The Kill Order
Prequel novel set 13 years before The Maze Runner.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13089710-the-kill-order · via Wikipedia: The Kill Order · Fair use
The Kill Order, a young adult dystopian science fiction novel by American author James Dashner, was released on August 14, 2012, by Delacorte Press. It serves as the first prequel in The Maze Runner series, making it the fourth book overall. The story takes place before the events of The Fever Code and occurs 13 years prior to the first Maze Runner book.
The plot follows Mark and Trina, a teenage couple living in New York City with U.S. military soldiers Alec and Lana. Massive solar flares devastate the planet, and New York is hit directly. The group escapes to the Lincoln Building to avoid a boiling-hot tsunami that kills most of the city’s population. After weeks, a yacht arrives, but its crew takes them hostage, demanding their food. Alec overpowers the captors, and the group sails to the Appalachians.
A year later, they live in Asheville, North Carolina, with residents Toad, Misty, and Darnell. A fleet of hover aircraft called Bergs attacks, shooting at people. Alec and Mark subdue a Berg, but the pilot crashes it to avoid interrogation. They survive and discover the ammunition contains a deadly virus. Returning to town three days later, they find the virus has killed most infected. Lana and Trina note that symptoms have changed, and Mark and Alec confirm the virus is mutating.
Darnell becomes infected, hallucinates, and dies after repeatedly banging his head against a wall. Misty shows similar symptoms, and Toad kills her before becoming infected himself; Alec then kills Toad. Mark and Alec take Lana and Trina to find the attackers’ base. They pass an abandoned village and meet a five-year-old girl, Deedee, who has a puncture mark from a Berg attack but has been symptom-free for months, revealing she is immune.
Mark and Alec investigate a loud noise and find a cult of infected people who believe Deedee is a demon. After escaping, they discover a forest fire, and Trina, Lana, and Deedee vanish from their campsite. Assuming the girls went to the attackers’ base, Mark and Alec proceed. They sneak into the Post-Flares Coalition (PFC) site, learning that Katie McVoy created a virus called "the Flare" to control population and conserve resources, but it mutated. The girls are returned to the cult, but the group escapes with a Berg, finding weapons called Transvices that evaporate molecules. Mark realizes he is infected with the Flare.
Quick Facts
- Author
- James Dashner
- Cover Artist
- Philip Strub
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- The Maze Runner series
- Genre
- Young adult, dystopian, science fiction
- Publisher
- Delacorte Press
- Pub Date
- August 14, 2012
- Media Type
- Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
- Pages
- 327
- Isbn
- 978-0-385-74288-7
- Congress
- PZ7.D2587 Kil 2012
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The story takes place 13 years before the events of the first book, beginning in New York City where massive solar flares devastate the planet. Main protagonists Mark and Trina, a young teenage couple, along with U.S. military soldiers Alec and Lana, escape to the Lincoln Building to evade a boiling hot tsunami that kills most of New York's population. After weeks, they take a yacht to the Appalachians. A year later, the group resides in Asheville, North Carolina, where a fleet of Bergs attacks, shooting ammunition containing a deadly virus called the Flare. The virus mutates, causing hallucinations and death. Mark and Alec discover a five-year-old girl, Deedee, who is immune to the virus. They learn the virus was created by Katie McVoy as population control for the Post-Flares Coalition (PFC). Mark becomes infected, and the group ultimately delivers Deedee to a PFC base in Alaska, where she is renamed Teresa. In the epilogue, WICKED takes a little boy named Stephen from his mother because he is immune, renaming him Thomas.
Reader's Guide
The Kill Order expands the Maze Runner universe by exploring the origin of the Flare virus and the events leading to the creation of the Maze. It introduces key characters like Mark and Trina, whose actions directly influence the later series, particularly through the immune child Deedee, who becomes Teresa. The novel provides backstory on WICKED and the PFC, showing the societal collapse and ethical dilemmas surrounding population control. Critical reception was mostly positive, with Publishers Weekly noting that fans of the main series would enjoy it. The book sets the stage for its sequel, The Fever Code, released on September 27, 2016, which bridges the gap between The Kill Order and The Maze Runner.
Did You Know?
- The Kill Order is the first prequel book in The Maze Runner series and the fourth installment overall.
- The novel was published on August 14, 2012, by Delacorte Press.
- The Flare virus was created by Katie McVoy as a form of population control for the Post-Flares Coalition.
- The epilogue reveals that a little boy named Stephen, taken by WICKED, is renamed Thomas.
Elsewhere in The Maze Runner
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced