A clunky disappointment

The Eye of Minds,
by James Dashner (Doubleday Childrens, RRP $27):

James Dashner may be better known for his bestselling dystopic Maze Runner series. He returns with The Eye of Minds, the first in his new series, The Mortality Doctrine.

Set in the not-so-distant future, The Eye of Minds follows Michael and his friends into the VirtNet, a virtual reality gaming series where anything can happen. Michael, known for his awesome hacking skills, is recruited by VNS, the governing body of VirtNet, to hunt down Kaine, a dangerous hacker slowly taking over VirtNet with deadly consequences.

As a fan of Dashner’s Maze Runner series, I was excited to read his next body of work. The plot sounded appealing, and as it was set it yet another dystopic world, I was keen to get stuck in. Sadly, my eagerness quickly turned to disappointed.

The problem with a story that throws you straight into the plot is that there is no character development. This resulted in my lack of regard for Michael, his friends, the big baddie or the governing body.

Ironically, the characters and the world were one dimensional. This, combined with a clunky plot and narrative, made it easy to skip passages.

 

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