The Kill Order by James Dashner Summary

The Kill Order is a dystopian prequel to The Maze Runner series, set thirteen years before the first book. The story follows Mark and Trina, two young survivors navigating a post-apocalyptic world after devastating sun flares destroy civilization. They must fight for survival when a government aircraft releases a deadly virus called the Flare, which was secretly designed for population control but mutated into something far more sinister.

James Dashner is an American author born in 1972 in Austell, Georgia, specializing in young adult speculative fiction. He studied accounting at Brigham Young University before becoming a full-time writer. Dashner is best known for The Maze Runner series, which became a successful film franchise grossing nearly $949 million worldwide. His other notable works include The 13th Reality series and The Mortality Doctrine trilogy.

The Kill Order is ideal for young adult readers and fans of dystopian science fiction who enjoy action-packed survival stories. It appeals to readers of The Maze Runner series seeking backstory about the virus outbreak and world-ending events. However, due to graphic violence including torture, cannibalism, and intense combat scenes, it's best suited for mature teens aged 15 and older. Readers who enjoyed The Hunger Games or Divergent will appreciate its themes.

The Kill Order is worth reading for Maze Runner fans seeking deeper understanding of the series' backstory and the Flare virus origins. It provides crucial context about how the dystopian world was created through government conspiracy and population control. However, readers should note it contains significantly more graphic violence than the original trilogy, including disturbing scenes of cannibalism and torture. It works as both a standalone survival thriller and essential series companion.

The Kill Order refers to a secret government mandate by the Post-Flares Coalition to release a virus for population control. After sun flares devastated Earth, the coalition believed too many people survived with insufficient resources, so they deployed the Flare virus intending to kill half the population humanely and quickly. However, the untested virus mutated unpredictably inside human hosts, causing victims to slowly descend into violent insanity rather than die peacefully.

The Flare is a manmade biological weapon released through darts shot from government aircraft called Bergs. Originally designed by the Post-Flares Coalition to quickly and humanely reduce Earth's population after the sun flares, it mutated into something far worse. Instead of killing quietly, the Flare causes infected individuals to gradually lose their sanity, becoming violent and cannibalistic. The virus spreads rapidly through contact, and there is no known cure in the timeline of the book.

• Mark is the protagonist, a resourceful young survivor who witnesses the virus release and fights to protect his friends while slowly succumbing to infection.
• Trina is Mark's childhood friend and companion, a strong female character who also becomes infected.
• Alec serves as the group's leader and tactical expert who helps Mark investigate the conspiracy.
• Deedee is a young girl discovered to be immune to the Flare, making her crucial for potential cure development.

The Kill Order is a prequel set thirteen years before the events of The Maze Runner, explaining the origins of the Flare virus and the world's collapse. It reveals that the deadly pandemic affecting the Maze Runner trilogy was actually a government-created bioweapon for population control gone wrong. The book introduces Deedee, whose immunity becomes central to the larger series narrative. Understanding these origins provides crucial context for WICKED's experiments and desperate search for a cure in the main trilogy.

Deedee is a young girl who proves immune to the Flare virus, making her humanity's potential salvation. The Post-Flares Coalition deliberately drops her into an infected village as an experiment, which Mark and Alec discover is unethical. Recognizing her importance, Mark's final mission is transporting Deedee to PFC headquarters using a device called a Flat Trans so scientists can study her immunity and develop a cure. Her immunity represents hope for humanity's survival against the devastating pandemic.

Mark discovers the truth about the Kill Order through stolen workpad documents, learning the virus was deliberately released but mutated unexpectedly. As Mark, Alec, and Trina all show symptoms of the Flare infection, they break into the PFC building in Asheville to rescue Deedee. In a final desperate act, they use a Flat Trans device to transport the immune Deedee to PFC headquarters before succumbing to the virus themselves, hoping scientists can create a cure from studying her.

The Kill Order faces criticism for its extreme graphic violence, including detailed descriptions of torture, cannibalism, and brutal deaths that some reviewers found excessive even for young adult dystopian fiction. Critics note scenes like a 13-year-old being gunned down with explicit injury descriptions, people eating other humans alive, and a woman being scalped and mutilated. Some readers felt the prequel lacked the innovative maze concept that made the original trilogy compelling, relying more on survival horror than puzzle-solving intrigue.

The Kill Order is best suited for mature readers aged 15 and older due to intense graphic violence throughout. The book contains explicit descriptions of injuries, brutal combat, torture, cannibalism, self-harm, and numerous deaths including children. Violence includes people being disintegrated, scalped, stabbed, beaten, and torn apart, with detailed descriptions of blood, broken bones, and mangled flesh. Parents should preview content before allowing younger teens to read, as it's significantly more disturbing than the original Maze Runner trilogy.