I had initially marked this book as I will not give feedback, as I requested/DLs in 2012 and upon a review of my netgalley titles I was no longer interested in this title as my reading tastes have changed since then. In trying to improve my netgalley ratio I have learned that titles marked as not giving feedback do not count as a review. So writing this to thank you for the approval but I will not be reading or reviewing at this time. If that changes in the future I will leave a review on instagram, goodreads, storygraph, and amazon.

This is the first time reading anything by this author, so I didn't really know what to expect. This book was fast paced and easy to read. There were lots of twists and turns that I didn't expect. I look forward to reading more from this author. I highly recommend this book.

I'm so tired of the made up cursing in the book. Ugh, the story gets lost in that nonsense.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

This felt like some other book, not Maze Runner related. It was pretty good just very far removed from the world I'd grown used to. That's why it only gets three stars for me. I feel like I would continue on with the series because of the entertainment value. Maybe it gets wrapped up with a nice bow later on.

I didn't like this one as much as the others, but I did enjoy it! I do enjoy his writing style so much. Love the world he built for this series.

This prequel to The Maze Runner series tells the story of Mark and his friend Trina, who both survived the sun flares by meeting up with Alec, a military type, and Lana, a nurse. They have set up a small community, where they are managing to survive with some others. Then, giant Bergs descend with soldiers shooting darts at people, who are then infected by a virus that drives them insane and then kills them. Several of the group die, but Alec, Trina, Mark and Lana set off away from the town, where they happen upon a little girl, Deedee. Deedee has been shot by the arrows but is not ill, a fact which makes her group, headed by the zealous Jed, believe that she is sent by the demons who are causing all the trouble. Mark and Alec get separated from the girls when they try to escape Jed, and stumble upon a Berg landing site, where they find out that the Post-Flare Coalition in Alaska has sent the virus to kill the population, but the virus is mutating. They also find out that the girls are back in the hands of Jed's group, so they take off in a Berg to try to find them. Things go from bad to worse, and even when they find the girls, keeping everyone safe is impossible. The best they can do is to get Deedee to the government facility in Asheville so that she can be studied for a possible cure for the Flare virus. There are frequent flashbacks to thirteen years previous, when Trina and Mark survived the flares and met up with the others.
Strengths: This was an action-packed, nail-biting novel of suspense that will appeal to fans of violent, dystopic novels. I never knew who would die next, and around every corner there lurked some danger or other. Fans of the series will not be disappointed.
Weaknesses: The flashbacks made this a bit difficult to follow (they were almost always dreams that Mark was having), and I'm not entirely sure that I understand how this ties in with The Maze Runner, except for the short chapters that talk about Thomas before and after the main story.

Another installment to the Maze Runner series. Dashber does not shy away from the fast paced action. It is an extremely quick read and a welcome collection to the Maze Runner installments!