The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series) Paperback – January 7, 2014

The beginning of the book start with before Thomas is sent into the Glade. Teresa was the narrator of this part. After reading the Death Cure, I absolutely hated her. But after reading her feelings about him going earned her a shred of the respect I had for her character.The second part of the book was a story of 13 years earlier. This was a year after the devastating sun flares. The world is in great desperation. The story is about Mark and his friends. They were in their village in the mountains when all of a sudden a hovercraft comes swarming down. 5 armed people in mysterious green suits and wearing oxygen masks come out bearing guns. The people were gazed some thinking they were being rescued. They were wrong. The 5 figures start shooting darts, causing the villagers to instantly fall to the ground. Mark, his friends Alec, Trina, the Toad, Lana, and another person get out safely.Alec had secretly had a gun and another tool. Using their things they killed 4 of the mysterious people and were on the hovercraft. One of them got away. When Mark and Alec explored they got to the pilot's room. A man attacked Mark and he was hurt. At the same time the hovercraft crashed. Mark awoke from his slumber and saw Alec. They went into the rubbage that was the Hovercraft and found a workpad. They then set off to their village not knowing what they will find.When they get back they smell dead bodies. They find out sickness was going around and they know it was from the darts. One of their friends lasted from the darts. But the pain in his head was unbearable to him and he killed himself. Mark and his friends start to pack to leave the village. But the person who's name I can't remember has a headache. The friends run out of the room. She tells them to leave and not to worry through the door. The Toad, who was always close to her tells her he is staying with her. The friends leave with despair stuck in their heads. They move some distance away and make camp. Before going to sleep they are interrupted by a visitor. It is the Toad. He is hysterical. He says he is sick and that she died. Alec takes the Toad away and kills him. He comes back to group saying nothing. I don't want to ruin anymore of the story. What happens next? You'll just have to read to find out.This book was absolutely wonderful. It is certainly worth buying! It really gave the background on how it felt to go through the sun flares and the desperation that followed it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves action, romance, and a little mystery. You need to read it especially if you read the Maze Runner Series. I am crazy about this series. Out of the (literally)hundreds of books I have read, this series is the BEST to me. I love James Dashner's way of describing and assorting his words so thoroughly and correctly that you can practically imagine exactly the mood and look of the scene. I can barely put the books down. I absolutely CAN NOT wait until the next one!

The prequel to the Maze Runner is another thriller. We get to explore the back-story about what happened all those years before the Maze. The destruction, the death, the Flare. There are new characters to get to know, and only a very subtle link to those that we all know in the Maze.The underlying plot centers around two main characters. One, a young guy having to step up in a world that’s gone crazy, and the other, seasoned by a military past. It’s an unlikely duo, but they have a strong bond that has been borne from shared tragedy. There are plenty of desperate times when they both need to make some very hard choices.I’ve read a lot of dystopian books over the years, they deal with destroyed societies, oppressive governments, dreadful disease, and violence fuelled by desperation. But for some reason this one seemed to click, making me really think about how I would cope if something as extreme as the Flare ever occurred.The loss of security, the loss of every comfort I take for granted, the loss of family and friends, the loss of knowing that there is always food and water whenever it’s needed. It really did hit me, and I don’t know why this book made that happen. Perhaps it was because much of it was in an urban setting. A place that is so relatable. Walking through the chaotic streets, seeing the crumbling lifestyle in the midst of the ruins of what once provided the security that everyone needed, the loss of that place called home.Dashner captures the extremes. The nightmarish battles between survival and mistrust, and the final threads of human logic that linger in the shadows of crumbling minds. For me, The Kill Order made me really think about how fragile our society is, and about how easily this could happen – more likely by our own wars and conflict than by a natural event. Once we lose our health, our safety and our compassion, everything crumbles.IN A NUTSHELLA lesson on the fragility of society, and a window into the events before the Maze. A gripping read.