The Maze Runner Books in Order: Best Full Guide 2023
By Lily | Published 1 July 2022 | Book titles and covers are affiliate links.
Enter the maze and get ready to race through a LABYRINTH of adventure, tension, and destruction. This Young Adult series for readers ages 11+ is a #1 New York Times bestselling series as well as a major film series! Learn more about all the books in order for The Maze Runner.
The Maze Runner is a dystopian science fiction novel series for young adults. Written by American writer James Dashner, The Maze Runner is comprised of the main trilogy, two prequels, a sequel, and a companion book.
The mysterious survival saga begins with Thomas, who is deposited in a strange place with a group of teens after his memory is erased. They soon discover a terrifying truth and fight to survive in a devastated world governed by these scientists called the WICKED.
They’re all trapped in a giant maze that will require him to join forces with fellow “runners” for a shot at escape from the Glade which is a walled encampment surrounded by towering stone walls, by way of an always-changing, deadly Maze.
It has an intriguing plot and is full of action, but it has violent deaths and can be a little dark for very young readers.
What is The Maze Runner about?
How to Read The Maze Runner Book Series in Order
There is more than one way to read The Maze Runner main books. Let’s start with the publication order before taking a look at the chronological order.
#1 - The Maze Runner Books by Publishing Order:
There are two good reasons for you to read The Maze Runner books in order of publication: To not get confused and to avoid spoilers.
James Dashner had a game plan for writing the book series and published them in this order. When you read the prequels before the first three books, you will have many questions in your head, and it will be confusing. What’s more, when you read it in this order, you’re following Thomas’s journey, you’re figuring things out with him, and that’s really thrilling.
Here’s The Maze Runner series in order of publication:
The Maze Runner (2009)
The Scorch Trials (2010)
Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare (2011) (Short Story)
The Death Cure (2011)
The Kill Order (2012) (First Prequel)
The Fever Code (2016) (Second Prequel)
Crank Palace (2020) (Novella)
The Maze Cutter (2022)
#2 The Maze Runner Books in Chronological Order
Though the best way to read The Maze Runner series is by publication, it’s still up to you if you like to read it chronologically.
The Kill Order (First Prequel)
The Fever Code (Second Prequel)
The Maze Runner
The Scorch Trials
Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare (2011) (Short Story)
The Death Cure
Crank Palace (Novella)
The Maze Cutter
One of the upsides to reading in chronological order is to have a bigger picture of what’s happening in the story, and to know details that the characters don’t know yet. Also, you’ll have a different perspective on the actions and developments of the characters.
However, the downside is the suspense and mystery are lost, making it a less enjoyable read. Reading in order of chronology would only be recommended as a reread for someone who is already familiar with the world.
Do You Need to Read The Maze Runner Prequels?
No, you don’t. To put it bluntly. But if you’d like to learn more about the world of The Maze Runner and Thomas, reading the prequels (Kill Order & Fever Code) would be a great benefit for you.
So for passionate fans who are very familiar with the series, the prequels aren’t a great place to start The Maze Runner reading journey. That’s because they were written after James Dashner wrote The Maze Runner trilogy. That’s why these prequels require spoiler alerts from the original series; as well, they were not written as an entry point to the series like The Maze Runner.
But if your child has already read the original series and is eager to know more, we would recommend reading the prequels. These two novels dig deeper into the history of Dashner’s world and how he set the stage for The Maze Runner.
The first prequel rewinds all the way back to the apocalyptic events that took place, while the second prequel reveals the events that transpired before The Maze Runner and more about our main character Thomas.
Will There Be Another The Maze Runner Book?
Yes! In November 2022, that book has finally published. It’s called The Maze Cutter, and it’s Book 1 in a new Maze Runner series set 73 years after the first series. You can read it now and be on the lookout for more Maze Runner books to come.
The Maze Runner Movies in Order
In 2014, The Maze Runner novels were been adapted into incredible movies which have become a blockbuster based on the original trilogy. The series star Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, and Patricia Clarkson in the main roles.
So your child may seek out the Maze Runner books after watching the movies where we learn more from the mind of James Dashner and experience more rich details of this world. Or, they may be a huge fan of sci-fi young adult books like Hunger Games.
The Maze Runner film trilogy tells a complete story, so you have to watch them in the order of their release date. Here is the list of all The Maze Runner movies:
The Maze Runner (2014)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
Will there be a The Maze Runner 4 movie?
Some fans have speculated about The Maze Runner 4 movie because of the success of the franchise. But, the creatives behind the films took a hard line about ending the series following the Death Cure.
The screenwriter, T.S. Nowlin already talked about how much they don’t want to do a fourth movie because it’s rare to create something clean. And they liked how things wrapped up in the 2018 finale.
But this doesn’t mean there are no Maze Runner adaptations to produce as there are remaining prequels to the series. But, with the prequels’ different timelines, it would require different casts and likely a different creative team.
The Maze Runner Books in Detail
The Maze Runner, Book One
This is the first book of the series. When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He finds himself surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Every night, the walls shift, creating a limitless, ever-changing maze. The only way to escape is through the maze, but no one has ever made it out.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. She has a message to deliver and may just be the secret they need to beat the maze once and for all. The message she delivers is terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run.
The Scorch Trials: Maze Runner, Book Two
In this second book, Thomas has escaped from the Maze and was sure that this would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED still has plans for him. Phase Two has just begun. He and his friends have two weeks to make it across the Scorch - the most burned-out section of the world. But the odds are not in their favor. There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.
Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare
This is a 3-page long free bonus content of short flashback that occurs between “The Scorch Trials” and “The Death Cure.” It’s less of a story and more like a deleted scene.
The Death Cure: Maze Runner, Book Three
In the Death Cure, WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends — the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test. They think they’ve got him right where they want him, but Thomas remembers more than they think.
Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. Now He’ll stop at nothing to save his friends. However, the truth could end it all.
The Kill Order, Book Four; Origin
The Kill Order is a prequel Maze Runner book. Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth, killing most of the population. This book follows Mark and Trina. They were there when it happened. They survived. But now a virus is spreading. A virus that fills humans with murderous rage.
In order to save the other survivors, they must stay alive themselves.
The Fever Code, Book Five (Prequel)
The Fever Code is another prequel story. Thomas’s story. Thomas built the Maze. He did it to save the human race. But there were lies, secrets, and loyalties he never saw coming. This is that story.
Crank Palace: A Maze Runner Novella
A novella set during The Death Cure’s final events. Newt has been to hell and back with his friends. The Glade. The Maze. The Scorch. The inner halls and bowels of WICKED. But now he has a burden that he can’t share with Thomas or the others–the Flare. Newt cannot bear to think of his friends as he falls into madness after being infected by the virus.
The Maze Cutter
Seventy-three years after the events of THE DEATH CURE, when Thomas and other immunes were sent to an island to survive the Flare-triggered apocalypse, their descendants have thrived.
