Month: June 2016

The Maze Runner (Book 1) – By James Dashner

Dystopian, Romance, Sci-Fi

The premise of The Maze Runner is complicated, but well-established: Thomas wakes up in a dark elevator, which eventually opens in a courtyard with dozens of teenage boys staring accusingly at him. He can’t remember his former life or why he was there, and is utterly confused about the other boys’ acceptance of their adversity. Even more perplexing is his innate attraction to becoming a runner – a dangerous job that involves running around The Maze to map it, in the hopes of finding an escape from their predicament. When Gally takes an instant dislike to Thomas, claiming he had seen him before, the others become suspicious and start to question the new boy’s innocence; as uncertainty and unrest propagate, blame is laid on Thomas, who many see as the trigger, the root of all their problems.

After seeing the film (shamefully, I often see the film before I read the book when it comes to YA), I was worried I’d find the book boring. But, although it took away from the suspense, I enjoyed it nonetheless – the plot and setting are what really made it. Dashner’s extensive ‘world-building’ and engrossing plot kept me reading when I otherwise would have given up long before – because apart from these attributes, it wasn’t a great book. Concise chapters are employed to maintain interest and anticipation, which, although effective, become tiresome and often feel forced. Additionally, suspense is sometimes unnecessarily (and clumsily) re-built at the end of a chapter:

“And then something rounded the corner… Something unspeakable. A Griever.”

Suspense had already been built – and with more skill – earlier on when the Grievers (fictional mechanical monsters) were approaching; Dashner’s by now familiar two-word sentences were redundant, even injurious. Apart from Thomas, who is somewhat credible and interesting, and offers an insight into a typical teenage boy’s mind, the characters are largely two-dimensional, underdeveloped and cliche: there isn’t enough opportunity for Teresa to be fleshed out, and I found sympathising with Chuck difficult because of his personality’s lack of substance and appeal.

As a whole, The Maze Runner has a great, engrossing plot and intriguing setting, but is clunkily (see what I did there? – you’ll know what i’m referencing if you’ve read it) written. For someone like me who enjoys character- over plot-driven books, it’s disappointing. However, I think you’d enjoy it if you like Hunger Games-esque books and a lightning-fast pace.

My Ratings (out of 10 As):

Plot/Story: AAAAAAA (7)

Writing: AAAA (4)

Pace: Fast

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Stories of Loss and Redemption: Pieces Like Pottery – by Dan Buri

Short Fiction

Pieces like Pottery is an anthology of seven stories and two poems; each explores an aspect of life, including parenthood and anxiety, in a unique setting.

Before evaluating this anthology, I ought to confess that I did not pick up on the author’s references to biblical stories; in fact, only after I read Buri’s comments on Goodreads did I see that this was the case. Although I noticed the ‘Sorrowful Mystery’ layout, I was unaware of its significance and so didn’t understand the correspondences between stories. Hopefully this doesn’t devalue my review – my perspective as an ‘ignorant’ reader may be a common one, and I believe not considering the author’s intended links and deeper meanings probably didn’t take away from my reading experience.

After a couple of pages, I was reasonably interested in the book – the characters were credible and interesting, if a little two-dimensional, and the story was intriguing. The power of the short story is leaving the reader wanting more, and The Gravesite (the first of nine pieces) is no exception.

The power of the short story is leaving the reader wanting more, wondering what more there is to know and what has been left unsaid.

My favourite of the stories is Expect Dragons; I cried when reading it. It’s an emotive, thought-provoking narrative: a young man is visiting his old high school English teacher for the last time (before he passes away). On the journey to see him, he reflects on his traumatic childhood and the prevalence of his teacher during his formative years; after he arrives, his old teacher imparts one more invaluable lesson to his former student. Although the account was a little clichéd, I empathised a great deal with the characters and felt thoroughly involved in the plot. 

The last story, entitled The Ballad of Love and Hate, featured characters from other stories at different stages in their lives. This was a welcomed contrast to the other pieces in the collection, offering context and intrigue to an otherwise mundane storyline.

The second story, The Dominance of Nurture, is set in a dystopian (although not entirely distant) world, with the core idea being that ‘nurture’ (the way people, especially parents, treat their children) is paramount and ‘nature’ is irrelevant. It’s an interesting concept, and was executed well; it had the potential to be far greater if explored further in a book.

Twenty-two is a moving story about two men going about their daily lives, living with their tortuous pasts. I enjoyed reading it and loved the ending, although it was stilted and cliché at times, particularly in parts with dialogue. An interesting idea, but the weakest in the collection.

Overall, this is a unique collection of provocative stories; you’ll find at least one that you relate to and enjoy – for me, it was Expect Dragons. Buri doesn’t promise a first-class quality of writing or ground-breaking ideas, but what he does, he does pretty well: interesting, ‘relatable’ commentaries on normal life.

My Ratings (out of 10 As):

Plot/Story: AAAAAA (6)

Writing: AAAAA (5)

Pace: Medium/Slow

Unfortunately, as far as I know this book is only available on Kindle.

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Thanks to Dan Buri for providing me with a digital copy of this compelling collection of short stories.