horror | the bibliomaniac book blog

By James Dashner, published by Chicken House.

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2)

Following the events of the first book, The Maze Runner, Thomas and the remaining, surviving gladers have been moved out into the real world, which is in catastrophic conditions. Deranged, zombie-like people roam the streets, claiming that they have been infected with ‘The Flare’, and the streets and houses are look dead. It’s an apocalyptic wasteland. Thomas, Minho and the eighteen other gladers think that their trials are over after the deadly maze, but they’re wrong- the maze trials were only just the beginning. They are told that they have been given the flare infection, and their only way to survive is to do the next trial- the scorch trial. Now, they have to trek one hundred miles across the barren, boiling, infected land to reach a cure. As they begin their second epic adventure, they discover secrets about WICKED, and a parallel group of children, who went through the same maze trial as them… except that they’re teenage girls, not teenage boys. Can the girls and WICKED be trusted, when they’re trying to kill Thomas?

**To read the review of the first book in this series, The Maze Runner, click HERE!**

I seriously enjoyed The Maze Runner, and couldn’t wait to read the sequel. The Scorch Trials, despite quite a few bad reviews on Goodreads, is in my opinion even better than the first book! As in the first book, I was plunged straight into the action, and the horror, which was brilliant, and made me not want to stop reading. The plot wasn’t very complex, but it was still very enjoyable, with a great and effective structure. James Dashner has managed to convey the emotions of Thomas, even in a third person narrative!

I really liked the characters of Teresa and Thomas in the first book, and how they came together, and in this sequel it was very shocking to see how Teresa had rebelled, and had been convinced by WICKED that her had to be killed! That was a great plot twist and really put a test to Teresa and Thomas’s bond. Also, a bit of a love triangle was introduced with the arrival of another character, which was fun to read. However, as all three survived for the next book, I really hope the love triangle won’t overpower the action and suspense in the grand finale.

It was great to revisit not only Thomas and Teresa, but Minho, Winston, and the many other gladers from The Maze Runner. They were great supporting characters, and were just as adventurous and outgoing as before.

Overall, The Scorch Trials was a really great read. It was fast paced, and a really terrifying and horrific adventure. Definitely not for younger readers, but definitely recommended for fans of dystopia, horror, and The Maze Runner!

By Claire McFall, published by Templar.

Ferryman

“Life, death, love– which would you choose?”

Teenage protagonist Dylan is on a train, heading north form Glasgow to finally meet the father that see hasn’t seen in over a decade. But the train crashes in the middle of a countryside full of hills, and when Dylan emerges from the wreckage, the only person she can find is a mysterious looking boy sitting up on a hill. She will soon learn that she has actually died in that train crash, and that she’s emerged into a wasteland full of demons called wraiths who wish to fest on her pure soul, and that the mysterious boy is called Tristan. He is her ferryman; a person who guides souls through the wastelands into the unknown afterlife. As they embark on the terrifying, wraith-infested journey, Dylan finds herself falling in love with her ferryman, Tristan. Life, Death, Love- what will she choose?

This is one of the books that seriously stood out to me during the bloggers brunch event the other weekend. I just couldn’t wait to read it, and ended up reading it in just under a day. I literally could not put it down! It’s a terrifying, downright scary story, with a strong essence of forbidden love. The characters were just brilliant, I grew to really love Dylan, as it was quite a while into the book (about 60 pages) before she actually died. I got to know her whole back story, and what made her how she is, which I wasn’t expecting, but enjoyed. The setting was so imaginative; a really original take on the afterlife. There was not one point in the book that I didn’t like. It was just so awesome.

I really recommend this to YA horror/dark romance/dystopia fans: It’s an absolutely brilliant debut from an author I would really love to read more from!