What to Read If Your Child Loved Maze Runner

James Dashner is very well know for his Maze Runner series, which I highly recommend.  In his new venture, he is moving away from dystopian fantasy, and heading into the virtual world.   This is a trend which is picking up steam, so expect more of these computer game focused books in the future.

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Title:       The Eye of Minds

Author:   James Dashner

Target:    Grade 6 and up

Series:     This is the first book in a planned trilogy

What this book is about:
Michael spends almost all his free time in the virtual world of Lifeblood Deep.  He is hooked up to sensors that allow players to experience the full range of physical sensations.   However, when people start getting killed in real life through the game, one player is to blame, but no one can find him.  Michael and his friends are some of the best hackers around, and the government wants to use them to track down this dangerous gamer.  Michael and his friends will have to go off the grid, and that is where the lines between real life and the game start getting blurred.

Why I love this book:
I really enjoyed Dashner’s other series, Maze Runner so I was looking forward to this book.  While it didn’t get off to quite the start that Maze Runner did, by the second half of the book I was completely hooked.  I would say that the story really gets going when Michael and his friends start their search for Kaine, the evil gamer.  

This is the third book I have read in the last couple weeks that explores the concept of virtual worlds and I find the trend fascinating.  Without a doubt this book was the most action packed and it provided the best twist at the end, but I also quite enjoyed Bubble World, which looked at the social and emotional life of kids in virtual games.

While this book was the start of a trilogy and left me with many unanswered questions, it actually did have an ending that didn’t leave me hanging, which I appreciated.  I hate books that leave you at the tip of the precipice.  

Who this book is for:
I have listed it for grade 6 and up because of some of the violence.  This book is for computer loving kids who like their stories with lots of action.  I have yet to find a sixth grade boy who has not devoured this story.

Final thoughts:
I am still not completely clear on the title of the book … but perhaps all will be explained in time!

To purchase this book:
Click on the following link to connect to Amazon: The Eye of Minds (The Mortality Doctrine)  A portion of each purchase goes back to support this blog at no cost to you.