Tuesday 31 March 2020

Book Review - The Fever Code

Title: The Fever Code
Author: James Dashner
Series: The Maze Runner (Book 5)
Publisher: Chicken House
Release Date: 27th September 2016
ISBN13: 9781911077022

Synopsis 
Once there was a world’s end.
The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.
Now there are secrets.
There are lies.
And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.
This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.
All will be revealed.

A prequel to the worldwide Maze Runner phenomenon, The Fever Code is the book that holds all the answers. How did WICKED find the Gladers? Who are Group B? And what side are Thomas and Teresa really on? Lies will be exposed. Secrets will be uncovered. Loyalties will be proven. Fans will never see the truth coming. Before there was the Maze, there was The Fever Code.


My Review
Now this is the book I have been waiting for, throughout the whole maze runner series there were so many questions raised, who are WICKED, why is Thomas associated with them and why does he feel such a sense of guilt? Where did these people all come from? Why were the mazes built? And why did no-one stop them? I actually really enjoyed the first book in the series and continues to read, and whilst my enjoyment dwindled a bit as the series went on, I found myself still wanting those answers. I thought i would get them in the 'prequel' book - 'Kill Order', but that just created a whole new situation with entirely different characters and made even more questions. I nearly didn't bother with this book as my interest was waning quite rapidly and I didn't want to read something that I didn't think I would enjoy. But I'd come this far - and from reading the blurb of this book, it sounded like the real prequel that I had wanted. 
 This book follows Thomas from the day he is taken from his home as a small child and taken to be part of the WICKED experiment team, we then follow him and some of our other characters through their time at the lab - leading up to the start of the maze. We see Theresa, Newt, Alby, Chuck - the whole gang and get more of an insight into their stories. I particularly enjoyed Newt's backstory and the link to his family and group B. Theresa is still quite a mystery throughout the book and I wondered if i could trust her, having read the series and seen what she does throughout - i was trying to catch her out during this book and there are a couple of moments that make me doubt her. However one revelation about her past that links to the characters in Kill Order made me have a bit more sympathy for her and made that book have a bit more relevance. 
This book had all the excitement and constructs that made the first book interesting, I felt like I was properly immersed in that world again and I read this in just 2 sittings. Overall I think this is probably my favourite book in the entire series, it really opened things up for me and intrigued me again. It actually made me want to read the first book again to see if I could see evidence of things I had just learnt,  and how it all joined up together. 
This is definitely a must read and reminds me of why i enjoyed the first book so much, this is where Dashner shows his skills as a story writer and made me fall in love with the series again. 

My Rating
  
  

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