No One Mourns The WICKED: The Death Cure by James Dashner

May 9, 2013 Coming of Age, Dystopian, Young Adult Fiction, Zombies 33

Good Day Bookworms!

I would like to tell you a story today. It’s a story about LOST. Do you remember that show? Sawyer and Jack and Kate and all these people stranded on a crazy island? The creators kept SAYING they’d tie it all together at the end, but they pretty much just introduced a tertiary storyline that turned out to not be real and everyone re-united in the hereafter? Nobody ever explained why there was a frickin polar bear on the island other than some vague allusion to science experiments and fish biscuits? Why were they testing polar bears? For heaven’s sake, WHY POLAR BEARS?! Apparently it wasn’t important.

Sawyer. Reading. You're welcome.

Sawyer. Reading. You’re welcome.

I just finished The Death Cure by James Dashner and I feel a little bit of LOST letdown. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this is the end of a series that I really enjoyed. Perhaps it’s because I still have questions. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I don’t know. I’m just a little… ambivalent about the way things were left. But let’s back up a moment.

When we left the poor unfortunate souls from the Glade, they were being fried out in the desert and trying to complete a mysterious experiment for a mysterious entity known as WICKED. We learned in The Scorch Trials that after the earth was stricken with a devastating set of solar flares, a man made virus was somehow released that caused people to go insane. Not insane in a treatable realistic mental illness sort of way, but insane in a zombie sort of way. After victims of “the Flare” hit a certain level of brain deterioration, they begin running amok and feasting on human flesh. As it turns out, the boys and girls of the maze experiments were chosen by and large because their brains resisted the virus. They could be exposed to the air born virus all they liked and never succumb to the madness. (A few unfortunate subjects who were NOT immune were included as a control group, so the minute they were turned loose in the desert they were basically screwed. Thanks, WICKED!)

Thomas is our hero and he is one stubborn son of a gun. Once the group emerges alive from their trials in The Scorch, they’re returned to WICKED headquarters and told that the cure is nearly complete. The brilliant scientists just need to run a few more tests. By this point, Thomas and his cronies have had more than enough of this nonsense and they refuse to have their memories re-instated since they don’t trust WICKED with scalpels. All those questions I was hoping to have answered about what in the sam heck went on with Thomas before these trials started? I might know the answers to them now if THOMAS weren’t so STUBBORN!

The_Death_Cure

Thomas and his faithful crew decide they’ve had QUITE enough of WICKED’s tests and break out, jailbird style. That’s when we find out what’s become of the rest of the world. It’s not quite as dire as a full on zombie apocalypse or Captain Tripps, but it ain’t pretty. The group bounces around the remnants of a supposedly infection free Denver for a while before deciding to take a stand and destroy the entity that used them as lab rats. Even if the fate civilization is at stake. They figure that if after torturing children for 2 years WICKED didn’t get the appropriate brain wave patterns they were seeking, the search for the cure was moot. Game over, humanity! Or is it? Muahahahaha. Read the book y’all.

So. About me feeling a bit LOST. There IS a prequel. And I WILL be reading it. Don’t pull a LOST on me, Dashner, just don’t do it! My psyche is fragile! I shall keep you apprised of the happenings, my dear bookworms. Until then, tell me. These books bring up a lot of ethical questions about the rights of the few being sacrificed for the good of the many. We could totally have that discussion. OR. We could talk about why cheese is delicious and why penguins are so damn cute. Your choice, the floor is open.

33 Responses to “No One Mourns The WICKED: The Death Cure by James Dashner”

  1. lostinliterature108

    GIRL….you KNOW I’m gonna talk about this one!

    I am perfectly satisfied with the explanation of the polar bear on LOST. The Dharma Initiative did a lot of work, not just physics and time travel. They had some botany and zoology going on too so I’m cool with that. But I think I’m someone who enjoys the questions and the pondering better than the answers. (The questions and ponderings are what make for great book club discussions too.)

    Now, you’ve got me all in the mood and I’m gonna have to put my dvd’s on…..(Do you remember in season 6 when devastated Sawyer looks up at “Locke” and says, “Well, I guess I better put my pants on…” hehe.

    The Maze Runner series is on my list to read when I, you know, get finished with my challenge. I don’t read many series but I am interested in this one.

    Thanks for the reviews!

    Reply

  2. therelentlessreader

    I never watched Lost. I always wanted to and I planned on spending a weekend or two holed up with the dvds at some point. THEN I heard everyone grumbling about how it all ended and I thought meh. 😉

    Reply

    • Words for Worms

      I DID choose a picture of him READING… But yeah. You’re the only one who loves Sawyer for his mind. The rest of us love him for his smokin’ bod and general rugged sex appeal.

      Reply

  7. ashley

    I think I enjoyed Lost so much because at the end of every episode I was left exclaiming “what the hell just happened” I apreciate things that are left for your own interpitation. Even if I get mad that I didn’t have all the answers. This is why I enjoyed this series so much. I liked that I had to guess! When it just kinda ended I was ok with it. It leaves me to imagine my own ending where Thomas and crew fully restore humanity and the world is right again! ( I think I need to read the prequel! )
    Munster cheese is delish!

    Reply

    • Words for Worms

      I’m alright with the ending- with the immunes getting their own little Eden to start over in. I like having more evidence to pore over, I guess.

      Reply

  8. Megan M.

    My husband and I loved LOST and we were in the minority of people who liked the ending and felt that it explained things “just enough.” I’ve read a lot of reviews of the finale and it seemed like a lot of people just plain misunderstood it. And Sawyer can call me Freckles anytime!

    I would be a little frustrated, though, if I read a trilogy of books and then found out I needed to also read a prequel to get the whole story. It starts to seem like they (the author or the publishers) are just trying to get as much money from you as they can. Grrr.

    Reply

    • Words for Worms

      Honestly I wasn’t super angry with the ending of LOST. I mean, I was fine with the way it ended, I just wish they’d have explained a few more things… Like the polar bear!

      Reply

  9. acps927

    I actually don’t think the prequel helps much, but that could depend on what questions bother you most, because it does answer some things. Just not everything… Sigh.

    Reply

  10. Jennine G.

    I’ve never watched LOST, but I totally agree with your take on the third book – way uncool. I just want something solid to tell what the original problem was and all that…is it so much to ask? I’m really hoping this prequel is all it should be!

    Reply

  11. Samantha

    Thank you for ‘Sawyer reading’ photo. My favorite, for sure. Snarky, good looking, and educated! What now? 😛

    I still haven’t finished LOST. Boyfriend and I started it awhile ago and never finished.

    Reply

  12. Rory

    So, my issue with LOST (one of many) was that they never explained why Walt was special. I needed to know!

    Reply

      • Darlene

        There is an epilogue after the finale. It gives you what could be the reason for his special-ness or at least how it can be used for good. It is only an 8 minute epilogue but it answers a couple more questions. I think you can find it on YouTube. I have it as a bonus feature on my dvds. And I agree with Megan. I think a lot of people just misunderstood the end.

        Reply

      • lostinliterature108

        Oh!!!!! And I forgot!!!! The epilogue mentions the bears!!

        Reply

  13. Bex Hagan

    Nothing to do with the book, but….POLAR BEARS?!?!? I refused to watch Lost based solely on the presence of those damn polar bears. It just seemed so stupid to me. Polar Bears, seriously?!?

    Reply

  14. Sarah Says Read

    There were still a million LOST questions! I didn’t hate the ending as much as some people I know, and it was still a pretty good show overall. I think they got SO popular they started making it up as they went along to last for more seasons and then weren’t sure how to make it all add up at the end.

    I love that Sawyer was the reader of the group 🙂

    Reply

    • Words for Worms

      Me too! They could have gone so cliche with his character and make him a non reader, but no. He was devouring all the good books. Made him so much more delicious! (I also agree on the show. I think they had an idea but it went on longer than they anticipated and they just kept throwing seasons together…)

      Reply

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