The Flare



Darren Kabunga
1/17/20

Scorch Trails
By James Dashner

“Thomas took a tremulous glance back at the shredded madman at the window, then looked away immediately, wishing he hadn’t reminded his brain of the blood and torn flesh, the insane eyes, the hysterical screaming. Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!” (9). This was the first sign than a new challenge had a appeared for the Gladers.

The Scorch Trials is the second of five books with the Maze Runner being the first. Thomas is the protagonist of the story and the Gladers are the group of kids who are stuck in this trail with him. Thomas has this power where he can talk in his head to his friend and the girl he likes Teresa. When they are having a conversation, all of a sudden her voice disappears from his head. As if almost on cue a man appears one of the barred windows and starts screaming kill me. That is a person who has been infected with the flare, nicknamed a crank. A disease that makes a person go mad. In an effort to get away from the cranks. The Gladers and Thomas move around the building there in to find a new room away from the screaming cranks. As soon as they walk into a new room, the trials have been put into motion. Now it is up to Thomas and Minho the leader of the group to guide them through these challenges.

The Scorch Trails started off slow for me at least. I enjoy very action-filled books or fantasy books. I got this book because it seemed like it had promise to deliver what I wanted. I am glad I stuck with it because it is becoming very enjoyable and interesting. Fantasy, action, and a bit of mystery is what I expected but I got so much more. What I didn’t expect was the bloodiness of some of the scenes. “It was Jack. He lay on the ground, inside a small crater, writhing as he clutched his knee. There was nothing below that—shin, ankle, and foot obliterated by the burst of pure electricity from the sky. Blood that looked like black tar gushed from the hideous wound, making a paste of horror with the dirt. His clothes had been burned off, leaving him naked, injuries spreading across his whole body. He had no hair. And it looked like his eyeballs had …”(135). Bradbury had great description in this scene to the point where it was easy to picture. This scene and others can get pretty bloody and disgusting but it’s still very enjoyable and makes the book more interesting. And since I’m a lover of action and high paced scenes, this was perfect for me and fun to read.

One of my favorite characters in the book is Jorge. He is a crank but not one that is full gone crazy and wants to kill. I have only gotten to about the halfway point in the book where Jorge has just been introduced but he seems very interesting. He is much different from the Gladers and the other kids. He has a lot o the knowledge on the cranks but less on the Gladers and everything else. But, Jorge seems borderline crazy which might hint about the disease getting to him. “After we get you stragglers fed so you don’t go dying of starvation on us, you get to have your punishment for attacking me...You punched me with both of your fists. So we’re gonna cut a finger off each hand”(163). Minho was just protecting his group since a crank just came into the room from the ceiling. All they have seen and heard about cranks has been bad and they seem very frightening. It was more of self-defense because he was unsure of what the crank would do. But, Jorge didn’t seem like he was taking any of it and was mad he got hit so he decided to punish Minho without thinking about his reasoning.

Since I haven’t finished reading the book I can’t give my full opinion. But, from what I have read so far this book seems very interesting and enjoyable. The characters all unique from each other. The story all has something new to offer that makes it better. I’m glad I didn’t stop reading this book at the beginning when I thought it was moving too slow.

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