"The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Book 2)" by James Dashner
https://www.amazon.com/Scorch-Trials-Maze-Runner-Book/dp/0385738765/

Book number two of a six book young adult science fiction apocalyptic
series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback
published by Delacorte Press in 2011. I have purchased the next three
books in the series from Big River and am reading the third book now.

I saw the excellent movies made using the first three books in the
series a couple of years ago and decided to read the books finally. The
first movie is fairly faithful to the first book with Dylan O'Brien
(Teen Wolf) playing the part of Thomas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_Runner:_The_Scorch_Trials

The basic premise is that the Sun goes wild and scorches the Earth in an
event called the Flare, outright killing most of the people on Earth.
And then a manmade virus rolls through the remaining population, killing
many of them and making most of the survivors crazy. A group of kids
wake up in a glade surrounded by a huge maze full of dangerous creatures
and learn how to survive in very difficult situations.

The kids make their way out of the maze and into the control room for
the maze. A group of scientists takes them to a safe place and then
sends them across the blistering desert. At the so-called safe place,
the kids find out that there was another maze and another group of kids.

Warning: Several of the kids are killed in the book and the movie.

The author has a website at:
https://jamesdashner.com/

My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (8,543 reviews)

Lynn

On Sat, 12 Nov 2022 19:03:53 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

>
> The basic premise is that the Sun goes wild and scorches the Earth in an
> event called the Flare, outright killing most of the people on Earth.
> And then a manmade virus rolls through the remaining population, killing
> many of them and making most of the survivors crazy. A group of kids
> wake up in a glade surrounded by a huge maze full of dangerous creatures
> and learn how to survive in very difficult situations.
>

The Wikipedia page for this book summarizes the plot from the other end
of the telescope, so to speak. "Thomas wakes up in a metal elevator
that brings him to the Glade. He has no memory of who he is or how
he got there, except for his name. He gradually discovers..."

This jogs my memory of the plot of the acclaimed "Project
Hail Mary," by Andy Weir:
"Ryland Grace emerges from his coma with no memory of his identity
or situation. As the mission proceeds, Grace deduces his situation
while his memory returns gradually."

So just how popular in SF is the McGuffin of emerging from sleep/coma
and recovering some memory?

In article <V52cL.76500$Jjx8.29933@fx15.iad>,
Charles Packer <mailbox@cpacker.org> wrote:
>On Sat, 12 Nov 2022 19:03:53 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>
>>
>> The basic premise is that the Sun goes wild and scorches the Earth in an
>> event called the Flare, outright killing most of the people on Earth.
>> And then a manmade virus rolls through the remaining population, killing
>> many of them and making most of the survivors crazy. A group of kids
>> wake up in a glade surrounded by a huge maze full of dangerous creatures
>> and learn how to survive in very difficult situations.
>>
>
>The Wikipedia page for this book summarizes the plot from the other end
>of the telescope, so to speak. "Thomas wakes up in a metal elevator
>that brings him to the Glade. He has no memory of who he is or how
>he got there, except for his name. He gradually discovers..."
>
>This jogs my memory of the plot of the acclaimed "Project
>Hail Mary," by Andy Weir:
>"Ryland Grace emerges from his coma with no memory of his identity
>or situation. As the mission proceeds, Grace deduces his situation
>while his memory returns gradually."
>
>So just how popular in SF is the McGuffin of emerging from sleep/coma
>and recovering some memory?
>

Well, Laumer, Zelazney & Dick come to mind immediately. It was
also the opener for the indie Hellequin series, and was (arguably)
an element of Offut & Lyon's Tiana Highrider series.
--
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