MUMBAI: Here’s the review of the seventh book in the 10-part series that features books being adapted into Hollywood movies in 2014.

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters and gardens with no way out.

Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids, who call themselves the Maze Runners, venture into the labyrinth, trying to map and figure out the ever-changing pattern of the walls in an attempt to find an exit from The Glade, a place to them that now feels far worse than hell. So far, no one has figured a way out of The Glade. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions falling victim to the maniacal Grievers (part animal and part mechanical killing machines).

Enter Thomas, the newest arrival to The Glade. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. Heavily influenced by famous sci-fi teen fiction like Ender’s Game and Lord of the Flies, The Maze Runner takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through The Maze in this tale of survival, friendship and civilization.

On its arrival on the bookshelves, James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, book retailer Barnes & Noble included the book as part of its showcasing of new writers for the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. According to Wikipedia, The Maze Runner spent a year on The New York Times Bestsellers List. The Maze Runner currently stands at 3.98/5 of 151,708 ratings on Goodreads.

The live action motion picture adaptation of The Maze Runner stars Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) as Thomas, Kaya Scodelario (Skins) as Teresa, Aml Ameen (Kidulthood) as Alby, Thomas Brodie Sangster (Game of Thrones) as Newt, and Will Poulter (We’re The Millers) as Gally and is directed by Wes Ball, who makes his full length feature film directorial debut with The Maze Runner with a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim (The Buried Life).

The Maze Runner will amaze Indian audiences 19 September 2014.