The Death Cure

Dashner, James. The Death Cure. Book 3 of the Maze Runner trilogy. 2011. 325p. ISBN 9780385738774. Available at FIC DAS on the library shelves and as an eBook on Overdrive.

Having been captured at the end of the Scorch Trials, Thomas finds himself a prisoner of WICKED. Released by Rat Man, Thomas is told that a cure does in fact exist for the Flare, and that some of the Gladers are immune, whereas others are not. Offered the chance to regain their memories, Thomas and his friends Minho and Newt refuse. They manage to escape with Brenda and Jorge’s help, but in the process she reveals that she worked for WICKED while in the Scorch.

They travel to Denver aboard a Berg and discover that unlike Minho and Thomas, Newt is not immune to the Flare and is now infected. Thomas finds a man who removes the chip, and he also encounters Gally, who works for an outfit called the Right Arm, and who is dedicated to the destruction of the Flare trials and experiments. Gally also reveals that there is a drug, called Bliss, that can slow down the Flare’s progression.

The Gladers are once captured and taken to the Crank Palace, and Thomas and friends must rescue them. They find Newt and the others, but are turned away as they realize they will die soon. Thomas joins with the Right Arm and heads for WICKED’s headquarter, where Teresa and the other girls are kept. But the Right Arm plans to destroy WICKED’s facility, while Thomas’ friends are prisoners once again of the Maze. Can Thomas rescue his friends before it is too late?

Newt's story continues in Crank Palace. The results of the Flare and the conflict that continued on the continent after Thomas and his friends left can be discovered in The Maze Cutters.