I was a fan of the original Maze Runner book. The original three book series was good. The books after that got away from the story that I liked but were still entertaining. This book was tough. I feel like 2/3 through the book nothing actually had happened. And the final third, while more entertaining didn’t result in much of anything. I finished just glad it was over. Maybe if I read them all together I would appreciate it more, but generally just not a good enjoyable book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, James Dashner, and Akashic Media Enterprises for providing me and advanced reading copy.

This Maze Cutter entry was a solid piece. Better than book two and quite a bit faster paced. I was pretty surprised by one of the scenes near the end and still thinking about it's impact. I'm still eager to see what happens next.

Did I miss something? Was Isaac not described as 20 years old in the first book, and now all the characters are "children" who can't behave themselves?

The Infinite Glade is the third and final book in the Maze Cutter series, and I think it might also be the final installment in the Maze Runner universe (if it's not, I don't think I'll be continuing regardless, so it'll be the last book for me, anyway). As far as the trilogy as a whole goes, it's definitely disappointing compared to the original material, and I almost think it would have been better as its own thing without the minimal Maze Runner references. It's a pretty clear cash grab, as it only talks about Newt and "Minho" with any frequency, relying on fan favorite characters' names to gain interest. All that being said, it wasn't the worst thing I ever read, and I think some die-hard fans will enjoy the series.

The world (or maybe just Alaska) is at war. The Remnant Nation has finally acted against the Godhead, and our main characters are caught in the crossfire. While Isaac, Jackie, Frypan, and Ximena search for their friends, the rest of the crew embarks on a mission led by Alexandra to uncover the Cure once and for all. The pacing for this series seems to be pretty consistent in that the first 60-75% of each book is fairly uneventful, and then the last quarter is rapid action and twists. Isaac's group has a much slower plot, in my opinion, as they spend a lot of time just traveling and "discovering" the truth, none of which felt super high stakes. I'm also not entirely sure how much the "truth" really added anything to the context of the original series, as it felt kind of bland for a "big reveal." The other group (Minho, Sadina, Trish, Dominic, Orange, Roxy, etc) had a bit more suspense in their chapters, but were similarly slow in the middle section. They saw a lot more action at the end, but I did kind of think the conclusion was a bit anticlimactic, though I suppose it's fine considering this was a trilogy of novellas and didn't feel as heavy as the original series. Do I think it's worth reading all three books? I think if you enjoyed book one, you might as well continue, but if not, it's not worth continuing if you aren't invested in the series.

This series is very ambitious in terms of the number of characters, but I don't think it really pays off. We don't see much beyond caricatures, which makes it hard to be invested in their fates. Isaac is still pretty basic, and I thought we would see some sort of development between him and Jackie, but Jackie was equally two-dimensional. Ximena confused me because she just randomly showed up last book and got a POV, and she still didn't really fit in with the cast, but that bit of complexity did make her a bit more interesting. I was waiting for Sadina to have any struggle with her duty, so I was disappointed in her lack of complexity. Even Minho seemed bland in this one, and I was hoping for more development between him and Roxy. I also didn't care for Alexandra at all; she isn't that enticing of an antagonist. I think the characters had the potential to be lovable, but the lack of development works against them.

The Infinite Glade is the last Maze Runner book (as of now) and the final book in the Maze Cutter trilogy, and if you loved the Maze Cutter books, you will not be disappointed by this conclusion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3/5

I couldn't finish this. I had no idea where things left off, and spent a lot of time backtracking. I finally just gave up. I didn't want to go back and read all those books. I really enjoyed the original Maze Runner book, but after that, I guess I just lost interest as the books and a new series came along. Maybe include more of a recap for those that want to read it. Maybe some day when I have time to start over, I will get through it.

The book was a little too gory for my comfort and it was a lot more serious but I still love it. 4 stars!

upgraded to 3.5 stars.

The end of an era :(
I felt it was a good ending for the Maze Runner universe. There were times throughout the book that the plot slowed a bit, and wanted it to pick up the pace. Overall, it did tie up everything in the end. I will miss this series, and would probably reread in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Akashic Media Enterprises for the digital eARC.