The kill order by James Dashner

Chicken House, 2013. ISBN 9781908435590.
(Age: 14+) A prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, The kill order is the story of what happened before the Maze was built and WICKED was formed. The earth was devastated by solar flares, cities were flooded and people fled to higher ground. Mark and Trina managed to escape New York City accompanying Alec, an experienced ex-soldier and a group of teens.
This was a very exciting book that was hard to put down. Dashner's description of the devastation caused by the sun, the resulting tsumanis and the sheer terror of trying to escape death is riveting. Using Mark's dreams to retell what has happened, Dashner brings to life what it would be like to live after an apocalypse. Mark's narration is thrilling and the action is non stop, so much so that there is little time for deep characterisation. The group battles the bergs that send down darts full of a fatal virus that makes people go mad before they die. They battle a cult of mad people, and the baddies who have sent the bergs. There is little relief from the violence of the clashes, which were very graphic and all too real and which I found to be quite disturbing.
Readers who enjoyed the Maze Runner trilogy as I did (review), will want to find out how it all began; however The kill order is not for the faint hearted.
Pat Pledger