The Eye of Minds: Book 1: The Eye of Minds

            The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner, author of the Maze Runner series, is a great Sci-Fi book that any gamer should read. It takes place in a world where virtual reality has been invented and the grand net of games is called the VirtNet. Michael is a gamer, and like most gamers he spends most of his time on the VirtNet. He has made his way through the ranks so quickly that some might call him the next Gunnar Skale, the most famous gamer in the world. But Gunnar Skale has disappeared, and someone named Kaine is trapping people in the VirtNet and torturing them. VNS, VirtNet Security, has been watching Michael and want him to help capture Kaine.

            The Eye of Minds is very well written, and it has a very interesting plot twist at the end. Subtle hints as to what happens are scattered like breadcrumbs throughout the book, and not many people will notice them their first time reading it. I like this as it supplies re-read value. The next book, The Rule of Thoughts, comes out in the fall of 2014.

Ender Quartet: Book 1: Ender’s Game

            Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, is a phenomenal book that follows the journey of a young boy named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. He lives in a world were aliens called the Formic, nicknamed the “Buggers,” have invaded Earth twice, or at least tried to. Humans have pushed them out of the solar system each time. With fear for a third invasion gripping the overpopulated planet, the smartest children on the planet are being recruited to go to a space station called the Battle School. The Battle School is a place where a game–a sport, really–that takes place in zero-g teaches them how to command armies. Ender is one of those children.

            Ender’s Game is near the pinnacle of science fiction. It is very good at keeping the reader wanting to know what happens next. It is very exciting and has a climactic ending. Ender is a great main character as he struggles to prove he is good at what he does. The books in this series are Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. There are also many minor books that are canon in this series as well.

The Maze Runner: Book 3: The Death Cure

            The Death Cure, by James Dashner, is the anticlimactic ending to the Maze Runner trilogy. With the trials over the Gladers have been offered by WICKED to have their memories restored so they can help create a cure for the flare. Thomas, however, has already remembered more than WICKED thinks and knows enough to not trust WICKED. WICKED says that the time for lies is over, but Thomas is discovering more about WICKED and himself as he tries to bring them down.

            This book is, as stated before, very anticlimactic and is filled to the brink with unnecessary plot devices and deaths. Thomas has to fight his way through Denver as he makes one stupid decision that almost gets him killed after another. He then leaves to make even more stupid decisions and eventually gets his friends killed. This book shows exactly how stupid Thomas really is and that he had dumb luck in the first books. At the end of this book I decided not to read The Kill Order until it was the last book on my shelf. The books in this series are The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel is The Kill Order.

The Maze Runner: Book 2: The Scorch Trials

            The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner, is a book that tells readers what happens after Thomas and the Gladers escape the Maze. Now that they are out, they face a whole new series of challenges. WICKED tells them that they have to cross the Scorch to reach a safe haven in two weeks. But with it, comes difficulty. The world, burned by sun flares, has a climate that has gone out of control and Cranks, people infected by the Flare a disease that makes people insane, are constantly on the hunt for their next meal. Thomas believes that somewhere in his supposedly empty mind rests the secret to defeat WICKED.

            If you ask me, the first book was better. This is still a good book; I just don’t like the ending. It is just too random for it to make any sense. I just don’t like certain things about it. I would specify, but since it is at the end I won’t. The beginning also wasn’t very gripping. The middle is the only part I liked. The entire series is The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel The Kill Order.

Skyship Academy: Book 3: Strikeforce

            Skyship Academy: Strikeforce, by Nick James, is the epic conclusion to the series. With the Authority invasion beginning and humankind near extinction, brothers Cassius Stevenson and Jesse Fisher are Earth’s last chance of survival. They have to gather the planet’s corrupt governments to defend them against the merciless attack. However, the Authority still has a few tricks up its sleeves, and they push the brothers to their limits as they discover how closely their fates are linked.

            This is a great book and a great series that anyone who likes action packed sci-fi adventures should read. It is a solid story that has twists and turns throughout. This is one of my favorite books of all time. It did everything that could be done right, right. It has a great plot, great characters, great everything. The entire series is Pearl Wars, Crimson Rising, and Strikeforce.

Skyship Academy: Book 2: Crimson Rising

            Skyship Academy: Crimson Rising, by Nick James, is a book that continues the events of The Pearl Wars in a way that makes the reader not want to stop. After the battle in Seattle, newfound brothers Jesse Fisher and Cassius Stevenson found their world inside out. Skyship Academy is imprisoning Jesse in his home, afraid of his control of Pearls. Cassius ran to Canada to escape the Unified Party, yet they still threaten him. Jesse finds a red Pearl and starts a sequence that reunite him with Cassius and introduce him to Theo, a Pearlhound with a deadly secret. A larger enemy waits in space, and Jesse and Cassius just might set them loose.

            I really like this book, but I have one complaint; sometimes the characters are really stupid. It’s never both of them, but we learn information from one of them that proves the other’s information wrong, but they continue believing it until it’s almost too late. It really bugs me and made me take a break from reading for a while. Other than that, the book is perfect. It is exciting and mysterious. The books in the series are, in order, The Pearl Wars, Crimson Rising, and Strikeforce.

The Maze Runner: Book 1: The Maze Runner

            The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, is a great book. A boy named Thomas wakes up in the lift, remembering little more than his name. When he reaches the top and the doors open, he finds fifty to sixty other boys waiting for him. They explain that every thirty days the lift opens and a new boy comes out and that they are in a large football stadium sized room called the glade in the middle of a gigantic maze. If they solve the maze, they think they can leave, but they’ve been trying for two years and no solution has come up. Worse still, if you get trapped in the maze at night, creatures called Grievers kill you.

            I really like this book because it is action packed and is very mysterious. At the end of every chapter you just want to keep reading and finish the book. It has great characters and puts you in a mindset that you are just as confused as Thomas. It plays out very well and I love it. Other books in the series are The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. There is also a prequel called The Kill Order.