Team OWL Review: Kill Order by James Dashner

I have loved The Maze Runner series, and I have a ton of kids that have loved it today.  The prequel, The Kill Order, came out recently, and I have a great review by a Team OWL student!

Take it away!

The Kill Order

By James Dashner

The Kill Order, a prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, begins with a new character named Mark who has survived the sun flares. The small settlement in which he lives with his girlfriend, Trina, and his other friends, Alec, Lana, Misty, and the Toad, plus other survivors, is assaulted with virus-carrying darts in a plan to wipe out half the human race. But as the bodies pile up, the plan goes horribly wrong, and Mark and his friends must learn to survive in a world filled with crazed people who have been infected.

           

I thought this book was excellent because it  keeps you on the edge of your seat  throughout, and I couldn’t stop reading. Everything was described really well. I believe that this book was just as good as the Maze Runner books, maybe even better. James Dashner paints a world in which I would not like to live, and creates an exciting thriller with many twists.

The plot describes Mark’s life after the sun flares and the journey he makes to survive, and also shares his memories from the time during the sun flares and a brief period after. This vivid story captivates you and keeps you reading for hours. The setting, which is supposedly in the future, is based in the United States  and provides a large area for this breathtaking series to take place.

           

Mark, the main character, was a great  choice because of  an unrelenting devotion to his friends. He is very capable and trustworthy, and he doesn’t give up easily. Mark pulls the whole story together through his determination to stay alive.

           

I think this book is more appropriate from age 13 up. It is graphic and paints very vivid pictures of zombie-like people, which means blood and gore is described. This book is a good read for both boys and girls and proves to be a good but serious read.

NOTICE: Read the top-secret files in the back of the book for an interesting revelation.

About the book

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.