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The Maze Runner
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The Maze Runner: Book 1

The Maze Runner (2009) (edit title/settings)

by James Dashner (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade -- a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

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Summary edit see section history

Thomas wakes up to find himself in a box. When he reaches the top, he is pulled out by a group of boys. The only thing he remembers is his name, nothing else.

Thomas learns that all these boys live in a place called the Glade. The Glade is surrounded by tall, stone walls with four... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Thomas wakes up to find himself in a box. When he reaches the top, he is pulled out by a group of boys. The only thing he remembers is his name, nothing else.

Thomas learns that all these boys live in a place called the Glade. The Glade is surrounded by tall, stone walls with four massive openings (also referred to as doors) in the center of each wall. These doors close each night to protect them from the monsters that live beyond the Glade's walls. The monsters live in a place called the Maze which lies outside of the walls around the Glade. These monsters are called Grievers and attempt to sting the Gladers. If the Gladers get stung, they undergo the Changing, a painful process which people can survive if given a special serum in time. This serum has some side effects such as regained memory. The walls to the maze move every night so there is a different maze outside each door every day.

A day after Thomas arrives at the Glade, another person is sent up in the Box, the elevator which brings new people to the Glade. Only boys live in the Glade and to their surprise a girl, Teresa, is sent up in the Box. They were also surprised because it was the first time someone new had been brought to the Glade in less than a month. She brings with her a message that she will be the last one to ever arrive in the Glade and that the end is nearly coming someday soon. She then falls into a deep coma. After the arrival of Teresa, the boys blame Thomas for everything abnormal going on, saying everything is all his fault.

In the end, the boys realize that they are against a force called WICKED. The boys believe that they are being put through a series of trials to find the best boys for the job WICKED has planned for them. They realize that the Maze is to be solved.

People called Runners, have studied the maze for the two years, running around their section of the maze each day. Every day the Runners go into the maze and look for changes in the maze. They come back to the Glade and sketch the days changes. Teresa has a telepathic connection with Thomas and tells him that WICKED is good, and that the maze is a code, and meant to be solved. Thomas is completely scared to tell the others about their Gift, and other people, who have gone through the Changing, claim to have seen Thomas before. In an effort to bring memories back about who Thomas really is and why the Gladers are there, Thomas purposefully gets stung by one of the Grievers. During the Changing Thomas understands why they are there. He and the girl Teresa both helped design the maze, and Thomas finally understands how to escape the Maze. He gets all of the sketches of the maps of the Maze and stacks them over each other for each day and for each section of the Maze that day on wax paper. The maps start to spell a series of words which have to be entered into a computer through an invisible hole off the Cliff, which lies somewhere in the maze. Everyone realizes this plan and Thomas takes a group and leads their final charge against WICKED and in the end types the words in and pushes a button and a door opens letting the remaining 21 Gladers through.

They all meet the Creators of the Maze. Gally, a crazy Glader who had mysteriously disappeared at one point, throws a knife at Thomas, but Thomas's friend, Chuck, intercepts it, sacrificing himself. The remaining Gladers are soon taken by a bunch of people that come in and kill the Creators. They find out that the Earth is now a barren wasteland, burned by sun flares. A disease spread, the Flare, and consumed almost everybody on Earth. WICKED set up the maze to find the smartest people to find a cure to this disease. A group of people who are completely against the idea of WICKED get Thomas and the others away from the Creators. Thomas and his group are told that they are heading across an extremely dangerous part near the equator, called the Scorch, to get to a safe haven to find the cure. Thomas and his friends are given shelter, beds, and food, and fall into a peaceful sleep. Little did they know what would be awaiting them when they woke up.

In the epilogue, the head leader of WICKED, in a couple of memos, describes how group A's trial results went extremely well in the Maze, and that their next challenge will be to cross the Scorch. Thomas and his friends will be given one day of rest before the second stage of the trials begins.

Characters edit see section history

  • Thomas: The protagonist. He is the newest boy sent to the Glade.
  • Alby: The leader of the Gladers.
  • Newt: The Second-in-Command of the Gladers.
  • Chuck: Thomas's first friend once arriving at the Glade. Job: Slopper
  • Gally: Thomas meets Gally and decides that he doesn't like him because he is a bully in the Glade.
  • Minho: A Glader and Keeper of the Runners. He was one of the first persons who was able to stay out in the Maze overnight. He nominates Thomas to become the new Keeper but instead makes him a normal Runner. He has a firey temper and wit to match.
  • Winston: Keeper of the Slaughterers.
  • Ben: A Glader who is stung by a Griever and is going through the Changing when Thomas arrives.
  • Zart: Keeper of the Track Hoes. Track Hoes: Farming, planting, harvesting.
  • Frypan: The Cook.
  • Teresa: She is the only girl that has ever arrived in the Glade.
  • The Creators: The Creators are cunning and mysterious. No one seems to know quite a lot about them if anything. All they know is that it was them that created the maze and put the Gladers there in the first place.
Show all 12 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Thomas felt a trickle of courage inside him -- he grasped it, clung to it, urged it to grow. Newt was right. Tonight, they'd fight. Tonight, they'd make their stand, once and for all.”
  • “Why punish a guy for saving someone's life?”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Takes place in the future place called The Glade. The Glade is an area in the middle of the maze. It's the entrance to four of the eight sections of the maze, and where everybody lives.
  • The Maze: The Maze is considered to be the way out. Because of it's inhabitants, the Grievers. Only Maze Runners are allowed in the maze. The Runners map the maze each day.
  • The Homestead: A house the Gladers built where some sleep at night.
  • The Map Room: The place where maps that were recorded by the runners are kept and modified.
  • The Deadheads: A graveyard, also the place where Thomas hangs sometimes to think.
  • The Slammer: The Glader's prison holding cell.
  • The Griever Hole: The hole which grievers disappear through.
  • The Camera Room: The place where the Gladers are watched over by The Creators

Organizations edit see section history

  • WICKED: First, the word WICKED is seen on the backs of the spies of the creators. Soon, the word begins to appear everywhere in The Glade.
  • The Creators: The Gladers' name for the group who put them into the Maze

First Sentence edit see section history

He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapters 1 - 62
Epilogue

Glossary edit see section history

  • Klunk: (noun) feces <from the sound it makes when it hits the "chamber pot">
  • Greenbean: AKA: Greenie (noun) The newest arrival at the Glade
  • Shank: (noun) A derogatory term for people.
  • Griever: A large, bulbous creature the size of a cow, but with no distinct shape, that stalks the Gladers. It is a mix of animal and machine, with spikes that can "prick" you. Eerie lights of color shine from its glistening body. Instrument-tipped appendages also protrude from it, consisting of a saw blade, a set of shears, and long rods.
  • Creators: The people responsible for the creation of the maze and putting the kids in it.
  • Glader: The name for an individual who lives in the Maze.
  • Med-jack: A doctor.
  • The Changing: What one who has been stung by a Griever goes through once he or she receives the serum to counteract the Griever sting. It allows you to see a glimpse of what your life was like before being a part of the maze.
  • “Shuck: a way the kids in the book cuse. kind of like saying F... but more mild.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in The Maze Runner. (standard series)

Preceded by The Kill Order, and followed by The Scorch Trials.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. James Dashner (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: October 2009
ISBN: 9780385737944
Page Count: 374

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.D2587Maz 2009
  • Dewey: F DAS

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Some violence and disturbing scenes, better for teenagers 13 and older. Much use of made-up swear words.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Scorch Trials
  • House of Stairs
  • The Hunger Games
  • Catching Fire
  • Double Identity
  • Taken
  • Double Helix
  • Genesis
  • Incarceron
  • The Discovery of Socket Greeny
  • The Training of Socket Greeny
  • The Legend of Socket Greeny
  • William F. Nolan's Logan's Run - Last Day
  • Logan's Run
  • Logan's Run
  • Logan's Run

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Kill Order

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