Review: The Kill Order by James Dashner

"The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive."

Title: The Kill Order

Author: James Dashner

Release Date: August 14, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Pages: 336, Hardcover

Being a huge fan of The Maze Runner Trilogy, I was beyond excited to be able to read The Kill Order right after I finished The Death Cure. Sure, The Death Cure wasn't as amazing as the previous two novels in the trilogy, but I was thrilled nonetheless. However, The Kill Order is the most disappointing novel yet. I'm sad to say that everything in The Kill Order just fell flat for me, literally everything. The characters, plot, and intensity. Do not get me wrong, James Dashner is still one of my favorite authors out there, and I am in no way bashing his writing. I just had my expectations set high.

First, the different characters in the novel. Since The Kill Order takes place 13 years before Thomas and the Gladers' time, we have a fresh new set of characters to learn from. However, my thoughts the entire time were that the characters were just… copy cats of Thomas & Teresa. It's like James Dashner couldn't leave them and he had to make Mark & Trina similar to them. I felt like I was reading about Thomas and Teresa the entire time, instead of the perspective of the supposedly new characters.

Next is the plot. I didn't feel the same excitement I felt for in The Maze Runner trilogy. It just wasn't there anymore. I knew I was reading intense and heart-racing scenes, but it just wasn't the same. I'm not 100% sure what it was, but I just couldn't fully engage myself into the story. I was basically TRUDGING through this book. By halfway, I wanted it to be over.

Even now that I've completed the book, I'm still not sure whether to tell readers to read this prequel BEFORE you read the trilogy, or after. In my experience, I think that reading the prequel after reading the trilogy made it extremely boring and lacking, since you already know the end result of the Flare disease, and the conclusion for the characters.. On the other side of the spectrum, if you read the prequel before you read the series, it may provide MAJOR spoilers, or just plain confusion, as well as boredom in the series later on.

Personally, The Kill Order was a major let down, and I couldn't have been more sad. If you are thinking about reading this series, I recommend to just read the trilogy. The prequel is not necessary.

Grade: D+

Source: Publisher via Netgalley--thank you Random House!