and he's fighting a foe - in this case, it's the Flare, the virus set off by the multiple governments that survived a solar flare that roasted Earth. That's where the comparisons end.
The story begins as humans attempt to rebuild their lives after the massive solar flare and then are without warning attacked by an unknown force with darts laced with the virus that will become known as "the Flare." Everything sinks into chaos afterwards as the virus spreads out of control and our main characters, with the aid of two adults who have rescued them after the solar flares, try to find the unknown force to get answers. It takes a downward spiral from there as the characters fight off memories of the effects of the solar flare and then a never-ending zombie-like horde of sick people affected by the virus. It gets down right ugly.
Unlike the Maze Runner series, this book has no happy ending. It's actually quite a depressing read with few high points. At first I thought the main character, Mark, would turn out to become Thomas, and his love interest, Trina, would become Teresa, in The Maze Runner. Sadly, no. Then I thought perhaps one of the minor characters, a child named Deedee who is immune to the virus they rescue during the book, would become Teresa, but I think not.
As I read this book I found myself liking it less and less, unlike the other books. It's well written, don't misunderstand me, but a story that drags me through despair and gives me as a reader little hope for the characters and then in the end snuffs out all hope is not my kind of reading. Perhaps it had to be that way to lead the reader into the world that created the scenario behind The Maze Runner series. But I would have felt better off without it.
Dashner's next book coming out at the end of September is The Fever Code, which is book five, another Maze Runner prequel. I bought The Kill Order - I don't plan on buying this next installment.
I'm not a fan of apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic literature, although I did enjoy reading The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure, all part of the Maze Runner series. But The Kill Order is the prequel to that series that tells what led up to the three-part series. This book is full-on apocalyptic.
It's full of rich detail like Dashner's other books, has a main male teenage hero who has crush on a female teenager, and he's fighting a foe - in this case, it's the Flare, the virus set off by the multiple governments that survived a solar flare that roasted Earth. That's where the comparisons end.
The story begins as humans attempt to rebuild their lives after the massive solar flare and then are without warning attacked by an unknown force with darts laced with the virus that will become known as "the Flare." Everything sinks into chaos afterwards as the virus spreads out of control and our main characters, with the aid of two adults who have rescued them after the solar flares, try to find the unknown force to get answers. It takes a downward spiral from there as the characters fight off memories of the effects of the solar flare and then a never-ending zombie-like horde of sick people affected by the virus. It gets down right ugly.
Unlike the Maze Runner series, this book has no happy ending. It's actually quite a depressing read with few high points. At first I thought the main character, Mark, would turn out to become Thomas, and his love interest, Trina, would become Teresa, in The Maze Runner. Sadly, no. Then I thought perhaps one of the minor characters, a child named Deedee who is immune to the virus they rescue during the book, would become Teresa, but I think not.
As I read this book I found myself liking it less and less, unlike the other books. It's well written, don't misunderstand me, but a story that drags me through despair and gives me as a reader little hope for the characters and then in the end snuffs out all hope is not my kind of reading. Perhaps it had to be that way to lead the reader into the world that created the scenario behind The Maze Runner series. But I would have felt better off without it.
Dashner's next book coming out at the end of September is The Fever Code, which is book five, another Maze Runner prequel. I bought The Kill Order - I don't plan on buying this next installment.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
The Death Cure: A Satisfying Conclusion to the Maze Runner Series
Book Review: The Death Cure by James Dashner
What a great conclusion to the Maze Runner series was The Death Cure!
I bought The Death Cure after watching The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials movies. After being disoriented by reading The Death Cure, because it didn't seem to connect with what I saw in the movies, I began reading the series from scratch. I'm glad I did, because while the movies track generally with the books, the movies diverge from the books in some significant ways and the books are - as is generally true when comparing movies with their original books - much better.
As interesting and compelling as The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials were, The Death Cure didn't proceed or end in the way I expected it to. And yet, it ended in a totally satisfying way. Well, there was the way Dashner dealt with Newt, which I didn't find satisfying. And I would like what happened to Teresa to have been different. But Thomas's end was very satisfying, as was Minho's. And what happened to Rat Man was equally satisfying. I thank Dashner for that.
The movie version of The Death Cure is supposed to release in February 2017. I have read some speculation of how it will treat the characters considering the departures the other movies took from their original books, and I have my own theories. I believe the screenwriters will bring the movie arc back to its original plot as the others did, even if it departs from it in other ways. But there will be a significant departure that I won't conjecture on here. It relates back to the relationship between Thomas and Brenda and something significant that occurred near the end of The Scorcher Trials movie.
Ah, but this is a book review. Back on topic. The story line moves into a more zombie-esk extreme tale in this last book of the trilogy, which brings Thomas, Minho, Newt, and the other survivors to Denver. I'm not a fan of zombie stories. But the ending of the story more than makes up for this strange diversion from the tale.
On the whole, The Death Cure fits in nicely with the other two parts of the series, and if you enjoyed them you will enjoy this final piece of the puzzle. I look forward to seeing the movie when it comes out in 2017 and seeing how the filmmakers bring that version to conclusion. I hope it is as successful as the book.
As a fan of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, I can highly recommend The Death Cure. Enjoy!
By the way, I thought the fourth book, The Kill Order, was another sequel. It isn't. It's actually a prequel to the series, and I'm reading it now. I'll review it, too, once I finish it.
What a great conclusion to the Maze Runner series was The Death Cure!
I bought The Death Cure after watching The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials movies. After being disoriented by reading The Death Cure, because it didn't seem to connect with what I saw in the movies, I began reading the series from scratch. I'm glad I did, because while the movies track generally with the books, the movies diverge from the books in some significant ways and the books are - as is generally true when comparing movies with their original books - much better.
As interesting and compelling as The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials were, The Death Cure didn't proceed or end in the way I expected it to. And yet, it ended in a totally satisfying way. Well, there was the way Dashner dealt with Newt, which I didn't find satisfying. And I would like what happened to Teresa to have been different. But Thomas's end was very satisfying, as was Minho's. And what happened to Rat Man was equally satisfying. I thank Dashner for that.
The movie version of The Death Cure is supposed to release in February 2017. I have read some speculation of how it will treat the characters considering the departures the other movies took from their original books, and I have my own theories. I believe the screenwriters will bring the movie arc back to its original plot as the others did, even if it departs from it in other ways. But there will be a significant departure that I won't conjecture on here. It relates back to the relationship between Thomas and Brenda and something significant that occurred near the end of The Scorcher Trials movie.
Ah, but this is a book review. Back on topic. The story line moves into a more zombie-esk extreme tale in this last book of the trilogy, which brings Thomas, Minho, Newt, and the other survivors to Denver. I'm not a fan of zombie stories. But the ending of the story more than makes up for this strange diversion from the tale.
On the whole, The Death Cure fits in nicely with the other two parts of the series, and if you enjoyed them you will enjoy this final piece of the puzzle. I look forward to seeing the movie when it comes out in 2017 and seeing how the filmmakers bring that version to conclusion. I hope it is as successful as the book.
As a fan of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, I can highly recommend The Death Cure. Enjoy!
By the way, I thought the fourth book, The Kill Order, was another sequel. It isn't. It's actually a prequel to the series, and I'm reading it now. I'll review it, too, once I finish it.
Sunday, April 03, 2016
The Scorch Trials: So Good I Didn't Want to Put It Down
Book Review: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
I finished reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner in two days, it was that good.
The Scorch Trials is book two of The Maze Runner series, in the young adults genre. Its subtitle is, "The Maze Was Only the Beginning." Dashner wasn't kidding. Whereas The Maze pitted twenty or so teen boys and a teen girl against a series of tests they weren't really expected to solve and deadly beasts called Grievers, The Scorch was a trial of teens against nature, infected humans called Cranks, and a series of trials they were expected to solve. And the story began to fill in a series of mysteries only begun to be surfaced during The Maze.
Dashner paced the novel well, presenting interesting new characters as well as bringing along past ones, stringing along the reader to the very end through a series of hoops and loops through the narrative thread that kept you guessing, much as each of the characters were kept guessing. Although this is clearly science fiction or fantasy or speculative fiction, it could just as easily be a mystery or thriller. And never once was I tempted to put the book down, other than the need for sleep. Honestly, I was so interested in resolving the mystery and conflict, I desperately wanted to get to the end of the story, to help get the characters to safety, as much as the characters themselves wanted to reach the end of the trials.
There are two more books the series: The Death Cure and The Kill Order. I can't wait to get to them, next. I know they will be as solid reads as the first two. Actually, I can't wait to finish them. Dashner is that good of a writer.
Do yourself a favor and read this series. You don't have to be a young adult to enjoy it. Put yourself in the place of these characters and enjoy the journey.
I finished reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner in two days, it was that good.
The Scorch Trials is book two of The Maze Runner series, in the young adults genre. Its subtitle is, "The Maze Was Only the Beginning." Dashner wasn't kidding. Whereas The Maze pitted twenty or so teen boys and a teen girl against a series of tests they weren't really expected to solve and deadly beasts called Grievers, The Scorch was a trial of teens against nature, infected humans called Cranks, and a series of trials they were expected to solve. And the story began to fill in a series of mysteries only begun to be surfaced during The Maze.
Dashner paced the novel well, presenting interesting new characters as well as bringing along past ones, stringing along the reader to the very end through a series of hoops and loops through the narrative thread that kept you guessing, much as each of the characters were kept guessing. Although this is clearly science fiction or fantasy or speculative fiction, it could just as easily be a mystery or thriller. And never once was I tempted to put the book down, other than the need for sleep. Honestly, I was so interested in resolving the mystery and conflict, I desperately wanted to get to the end of the story, to help get the characters to safety, as much as the characters themselves wanted to reach the end of the trials.
There are two more books the series: The Death Cure and The Kill Order. I can't wait to get to them, next. I know they will be as solid reads as the first two. Actually, I can't wait to finish them. Dashner is that good of a writer.
Do yourself a favor and read this series. You don't have to be a young adult to enjoy it. Put yourself in the place of these characters and enjoy the journey.
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