"The Death Cure"

Just like the first two books in the series, "The Death Cure", by James Dashner, ties seamlessly to the book before it - "The Scorch Trials." Thomas and his friends are saved from The Scorch and are being taken back to WICKED headquarters. They are told that all of the trials are over, but are they really? They know that anything said to them by WICKED could just be another way for them to collect data on how the 'subjects' react. So they know to take everything they are being told with a distrusting ear. Everyone is given the chance to get their memories back and all but Thomas, Newt, and Minho agree to do it. Even though they were told they had the choice to do it, and they chose not to, the Rat Man decides to force them to do the procedure anyways. In an act of defiance the three boys (with the help of Brenda) fight off the guards and make their escape. In the process of leaving they look for the other gladers but can't find them anywhere, so they have to leave alone.

With their successful escape they find that the outside world is in turmoil and the small group has to find a safe place to hide. Denver is the city they pick and it is nothing like they expected. People are trying to live a normal life but are in constant fear of getting the Flare. No one touches each other, most people where masks, and everyone is afraid of everyone else. Despite all of the government's testing, people with the Flare are still in the city and it is spreading. When Thomas and his friends get kidnapped by bounty hunters for being immune, they are reunited with Theresa and the other gladers who were also kidnapped.That is when they find out that WICKED is collecting more immunes to run another set of trials on and the group that kidnapped them, the Right Arm, are formulating a plan to take WICKED down. This plan starts by Thomas voluntarily going back to WICKED to finish part 3 of the trials. He is the final candidate. He can easily infiltrate WICKED to plant a device to help the Right Arm take over the building.

What no one anticipated, however, was that part 3 of the trials meant performing a brain surgery on Thomas that would ultimately claim his life. Now they are on a race against time to take down WICKED while saving all of the immunes inside. Their journey takes them on battles through the headquarters, back to the maze to fight the grievers one last time, and through a flat trans that will hopefully lead to safety. Everyone has to fight for their life, and not all of them win, in this epic ending to the Maze Runner series.

Gah! There is so much more that I want to tell you about this book, but I don't want to give anything away! You will enjoy it so much more when you really don't know what's coming or what to expect. I kept writing things and then going back and deleting them because it was a key part to the story. If you want a more detailed summary then click here. This really is the perfect ending to this series. The characters are finally taking their lives into their own hands while finding a way to payback WICKED for all of the "kindness" that they received. This book is a nail-bitter and will keep you up at night worrying about what will happen next. I actually cried at one point. Just like the other two, I would suggest this book to high school age or older. This one is a 5 out of 5 on my scale. Believe me, you want to read this book. Especially after reading "The Maze Runner" and "The Scorch Trials". Then you can pick up "The Kill Order", which is the prequel to this series and will be posted on here soon. And of course, let me know what you think!

Can't get enough of James Dashner? Then check out his books "The Eye of Minds" and "The Rule of Thoughts".