"The Maze Runner" by James Dashner - Chicken House, 2010 first UK edition first printing - signed by author - 15cmx13cm - condition: fine copy with dustwrapper, in special slipcase The Maze Runner is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is written from the perspective of Thomas, a 16-year-old boy who wakes up with no memories inside an artificially produced maze. An organization called WICKED controls the world politically, seeks a cure to the Flare, and uses the youngest generation of civilians who are immune to it as test subjects. The book received critical acclaim from major reviewers and authors. It won the Young Adult Library Services Association Best Fiction for Young Adults award in 2011,[3] is a #1 New York Times Best Seller and was on the list for 148 weeks,[4] and was a Kirkus Reviews Teen Book of the Year. The Maze Runner is a popular pick by educators teaching middle-grade readers in schools.