The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series)

The beginning of the book start with before Thomas is sent into the Glade. Teresa was the narrator of this part. After reading the Death Cure, I absolutely hated her. But after reading her feelings about him going earned her a shred of the respect I had for her character. The second part of the book was a story of 13 years earlier. This was a year after the devastating sun flares. The world is in great desperation. The story is about Mark and his friends. They were in their village in the mountains when all of a sudden a hovercraft comes swarming down. 5 armed people in mysterious green suits and wearing oxygen masks come out bearing guns. The people were gazed some thinking they were being rescued. They were wrong. The 5 figures start shooting darts, causing the villagers to instantly fall to the ground. Mark, his friends Alec, Trina, the Toad, Lana, and another person get out safely. Alec had secretly had a gun and another tool. Using their things they killed 4 of the mysterious people and were on the hovercraft. One of them got away. When Mark and Alec explored they got to the pilot's room. A man attacked Mark and he was hurt. At the same time the hovercraft crashed. Mark awoke from his slumber and saw Alec. They went into the rubbage that was the Hovercraft and found a workpad. They then set off to their village not knowing what they will find. When they get back they smell dead bodies. They find out sickness was going around and they know it was from the darts. One of their friends lasted from the darts. But the pain in his head was unbearable to him and he killed himself. Mark and his friends start to pack to leave the village. But the person who's name I can't remember has a headache. The friends run out of the room. She tells them to leave and not to worry through the door. The Toad, who was always close to her tells her he is staying with her. The friends leave with despair stuck in their heads. They move some distance away and make camp. Before going to sleep they are interrupted by a visitor. It is the Toad. He is hysterical. He says he is sick and that she died. Alec takes the Toad away and kills him. He comes back to group saying nothing. I don't want to ruin anymore of the story. What happens next? You'll just have to read to find out. This book was absolutely wonderful. It is certainly worth buying! It really gave the background on how it felt to go through the sun flares and the desperation that followed it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves action, romance, and a little mystery. You need to read it especially if you read the Maze Runner Series. I am crazy about this series. Out of the (literally)hundreds of books I have read, this series is the BEST to me. I love James Dashner's way of describing and assorting his words so thoroughly and correctly that you can practically imagine exactly the mood and look of the scene. I can barely put the books down. I absolutely CAN NOT wait until the next one!

Before there was a maze, there was a world torn apart by wars and environmental disaster. The world fell apart with a bang, but a few lone souls tried to cling to the people they found and loved thanks to circumstance. In The Kill Order, James Dashner told us the tale of life before the maze. Mark and Trina were lucky enough to be in the subway when the flares began. Uncontrollable and completely devastating flares tore through the world, destroying everything unlucky enough to be in their wake. They know something is happening, but aren't sure what to do. When attacked by a group of homeless men, they have the incredible luck of being found by Alec, an ex-military survivalist who knows what is happening and how to survive it. But if they don't listen to him quickly, they too will be swept away and drowned by the incoming flash flooding and tsunami caused by the immediate destruction of the ice caps. But there are worse things out there than the sun and the water. Worse by far. It isn't easy, but the group survives getting out of the city... most of the group anyway. While life isn't easy, it is survivable. They even have some semblance of life in their ramshackle civilization. But they were naive to think they could survive undisturbed. Out in the world are terrors far beyond anything Trina, Mark, and Alec have seen so far, they just didn't think they would be battling those terrors so soon and all at once. Together they hope they can fight through the onslaught, but there are far more dangerous things out there than they expected. And those dangers are around every single corner. The thing to know about this prequel is that it really doesn't ever tell the early story of Thomas and Theresa. This story goes way back to tell how the world got so desperate, and it does a pretty good job of that! The problem here is that as a prequel, some people would choose to start the series here. Earliest chronologically must be the first read, right? Wrong! Don't do it! The Maze Runner is so amazing it, and the two subsequent books, should be read first. If you were to read this prequel first, you would lose the desperation of the world years later as well as find yourself totally lost by the time you get to The Maze Runner. I did think this story was interesting, but it wasn't completely necessary. I would rather have had more of the story of Thomas and Theresa instead of little snippets from the prologue and epilogue, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It almost seemed like this story should have been its own series that ends with the start of the maze because there is a huge gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the maze. I think this might have been an afterthought from Dashner, but it worked. I would give this prequel to a student who read the rest of the series, but I wouldn't give it to anyone as a stand-alone even though it is so disjointed from the original series. There is, of course, a decent amount of terror and violence, but nothing more so than the original series. Still, I would love to see the gap between the two parts of the series closed with more of the story!

Dashner pens a suspenseful dystopian future with "The Kill Order." When sun flares and radiation wreak havoc on the Earth, Mark and his friend, Trina, are forced to abandon the life they know to live in one of the new - and rare - habitat zones in the Appalachian mountain chain. Life in the mountains is hard, but livable. Mark's family is gone and in their place are Alec and Lana, two adults, along with Misty and Toad. The story opens with an airplane known as a Berg descending on their village. People in bio suits start shooting darts, infecting people with a virus that causes a quick and painful death. Mark and Alec act quickly to discover what is happening. Soon they learn the virus has a name – the flare. It's also mutating, becoming more destructive. They soon discover a young girl, DeeDee, who appears to be immune to the virus. DeeDee is the hope for the future, but can Mark and Alec get her to the scientists in time to stop the destruction? Dashner's writing style is easy to read. His imagination shines throughout the story as he creates a devastated world. Dashner places you next to Mark in the heart of the action. The plot races forward at break-neck speed, yet holds the reader enthralled. Clues to the sunbursts and flare virus are revealed in just the right places, keeping the reader turning the page. The characters are interesting, especially Mark. His life changes quickly and in a dramatic fashion. His concern and empathy for mankind demonstrates the rapid growth he undertakes. "The Kill Order" is a taunt, suspenseful read. It offers intrigue, action, and adventure. I did not want to put the book down. I would recommend it for readers over 12.

***********SPOILER ALERT************* In general terms I enjoyed the complete saga. "The Maze Runner" was recommended by a book-shop girl after I mentioned her that I was reading the "Hunger Games" books. That first one I adquired as a physical book. Then I read "The Scorch Trials", "The Death Cure" and "The Kill Order" on Kindle format. With this prequel I was expecting a story that would explain more that relationship between Thomas, Teresa and Aris before the Mazes, and how the immunes were picked and sent to the Mazes; how were they lives before, and know more about their personalities before pressing the "reset" button on their brains. Instead we had to meet some other strangers, that to be honest, I didn't love as much as I loved the Gladers. When I accepted the fact this wasn't Thomas story anymore, I had the little hope to find Chancellor Paige at least, and to understand the reason of her decisions in the end of "The Death Cure", and why there was such a confidence on her. But no. She wasn't even mentioned. "The Maze Runner" was very slow on the beginning, something that I understood and thanked later as it's the way to tell us the story in Thomas' point of view (a guy with a mind in blank). Later it catched my honest interest and attention, as same on the next two books. On the other hand, on this one,"The Kill Order" it started slow and continues until the end, and the original formula doesn't work. At the last sentence of the novel, it remains a "mouth taste of nothingness". I would conclude that this book was okay, as a beggining of a different sequel. It is divorced from the saga, even if it's the same world. Maybe at some point I will give Dashner another shot with his other novels. But now it's time to turn the page and read other authors.

I decided to read this before reading The Maze Runner series. Makes sense because this is the Prequel. Love the characters and the story line. Especially Alec. Reminds me of my Grandfather who was a Gunny in the Marine Corps. After reading this I thought about the story and began reading The Maze Runner then it suddenly hit me as I thought back on the story line of The Kill Order... There is a scientific flaw. In the Kill Order it talks about a world turned upside down due to Sun Flares. 2 years after Society is trying to get back on its feet through little colonies. Then suddenly the colonies are attacked by the new form of government using air craft called Bergs. I imagine the big C-130 planes the way they are described. Mark and Alec rebel and strike back against one of the bergs causing it to crash. After surviving the crash the find a touch pad and find a map on it. Mark, Trina, Alec and Lana begin their journey, under Alec's guidance and experience in the millitary, following the map on the pad and using Alec's compass. Now during a real Sun Flare storm, the storm itself would definitely upset the Earth's magnetic polarity so a compass WOULD NOT show a point to true North. Other than this flaw the story is awesome. A definite must buy and read.... As I stated I have already started reading The Maze Runner but I am gonna have to re-order the series before I read any more because my series came from the UK. I live in the US. My series is in UK language format. It talks about centimetre and metres... And when you get into a good reading rythm and suddenly the book talks about something 6 meters across instead of feet or 10 square centimetres, that rythm is halted cause you are trying to break it down. LOL... So far The Maze Runner is awesome.... Only has 2 references to The Kill Order though....

After reading many reviews I re posted this. This book does have a Maze Runner character in it (so many posts on Amazon says it doesn't, which isn't true), and you have to use your mind to see where he went with this. Let's remember Dashner explained where Thomas came from through flash backs and dreams throughout the 3 book series, and he didn't explain where other important characters came from. If you use your mind you can figure out he is doing the same in this book through the story of new chacters. I loved this series!! Part of me hopes James writes more books pre Maze Runner and post Death Cure. This book starts with Teresa watching Thomas go through i believe it's called "the Swipe" before the maze. Then it starts out 13 years later. It kind of started slow for me, but then it got exciting. I think we all knew when buying this book it was going to explain the solar flares and flare disease (I thought the disease started through a lab exploding, which bored me, but it didn't, and the way the disease started is crazy!!). While doing so it brings you close to the new characters. For the first 20% of the book I was frustrated that it wasn't going to tie into WICKED and the 3 Maze runner books at all, then I got a hunch of where it was going through a specific character. The end of the book validated my thought. Like i said I loved it. Dashner did a gret job using flash backs in dreams in all his books to have the reader learn how people got to where they were all while making you feel an attachment to the characters. Loved it!!

The Kill Order by James Dashner Also In Series: Maze Runner Scorch Trials Death Cure In the prequel to the best selling Maze Runner trilogy, you meet Mark and Trina. Before, there was a Maze, before there was WICKED there was the flares, and there was the aftermath. This is the world that Mark and Trina live in now. On their way home from school, the world changed in an instant. Turning from luxury to survival in a heartbeat. Now, out in the wilderness they are trying to make peace with everything they've lost and what they have gained along the way. Problem is, the world is looking to change the peace. The fragile peace is shattered when the Berg's show up and people begin to die. Now, there is a strange illness and it's taking over the population faster than anyone could have ever imagined. But who is behind the illness, what does it really do, what was it's real purpose? Mark and Trina are destined to find out! I was so excited to pick this book up. To be honest, since I read the Maze Runner, I have been in love with the writings of James Dashner. He is truly gifted at creating a world and making sure that you have no idea what is happening or what is coming. Constant surprises abound in the novels that he writes. One might think, that because this is the prequel to his amazingly popular series that it is obviously, not going to be as exciting. They would be wrong. Dashner, makes sure to enlighten his readers to things that you would never dream of happening. Things you never thought of. Things that happened long before Thomas and the crew entered the maze. I loved the way that he didn't start completely at the beginning. To be honest, I thought, initially the book would be told by someone in WICKED that created the Flare, or perhaps, something similar. I was wrong. Much like the Maze Runner, the story is told by the teens that are living in the world plagued by the madness that is now around every corner. In the Maze Runner, the Flare is here and there, but in the prequel you will find that it plays a huge staring role. Giving people a much better view of what the Flare is like and how it begins, ends, etc. I loooooved the character development in this novel. The way Mark changed from the first page to the last.. I can't give too much away, but it was phenomenal. A mark of a true writer. I think anyone that has not read the Maze Runner should. It's one of my favorite dystopian teen novel series. Not to mention, the Prequel just rounds it out even more. I'm not sure if Dashner intends to write another prequel, to explain what happens after the end of the Kill Order, or if instead, that is where the Maze really begins. But, overall, I thought it really rounded out the series. 4.5 stars!!!

The prequel to the Maze Runner is another thriller. We get to explore the back-story about what happened all those years before the Maze. The destruction, the death, the Flare. There are new characters to get to know, and only a very subtle link to those that we all know in the Maze. The underlying plot centers around two main characters. One, a young guy having to step up in a world that’s gone crazy, and the other, seasoned by a military past. It’s an unlikely duo, but they have a strong bond that has been borne from shared tragedy. There are plenty of desperate times when they both need to make some very hard choices. I’ve read a lot of dystopian books over the years, they deal with destroyed societies, oppressive governments, dreadful disease, and violence fuelled by desperation. But for some reason this one seemed to click, making me really think about how I would cope if something as extreme as the Flare ever occurred. The loss of security, the loss of every comfort I take for granted, the loss of family and friends, the loss of knowing that there is always food and water whenever it’s needed. It really did hit me, and I don’t know why this book made that happen. Perhaps it was because much of it was in an urban setting. A place that is so relatable. Walking through the chaotic streets, seeing the crumbling lifestyle in the midst of the ruins of what once provided the security that everyone needed, the loss of that place called home. Dashner captures the extremes. The nightmarish battles between survival and mistrust, and the final threads of human logic that linger in the shadows of crumbling minds. For me, The Kill Order made me really think about how fragile our society is, and about how easily this could happen – more likely by our own wars and conflict than by a natural event. Once we lose our health, our safety and our compassion, everything crumbles. IN A NUTSHELL A lesson on the fragility of society, and a window into the events before the Maze. A gripping read.

Son loved it. He’s reading the whole collection

Episodio della serie "The maze runner" in lingua originale. Preso per mia figlia che legge anche in inglese. Appassionante, prende dalla prima all'ultima pagina. A me è piaciuto quasi più che il primo episodio...

As a prequel to The maze runner sequel, The kill order is good side story that happens just after the catastrophe the led to the maze. It shoold be read after The maze runner and not before.

Product is fine

Wirrkich eine sehr zu empfehlende Buchreihe. Ich hatte viel Spaß beim Lesen. Wunderbar spannend. Das Buchcover hat eine interessante Struktur. Die Buchstaben sind glatt und hervorstehend und der Rest fühlt sich rauh an.