Takeaway: Sometimes desperate situations lead to desperate measures. But there should always be a limit if we are to claim the title human.
The final book in the trilogy was both fulfilling and a little frustrating. As I got closer to the end I was pretty sure that either I was going to be unsatisfied with the ending, or there was a fourth book that I did not know about. (There is not a fourth both, although there is a prequel that I have not read yet.)
In the final book, Thomas and the remaining subjects have completed the maze. They have completed the Scorch Trials. Soon after the beginning of the book, Thomas completes a month in solitary confinement. But W.I.C.K.E.D is not done. There are more test, more trials, more testing.
What should happen? If there really is the potential for a cure then shouldn’t Thomas and the others participate? Shouldn’t they make sure that they do everything they can to save the world?
The world is being ravaged by a disease. Millions are dying, civilization is crumbling. What is worse is the effects of the disease. It is never described this way, but it is turning people into fast zombies. The disease causes people to lose all control, lose their ability to rationally think, plan and reason. They stop worrying about pain and only want to eat and kill. There are some truly horrible descriptions in this book (it almost verges on becoming a horror book in a couple places).
But throughout the book Thomas, and the others, must keep balancing the need for a cure with the means to get that cure. What are acceptable means?
This is still a young adult book. In a number of places there was too much internal dialogue and struggle. It is not that the struggle is not warranted by the situations, but the internal nature of it was a bit wearing. And there was some romantic triangle parts that seemed unrealistic and added in as an afterthought.
However, on the whole, this was a series worth reading if you like young adult dystopian trilogies. I wasn’t thrilled by the ending. But increasingly I have decided that the journey is often as important as the destination.
The Death Cure Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook
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