---
product_id: 771525
title: "The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series)"
price: "2817 kr"
currency: ISK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.is/products/771525-the-kill-order-the-origin-of-the-maze-runner-maze
store_origin: IS
region: Iceland
---

# The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series)

**Price:** 2817 kr
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- **What is this?** The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series)
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## Description

desertcart.com: The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series): 9780385742894: Dashner, James: Books

Review: Riveting! - Dashner pens a suspenseful dystopian future with "The Kill Order." When sun flares and radiation wreak havoc on the Earth, Mark and his friend, Trina, are forced to abandon the life they know to live in one of the new - and rare - habitat zones in the Appalachian mountain chain. Life in the mountains is hard, but livable. Mark's family is gone and in their place are Alec and Lana, two adults, along with Misty and Toad. The story opens with an airplane known as a Berg descending on their village. People in bio suits start shooting darts, infecting people with a virus that causes a quick and painful death. Mark and Alec act quickly to discover what is happening. Soon they learn the virus has a name – the flare. It's also mutating, becoming more destructive. They soon discover a young girl, DeeDee, who appears to be immune to the virus. DeeDee is the hope for the future, but can Mark and Alec get her to the scientists in time to stop the destruction? Dashner's writing style is easy to read. His imagination shines throughout the story as he creates a devastated world. Dashner places you next to Mark in the heart of the action. The plot races forward at break-neck speed, yet holds the reader enthralled. Clues to the sunbursts and flare virus are revealed in just the right places, keeping the reader turning the page. The characters are interesting, especially Mark. His life changes quickly and in a dramatic fashion. His concern and empathy for mankind demonstrates the rapid growth he undertakes. "The Kill Order" is a taunt, suspenseful read. It offers intrigue, action, and adventure. I did not want to put the book down. I would recommend it for readers over 12.
Review: Doesn't Connect to Original Series Well, but Interesting! - Before there was a maze, there was a world torn apart by wars and environmental disaster. The world fell apart with a bang, but a few lone souls tried to cling to the people they found and loved thanks to circumstance. In The Kill Order, James Dashner told us the tale of life before the maze. Mark and Trina were lucky enough to be in the subway when the flares began. Uncontrollable and completely devastating flares tore through the world, destroying everything unlucky enough to be in their wake. They know something is happening, but aren't sure what to do. When attacked by a group of homeless men, they have the incredible luck of being found by Alec, an ex-military survivalist who knows what is happening and how to survive it. But if they don't listen to him quickly, they too will be swept away and drowned by the incoming flash flooding and tsunami caused by the immediate destruction of the ice caps. But there are worse things out there than the sun and the water. Worse by far. It isn't easy, but the group survives getting out of the city... most of the group anyway. While life isn't easy, it is survivable. They even have some semblance of life in their ramshackle civilization. But they were naive to think they could survive undisturbed. Out in the world are terrors far beyond anything Trina, Mark, and Alec have seen so far, they just didn't think they would be battling those terrors so soon and all at once. Together they hope they can fight through the onslaught, but there are far more dangerous things out there than they expected. And those dangers are around every single corner. The thing to know about this prequel is that it really doesn't ever tell the early story of Thomas and Theresa. This story goes way back to tell how the world got so desperate, and it does a pretty good job of that! The problem here is that as a prequel, some people would choose to start the series here. Earliest chronologically must be the first read, right? Wrong! Don't do it! The Maze Runner is so amazing it, and the two subsequent books, should be read first. If you were to read this prequel first, you would lose the desperation of the world years later as well as find yourself totally lost by the time you get to The Maze Runner. I did think this story was interesting, but it wasn't completely necessary. I would rather have had more of the story of Thomas and Theresa instead of little snippets from the prologue and epilogue, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It almost seemed like this story should have been its own series that ends with the start of the maze because there is a huge gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the maze. I think this might have been an afterthought from Dashner, but it worked. I would give this prequel to a student who read the rest of the series, but I wouldn't give it to anyone as a stand-alone even though it is so disjointed from the original series. There is, of course, a decent amount of terror and violence, but nothing more so than the original series. Still, I would love to see the gap between the two parts of the series closed with more of the story!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #11,488 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #22 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Action & Adventure #31 in Teen & Young Adult Friendship Fiction #43 in Teen & Young Adult Dystopian |
| Book 4 of 5  | The Maze Runner |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (11,287) |
| Dimensions  | 5.5 x 0.78 x 8.31 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| Grade level  | 7 - 9 |
| ISBN-10  | 0385742894 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0385742894 |
| Item Weight  | 10.4 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 384 pages |
| Publication date  | January 7, 2014 |
| Publisher  | Delacorte Press |
| Reading age  | 10 - 13 years, from customers |

## Images

![The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91RSBftkczL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Riveting!
*by S***S on October 22, 2014*

Dashner pens a suspenseful dystopian future with "The Kill Order." When sun flares and radiation wreak havoc on the Earth, Mark and his friend, Trina, are forced to abandon the life they know to live in one of the new - and rare - habitat zones in the Appalachian mountain chain. Life in the mountains is hard, but livable. Mark's family is gone and in their place are Alec and Lana, two adults, along with Misty and Toad. The story opens with an airplane known as a Berg descending on their village. People in bio suits start shooting darts, infecting people with a virus that causes a quick and painful death. Mark and Alec act quickly to discover what is happening. Soon they learn the virus has a name – the flare. It's also mutating, becoming more destructive. They soon discover a young girl, DeeDee, who appears to be immune to the virus. DeeDee is the hope for the future, but can Mark and Alec get her to the scientists in time to stop the destruction? Dashner's writing style is easy to read. His imagination shines throughout the story as he creates a devastated world. Dashner places you next to Mark in the heart of the action. The plot races forward at break-neck speed, yet holds the reader enthralled. Clues to the sunbursts and flare virus are revealed in just the right places, keeping the reader turning the page. The characters are interesting, especially Mark. His life changes quickly and in a dramatic fashion. His concern and empathy for mankind demonstrates the rapid growth he undertakes. "The Kill Order" is a taunt, suspenseful read. It offers intrigue, action, and adventure. I did not want to put the book down. I would recommend it for readers over 12.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Doesn't Connect to Original Series Well, but Interesting!
*by O***N on October 15, 2013*

Before there was a maze, there was a world torn apart by wars and environmental disaster. The world fell apart with a bang, but a few lone souls tried to cling to the people they found and loved thanks to circumstance. In The Kill Order, James Dashner told us the tale of life before the maze. Mark and Trina were lucky enough to be in the subway when the flares began. Uncontrollable and completely devastating flares tore through the world, destroying everything unlucky enough to be in their wake. They know something is happening, but aren't sure what to do. When attacked by a group of homeless men, they have the incredible luck of being found by Alec, an ex-military survivalist who knows what is happening and how to survive it. But if they don't listen to him quickly, they too will be swept away and drowned by the incoming flash flooding and tsunami caused by the immediate destruction of the ice caps. But there are worse things out there than the sun and the water. Worse by far. It isn't easy, but the group survives getting out of the city... most of the group anyway. While life isn't easy, it is survivable. They even have some semblance of life in their ramshackle civilization. But they were naive to think they could survive undisturbed. Out in the world are terrors far beyond anything Trina, Mark, and Alec have seen so far, they just didn't think they would be battling those terrors so soon and all at once. Together they hope they can fight through the onslaught, but there are far more dangerous things out there than they expected. And those dangers are around every single corner. The thing to know about this prequel is that it really doesn't ever tell the early story of Thomas and Theresa. This story goes way back to tell how the world got so desperate, and it does a pretty good job of that! The problem here is that as a prequel, some people would choose to start the series here. Earliest chronologically must be the first read, right? Wrong! Don't do it! The Maze Runner is so amazing it, and the two subsequent books, should be read first. If you were to read this prequel first, you would lose the desperation of the world years later as well as find yourself totally lost by the time you get to The Maze Runner. I did think this story was interesting, but it wasn't completely necessary. I would rather have had more of the story of Thomas and Theresa instead of little snippets from the prologue and epilogue, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It almost seemed like this story should have been its own series that ends with the start of the maze because there is a huge gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the maze. I think this might have been an afterthought from Dashner, but it worked. I would give this prequel to a student who read the rest of the series, but I wouldn't give it to anyone as a stand-alone even though it is so disjointed from the original series. There is, of course, a decent amount of terror and violence, but nothing more so than the original series. Still, I would love to see the gap between the two parts of the series closed with more of the story!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A lesson on the fragility of society ... A gripping read.
*by S***M on March 29, 2017*

The prequel to the Maze Runner is another thriller. We get to explore the back-story about what happened all those years before the Maze. The destruction, the death, the Flare. There are new characters to get to know, and only a very subtle link to those that we all know in the Maze. The underlying plot centers around two main characters. One, a young guy having to step up in a world that’s gone crazy, and the other, seasoned by a military past. It’s an unlikely duo, but they have a strong bond that has been borne from shared tragedy. There are plenty of desperate times when they both need to make some very hard choices. I’ve read a lot of dystopian books over the years, they deal with destroyed societies, oppressive governments, dreadful disease, and violence fuelled by desperation. But for some reason this one seemed to click, making me really think about how I would cope if something as extreme as the Flare ever occurred. The loss of security, the loss of every comfort I take for granted, the loss of family and friends, the loss of knowing that there is always food and water whenever it’s needed. It really did hit me, and I don’t know why this book made that happen. Perhaps it was because much of it was in an urban setting. A place that is so relatable. Walking through the chaotic streets, seeing the crumbling lifestyle in the midst of the ruins of what once provided the security that everyone needed, the loss of that place called home. Dashner captures the extremes. The nightmarish battles between survival and mistrust, and the final threads of human logic that linger in the shadows of crumbling minds. For me, The Kill Order made me really think about how fragile our society is, and about how easily this could happen – more likely by our own wars and conflict than by a natural event. Once we lose our health, our safety and our compassion, everything crumbles. IN A NUTSHELL A lesson on the fragility of society, and a window into the events before the Maze. A gripping read.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Kill Order: The Origin of the Maze Runner (The Maze Runner Series)
- The Fever Code: The Story of How the Maze Was Built (The Maze Runner Series)
- The Death Cure: Book Three of the Maze Runner Series

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*Last updated: 2026-03-13*