Review: The Kill Order by James Dashner (The Maze Runner #0.5)

Goodreads summary:
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next.

Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.

The label Maze Runner #0.5 relates more to the chronological order of events than the order of reading. The book does spoil some of the mystery surrounding the series so it is best read after the whole trilogy.

The The Kill Order is set 13 years before Teresa and Thomas were sent down the Box to the Maze. The books follows Mark and Trina, who have survived the sun flares and the subsequent chaos that followed. It was interesting how we didn't follow the characters from the very beginning but instead, their experiences were only shared when Mark closed his eyes and dreamed about the things they went through. In the 'present' time, Mark and Trina are part of a group which consisted of Alec and Lana, an army nurse and a few other kids. I loved that there were adults in this book who weren't antagonists and brought Mark and the other kids a sense of security and made the whole situation a whole less nightmarish! Everyone was joking around in the beginning of the book but the peace is quickly disturbed when aircraft hover over the town and armed men come out to shoot darts at everyone in sight.

I felt like the whole situation with the infected felt like a zombie apocalypse, with many people losing their minds and a few select remaining clear but succumbing to it slowly. And of course, there's a cure amidst everything and Mark does everything in his power to make sure it's not the end. In saying that, it was a really terrifying and chilling read packed with loads of action. Knowing what happened in the Maze Runner trilogy, you can expect no happy ending. I did put down the book a few times because only bad things kept happening. I think this is one of the books that you have to be in the mood to read or else you wouldn't like it.