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James Dashner

Forfatter af The Maze Runner

53+ Works 48,592 Members 1,699 Reviews 42 Favorited

Om forfatteren

James Dashner was born in Georgia and attended Brigham Young University. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in finance. He is the author of The 13th Reality series, The Jimmy Fincher Saga, the Mortality Doctrine series, and the Maze Runner series. The Journal of Curious Letters was vis mere chosen for a 2008 Borders Original Voices pick and The Maze Runner won a 2015 West Australian Young Readers' Book Award in the Older Readers category. (Bowker Author Biography) vis mindre

Omfatter også følgende navne: Dzheims Deshner, Džejms Dašner, James Dashner (Author)

Serier

Værker af James Dashner

The Maze Runner (2009) 16,166 eksemplarer
The Scorch Trials (2010) 9,581 eksemplarer
The Death Cure (2011) 7,790 eksemplarer
The Kill Order (2012) 5,169 eksemplarer
The Fever Code (2016) 2,001 eksemplarer
The Eye of Minds (2012) 1,673 eksemplarer
A Mutiny in Time (2012) 963 eksemplarer
The Journal of Curious Letters (2008) 807 eksemplarer
The Rule of Thoughts (2014) 732 eksemplarer
The Game of Lives (2015) 522 eksemplarer
The Hunt for Dark Infinity (2009) 357 eksemplarer
The Blade of Shattered Hope (2010) 255 eksemplarer
The Maze Runner Trilogy (1900) 199 eksemplarer
The Iron Empire (2014) 171 eksemplarer
The Void of Mist and Thunder (2012) 161 eksemplarer
The Maze Runner Files (2013) 137 eksemplarer
Crank Palace: A Maze Runner Novella (2020) 124 eksemplarer
Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare (2011) 109 eksemplarer
A Door in the Woods (2003) 91 eksemplarer
The Maze Cutter (2022) 89 eksemplarer
A Gift of Ice (2004) 52 eksemplarer
The Tower of Air (2004) 45 eksemplarer
War of the Black Curtain (2005) 42 eksemplarer
The 13th Reality - Complete Set (2013) 21 eksemplarer
The Godhead Complex (2023) 16 eksemplarer
The House of Tongues (2021) 14 eksemplarer
Jimmy Fincher Saga Set (2017) 3 eksemplarer
Oyun Ustasi (2016) 2 eksemplarer
Oyunbozan (2016) 1 eksemplar
The 13th Reality 5 (2015) 1 eksemplar

Associated Works

Maze Runner: The Death Cure [2018 film] (2018) — Lab Tech — 146 eksemplarer
Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration (2018) — Bidragyder — 145 eksemplarer

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Almen Viden

Fødselsdato
1969
Køn
male
Nationalitet
USA
Fødested
Georgia, USA
Bopæl
Georgia, USA
Utah, USA
Uddannelse
Brigham Young University (MA|1999)
Organisationer
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Agent
Michael Bourret
Kort biografi
James Smith Dashner (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer of speculative fiction, primarily series for children or young adults, such as The Maze Runner series and the young adult fantasy series the 13th Reality. His 2008 novel The Journal of Curious Letters, first in the series, was one of the annual Borders Original Voices picks.

James Dashner was born on November 26, 1972 in Austell, Georgia, as one of six children in the family. He was raised a Mormon. At the age of 10, he would type on his parents' typewriter. He graduated from Duluth High School in 1991. He moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Provo, Utah to study at Brigham Young University, where he received a master's degree in accounting. Dashner and his wife, Lynette Anderson, a former student of Brigham Young University, have four children and are now living in Utah.

Dashner is the author of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series that includes The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order. He has also written The Eye of Minds (book one in the Mortality Doctrine series), the 13th Reality series, and two books in The Infinity Ring series: A Mutiny in Time and The Iron Empire.

Medlemmer

Discussions

the maze runner series i Book talk (februar 2016)
the maze runner i I read dashner (januar 2016)

Anmeldelser

This book was okay, not great, just okay. I didn't particularly connect with any of the characters and while the story did keep me interested, I didn't care for how it ended. I don't think I'll be reading the prequel/sequels (unless I can pick them up as cheaply - $1.99 - as I did this one.)
 
Markeret
thatnerd | 774 andre anmeldelser | Mar 2, 2024 |
Oof, my opinion on this one has really gone down over the last few years. Believe it or not, I used to really like this book. Even more surprisingly, I still like the movie! I rewatched it a few weeks ago, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The book, however, is quite a different thing. People who've read the book and seen its adaptation know how different the two things are. A ton of elements were changed, and I believe they were for the best. I don't like comparing books and movies as they're two different mediums of entertainment, but I must say that I enjoy the movie a lot more than the book when it comes to "The Scorch Trials". The book just isn't good.

Despite that, the first half is actually somewhat decent. I think it's well-paced and well-structured, and the plot is mildly entertaining. It feels very grounded and gritty, even more so than the first book. The situation seems more dire, and the Trials of WICKED feel even more brutal and horrifying. The story is also pretty straightforward. The Gladers wake up in their dormitory, and things start getting extremely weird. Then, Rat Man shows up and tells them that they have to go 100 miles north after entering a Flat Trans and reach a safe haven to get a cure for the Flare. It's a pretty simple premise, and it works well.

However, around the time Thomas and Brenda reach the dance club, things start getting very strange. The story starts to feel pretty disorganized and random, and then things just... happen. The plot doesn't feel like it has much of a rhythm to it. Thomas gets shot and instantly healed, Teresa's massive betrayal happens, it's revealed that her betrayal was all an act to stimulate some killzone patterns, the Gladers arrive at the Safe Haven, a battle with massive robots ensues, Thomas makes it into the Berg and wakes up in a white room, and then the book just sort of... ends. It just doesn't feel like a contained story. It feels like Part 2 of a 3-part story, so it doesn't hold up on its own very well. Also, we still don't know much about WICKED's grand plan by the end. I'm sorry, but we're two-thirds of the way through this damn thing. The main premise shouldn't be revealed in the beginning of the final chapter.

That's pretty much my main problem with this book. It feels messy, not just as its own story, but also as the middle chapter of a trilogy. A lot of my other problems with this book are the same as those I have with the first book. James Dashner is still the author, and he's still not that great. The dialogue isn't much better, the Glade slang is as annoying as ever, and the characters feel just as shallow as they did in the previous story. I don't know, man, but I really don't feel anything towards any of these people. Sure, Minho is really funny, and Newt is a tad-bit interesting, but besides those two, I don't feel anything for anyone else. Thomas just seems like a massive idiot who doesn't have the world's interest at his heart and only cares about himself and his friends. He can't think for more than two seconds about what Teresa's options were when it came to what WICKED had asked of her, resolving instead to be as bratty, whiny, and stubborn as he always is. Dude, Teresa's only options were either to do what WICKED had told her to do or let you die. You ever think of that, or is your skin that important that a couple of bruises are enough to make you lose trust in your best friend forever? Grow up. Percy Jackson and Harry Potter would never.

Anyway, I don't really have much else to say. This book is kinda bad, and I'm dreading re-reading "The Death Cure" because I remember how much I hated it the last time I went through it.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
Moderation3250 | 310 andre anmeldelser | Feb 24, 2024 |
I'm just gonna say it. I believe that the ending of the Maze Runner franchise is one of the worst endings to any story I've ever encountered in my life. I honestly couldn't believe it the first time I read the series. It is absolutely atrocious. This book, in general, is pretty freaking bad, but the ending is downright abysmal.

As I've mentioned a couple times, Minho and Newt are the only two characters in the entire franchise whom I remotely give a crap about. One thing I like about this book is that we finally get to see some humanity from Minho. In the previous entries, it seemed like all Minho did in life was crack jokes and do his job. Here, however, a bit of his human side is seen after Newt gets the Flare. That brings me to my favorite part about this book: Newt. I love how they ended his story. It is tragic and well-written. Newt is practically the only good constant throughout this whole series. Consequently, his death is the only moment in the whole series that brings a tear to my eye. Couldn't give two shits about any other deaths, sorry.

Besides that, this book freaking sucks, dude. Unlike the first two entries, the plot isn't even that great. The story is unbelievably boring and uneventful for the most part. Despite this being the shortest book in the trilogy, it somehow feels more sluggish than the first two. Not much happens until the last hundred pages, then it's revealed that the Right Arm is planning to take WICKED down, so that happens, the protagonists go back to the Maze and fight some Grievers again for nostalgia bai-, I mean, rescuing some Immunes, and a couple hundred people make it to paradise on the other side of a Flat Trans. The end.

Actually, you know what? I'm not gonna go that easy. Let's look at this ending more closely. The entire point of this whole trilogy is finding a cure for the Flare virus, right? The first and second book are dedicated ENTIRELY to Phases 1 and 2 of the Trials, respectively. Thomas is the final piece to the puzzle of designing this cure, and it almost happens. However, we can't have satisfying conclusions. We can't have something that was built up for an entire fucking trilogy actually get resolved. Instead, at the very last motherfucking second, Chancellor Paige comes out of nowhere and instructs Thomas to take all the remaining Immunes to paradise in order to begin civilization again while the rest of the world drives itself to extinction. Are you fucking kidding me, dude? After all that set up, we're just going to resort to a hastily prepared Plan B and leave the rest of the world to rot? How am I supposed to root for these protagonists? How am I supposed to feel satisfied with this ending? It's fucking insulting, man.

Add to that the fact that the ending in paradise lasts all of 3 pages, and you have one of the worst endings ever written in fiction. We aren't even told which of the Gladers from Group A and Group B survived. We don't even get to see this new civilization flourish. The whole fucking story just... ends. Are you serious?

For the last time, I'll mention that I don't like Dashner's writing style. The dialogue sucks, and the characters couldn't be any shallower. New characters are introduced left and right, but tons of them feel like the exact same person. It's clear Dashner didn't put an ounce of effort into making them remotely unique or interesting, so he settled instead for having them be just some extremely flat, one-dimensional puppets who do nothing more than drive the plot forward.

Sigh... I don't really have much else to say. I felt a ton of emotion at Newt's death, and I had the slightest sense of nostalgia seeing the protagonists back in the Maze, but, other than that, this has got to be one of the worst endings I've ever read in my life. I don't want to think about it ever again.
… (mere)
½
 
Markeret
Moderation3250 | 239 andre anmeldelser | Feb 24, 2024 |
This is arguably the most important novel I've ever read in my life. This, along with one other book called "Paper Towns", is what kickstarted my reading career. It was assigned to me in English class in 9th grade (about five years ago), and I thought it was utterly fantastic. I loved the Glade, I loved the Maze, and, most importantly, I loved the suspenseful tone. I remember reading Thomas's first venture into the Maze to rescue Alby and Minho around midnight, and I would probably say that that was the moment I decided to become a reader. As soon as I finished this book, I tore through the rest of the series, then I read The Hunger Games series, then Divergent, then Harry Potter, etc. For that, this book will always have a special place in my heart. However, do I still like it as much 5 years later?

Sadly, no. This book isn't great by any means. This book's biggest problem, in my opinion, is its writing style. I'm really not a fan of Dashner's writing. I know it's a bit harsh, but I'm being honest here. The first 120 or so pages are incredibly boring. James Dashner just keeps repeating the same information over and over again. The amount of times he explains Thomas's memory loss drives me insane. Did this book have no editing phase? In addition, not much really happens until Thomas dashes into the Maze (which is an awesome moment, by the way). Sure, there is a lot to be explained about this new world and these new characters, but did it really need to be that slow? The pacing is absolutely atrocious, man.

I also think a lot of aspects of this story are extremely cringeworthy. The biggest offender is the dialogue. It is awful. The characters feel extremely shallow and unoriginal as a consequence. I also really dislike the Glade slang. I think it is extremely unnecessary and annoying. I know a lot of people like it, but I just can't stand it, especially since it's used in practically every other sentence.

Lastly, has Dashner ever heard of the rule, "Show, don't tell"? Instead of letting the reader infer these characters' personality traits through their actions and dialogue, he just tells them what they're like. That's not how you write a character, man. Leave some room for ambiguity. It will make your stories so much more interesting in the end.

With that being said, I still enjoy the suspenseful nature of this book even though I know what's going to happen. The tension is palpable anytime a Griever is around the corner. James Dashner may not be able to write good characters, but he can certainly write good action scenes with suspenseful tones and gruesome imagery.

I think the plot is alright. I know a ton of people despise the plot of this book because of how silly and unbelievable it is, but I've never really minded it. There are tons of twists and turns, and watching Thomas navigate his life in the Glade and slowly figure the Maze out is really intriguing. It's a decently structured story, honestly.

So, yeah. I have a TON of problems with this novel, but I'm still somewhat sentimental to it overall. A great wave of nostalgia washes over me every time I go through it, and it always ends up leaving a warm feeling in my heart.
… (mere)
½
 
Markeret
Moderation3250 | 774 andre anmeldelser | Feb 24, 2024 |

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Associated Authors

Mark Deakins Narrator, Reader
Anke Caroline Burger Translator, Übersetzer
David Nathan Sprecher
Dan Musselman Executive producer
Gizem Yeşildal Translator
Mitchell Reichler Author photo
Łukasz Dunajski Translator
Noemí Risco Translator
Mai Tõnisoo TõLkija
Marta Mendonça Translator
Ylva Spångberg Translator
Philip Straub Cover artist
Jussi Korhonen Translator
Simona Toroscai Translator
Bryan Beus Illustrator
Lisa Vega Cover designer
Owen Richardson Cover artist

Statistikker

Værker
53
Also by
2
Medlemmer
48,592
Popularitet
#324
Vurdering
½ 3.7
Anmeldelser
1,699
ISBN
639
Sprog
23
Udvalgt
42

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