Book Review: The Kill Order

Book: The Kill Order (The Maze Runner book #4) by James Dashner

Cover Art by Philip Straub
Typography by Joel Tippie

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth, killing most of the population.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened. They survived. But now a virus is spreading. A virus that fills humans with murderous rage.

They're convinced that there's a way to save those who are left—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.





Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Kill Order is a very interesting fast-paced and well-written prequel to The Maze Runner series, the story is full of drama, suspense and ongoing terror as the characters experience life after the sun flares transformed the planet. However, surviving after the sun flares wasn't the problem, it was a virus that was quickly moving throughout the area. The virus was causing people to lose all aspects of who they once were and turning them into a crazed and murderous being.

The author digs into the headspace of Mark, from his nightmares of remembering how the world quickly changed to his current experience into the present where he along with his fellow survivors Alec, Trina, Lana and more try to navigate a new dangerous world. For the most part, things seemed to be going well for the group until a mysterious group attacked them from an airship, and from there a sickness was taking over. If the virus didn't immediately kill you then it started to mutate and cause people to either quickly go insane or slowly but either way the outcome was the same.

To try to gather more information about the attack and the virus, Alec, Lana, Trina and Mark set out on a trek. They encounter more danger along the way but also an abandoned little girl Deedee in need of help who unfortunately brought the group even more danger and trouble from the ones who left her.

As the story progressed, you can feel the dire and desperation from these characters who were doing everything they could to survive. This is a terrifyingly, vivid and intense story that's set against a dystopian tale. I thought The Kill Order was even better than the first three books in The Maze Runner series and it perfectly tied-in to it. From the first page to the last, I was completely drawn into the story which really showcased how the world had changed and the non-stop danger this group seemed to be in. When it comes to The Maze Runner, the series biggest mystery is how did the world get into such a strange and dangerous time and The Kill Order answered the question with a terrifying response.