I know anyone who reads this review is probably going to be shocked by this, but "The Kill Order" is actually my favorite book of the Maze Runner franchise thus far. I don't know, man. This just feels like a much more solid read than the previous three books.

For one thing, Dashner's writing style isn't that bad this time around. The dialogue doesn't feel that shallow and annoying anymore. Sure, there is the occasional "he was starting to like her more and more" that has grown to be my least favorite phrase in the entire franchise because of how lazy it is, but, for the most part, the dialogue feels like it comes from real human beings in this book. It's just a lot more organic and vibrant.

In addition, the characters are pretty solid. I actually enjoy reading them more than I do the characters from the previous three books. They're less shallow. I really empathize with their struggles and hardships. These characters go through absolute hell throughout the course of 12-18 months, and you really start to root for them by the end. Despite the fact that the characters in the Maze Runner trilogy go through even more trauma than these people, I honestly couldn't give a crap by the end of that trilogy because the writing was so bad and the characters were so unlikeable.

Mark's development in this story is extremely fascinating. Through flashbacks, you see how he started off as a laid-back, carefree teenager who wanted nothing more than to screw his next-door neighbor. However, as the book progresses, you watch him become stronger, fiercer, and more resolved. By the end, not only has he become a hardened soldier who has persevered through so much trauma, but he's also become extremely compassionate and caring. The scenes where he rescues Trina and Deedee from the basement of a house and from the barracks of the Berg are absolutely incredible. You see how truly resolved he is to keep the girls safe. While all this is happening, though, he is slowly succumbing to the Flare and becoming more and more insane. Despite that, he fights with every ounce of willpower he possesses to remain sane long enough to complete his final task: getting Deedee to the PFC so she can help develop a cure. He is a great character, and it makes me all the more angry that his, Alec's, and Trina's sacrifices all go to waste because Dashner decided to pull fast one on us and deliver one of the worst endings to any franchise ever with "The Death Cure". Sigh.

This book is also easily the bloodiest, goriest, and scariest book of the series thus far. Dashner doesn't hold back with the horror elements here. Things get pretty intense. However, it never feels gratuitous nor forced. It just feels like a good zombie-apocalypse story, one with a heavy emphasis on the theme of survival.

I enjoy this book quite a bit, but I wouldn't classify it as great or anything. I did get quite emotional in the last 75 or so pages, but most of the rest of the book is just... fine. The only parts I really like besides the final sections are the flashbacks. They're pretty nicely spaced apart, and they're quite interesting, honestly. I do kinda wish we got some more view-points of when the Flare first struck the Earth, but I'd say I'm quite satisfied with what we got.

So, yeah, I like a lot of things about this book, but it is just okay for the most part. Honestly, if the whole franchise was written as well as this one was, I would have a lot less to complain about. ( )

This book was a slow but i did enjoy it. I felt it was little bit hard to get invested in the main characters because they were almost all going to die. But the ending of the story saved it for the reveal about one of the main characters. I just missed the main character from the main series but overall i think it gave you so much info that makes series book 1-3 make more sense. It was not my favorite book but i like the new characters that we met, i i wish we had more time with them. ( )

This book was a slow but i did enjoy it. I felt it was little bit hard to get invested in the main characters because they were almost all going to die. But the ending of the story saved it for the reveal about one of the main characters. I just missed the main character from the main series but overall i think it gave you so much info that makes series book 1-3 make more sense. It was not my favorite book but i like the new characters that we met, i i wish we had more time with them. ( )

Antes de que existiera CRUEL, antes de que se construyera el Laberinto y mucho antes de que Thomas ingresara al Área, las llamaradas solares azotaron la Tierra y destruyeron el mundo que la Humanidad daba por sentado. Mark y Trina estaban allí cuando esto ocurrió, y sobrevivieron. Pero sobrevivir a las llamaradas fue sencillo, comparado a lo que vendría después. Ahora una enfermedad que nubla la mente con ira y dolor, se expande por todo el territorio y hay algo muy sospechoso sobre su origen. Peor aún, está mutando y la evidencia sugiere que pondrá a la Humanidad de rodillas ante el caos, previo a una muerte más segura y espantosa. Mark y Trina están convencidos de que hay un modo de salvar de la locura a los pocos que quedan. Y están determinados a encontrarlo si pueden mantenerse vivos y sanos. Porque en este nuevo y devastador mundo, cada vida tiene un precio. También la tuya. Y para algunos, vales más muerto que vivo.

This wasn't the book I thought it would be. The Maze Runner Trilogy had me turning pages. This one wasn't as exciting to me until the end. I wasn't crazy about this one. ( )