The Maze Cutter: The Infinite Glade

By Amelia Morris

“The Maze Cutter: The Infinite Glade” by James Dashner weaves a story told from four different perspectives of a war-driven dystopian world overcome with disease, destruction and chaos. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

“The Maze Cutter: The Infinite Glade” was released this September as the final book in the “Maze Cutter” Trilogy. The book takes place 73 years after the original “Maze Runner” series and features characters descended from the original Gladers. 

The Gladers refer to the original characters from the “Maze Runner” books who were forced to run the maze in an attempt to escape their manufactured prison. The books explain that Isaac and Ximena are both descendants of Gladers but never specify the individuals. 

The two separate storylines follow the divided group of friends as they attempt to find each other in the war stricken ice fields of Alaska. While the friends deal with personal conflicts, the people of earth are also facing threats from solar flares which cause illnesses and even death to those who have not adapted to the new landscape. 

The first storyline is told by Isaac and Ximena, bringing the audience through their journey of discovering the true nature of the Cure, the somewhat abstract medical savior of humanity, and who it was meant for; giving the next generation a chance at life in this unliveable world.

Isaac longs to find his best friend Sadina, their group of friends and ultimately some answers. Ximena wrestles with her “‘inner-knowning,” a strong feeling something is going to happen, almost like a superpower. At the same time she is trying to maintain her hard-shell character. The two don’t get along and have a hard time working together but by the end, they form a friendship that helps accomplish their goals.

All the while, the other group of characters with Minho and Alexandra combat one another for power. Alexandra, or as she calls herself: the godhead, brainwashes Sadina and the group of friends into becoming her followers. She hopes to one day accomplish her version of the Evolution using Sadina as her gateway. 

Minho, a former soldier for the Remnant Nation and by nature an opponent of the godhead will not allow this. He fights for his friends in a calculated conflict between him and the supposed godhead. Unfortunately for fans of the series, this is not the original Minho from the first book, but instead an orphan who decided to name himself after the legendary Glader.

I love the “Maze Runner” don’t get me wrong, but this book was abysmal. I found myself waiting for something profound to happen and it never did. None of my burning questions were answered, the characters never developed and the ending was unsettling. If this is the conclusion to such an epic saga, why did the story not tie up in a neat little bow? 

My biggest complaint is that the characters never moved beyond the first page. Their arc was more of a line. Transitions between every new narrator involved unnecessary exposition. As soon as the book moved to an essence of a plot, the audience was subjected to another transition. The climax of the story only illuminated how paper thin the plot and characters alike were. 

The Infinite Glade was not the most interesting book I have ever read. I did however enjoy Minho’s portion of the novel. His narration illustrated exactly what I was thinking while reading. He provided a sense of attachment that got me through the book. Without his commentaries, I definitely would have given up on the book altogether. The antagonist of the novel, Alexandra, was easy to dislike, which I can appreciate. Her authoritative attitude toward the group made me support Minho’s mission. Making it more interesting to watch her be overthrown.  

The book did not need to have a happy ending. The audience of a dystopian fiction novel would never expect such a thing. However, I do not understand the book’s incompleteness. I was hoping, in vain, that I would learn what the primary focus of the book and the saga overall was. 

“The Infinite Glade” was not a good read, not one bit. Do not waste your time reading this book because the characters and plot end in the exact same place they start.

“The Infinite Glade” is available wherever you buy your books.

Amelia Morris is a freshman journalism major and writer for Cedars A&E. She loves reading, writing, being in nature and with her dogs.

Images sourced from Amazon.com, CBS 42 and Pop-Culturalist.