So-So

The Kill Order:  Maze Runner #0.5 by James Daschner

Dystopian

I have no idea why you should read this as related to the Maze Runner series, or at all.  I thought perhaps it would explain why the 'maze' was created, but it didn't.  I couldn't see that it explained anything.  In what way is this a prequel?  (This is not a rhetorical question...I would really like to know.) Perhaps this should be read after reading more of the series?

The book opens on a small group of survivors who have made it through the sun flares that have killed off most of the population. I was really interested in the pre-story to this part of the book as it sounded fascinating, but don't get your hopes up.  Hardly any of this is explained. 

Now, the few survivors have a new enemy--a virus that turns people into zombie-type creatures.  Sellout!  It felt like the author was buying into the present day zombie hype rather than coming up with a creative idea.

Mark and Trina survived the flares and made a home in the wilderness with a bunch of other misfits.  When the zombie plague invades their small group, they find themselves on the run once again.  Mark discovers evidence of other groups in the wilderness, one decimated by the virus and the other with confusing, cutting-edge technology.  When Mark and his group see (and are almost killed by) some type of flying ship; they know its makers hold the key to survival on this new earth.

I found this story to be very bland.  It was just a straight narrative of a very confusing and diluted chain of events with characters I could care less about.  Just so-so.