Series · dystopian
The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner series by James Dashner has 10 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Maze Runner (2009).
- Books
- 9 novels + 1 novella
- First published
- 2009
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: The Maze Runner (2009) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Maze Runner
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Maze Runner - Book 2:
The Scorch Trials
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Scorch Trials - Book 3:
The Death Cure
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Death Cure - Book 4:
The Kill Order
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Kill Order - Book 5:
The Maze Runner Files
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Maze Runner Files - Book 6:
The Fever Code
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fever Code - Book 7:
Crank Palace
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crank Palace - Book 8:
The Maze Cutter
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Maze Cutter - Book 9:
The Godhead Complex
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Godhead Complex - Book 10:
The Infinite Glade
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Infinite Glade
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
The Kill Order
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Kill Order - Book 2:
The Fever Code
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fever Code - Book 3:
The Maze Runner
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Maze Runner - Book 4:
The Scorch Trials
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Scorch Trials - Book 5:
Crank Palace
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crank Palace - Book 6:
The Death Cure
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Death Cure - Book 7:
The Maze Cutter
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Maze Cutter - Book 8:
The Godhead Complex
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Godhead Complex - Book 9:
The Infinite Glade
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Infinite Glade
About The Maze Runner
Thomas wakes up in a rising metal box with no memory except his own name, surrounded by dozens of other boys who've been living inside the Glade — a walled-off refuge at the center of a vast, shifting, monster-patrolled Maze. Every boy arrived the same way, one per month, with no way out except solving a labyrinth that rearranges itself nightly and kills anyone it catches. Thomas's arrival breaks the group's fragile routine: the next day a girl shows up, the first ever, carrying a note that says everything is about to change. What follows is a sprint through a series of increasingly brutal trials — the Maze, then the sun-scorched Scorch, then the Capitol-style manipulations of WICKED, the shadowy organization running the whole experiment — as Thomas and his friends try to figure out whether they're lab rats, weapons, or humanity's last hope for a cure.
James Dashner built the original trilogy around relentless plotting and a slowly unspooling mystery (what is WICKED actually testing for, and why?) rather than romance or worldbuilding for its own sake, which made it a fast, grim companion to the era's other YA dystopias. Two prequels fill in how the Glade came to exist and who Thomas was before the amnesia, and in the 2020s Dashner returned to the same post-Flare world for a new trilogy, set 73 years after the original trilogy's ending, following an entirely new group of kids.
How to read this series
Read the original trilogy in publication order first: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. Thomas's amnesia mirrors the reader's — you're meant to learn the rules of the Glade exactly as he does, so reading the prequels first would spoil the entire premise.
The two prequels — The Kill Order and The Fever Code — are best read after the trilogy, in that order; The Kill Order covers the outbreak that led WICKED to exist, and The Fever Code covers the Maze's actual construction and Thomas's pre-amnesia life, directly setting up book one. The novella Crank Palace is a minor detour focused on Newt and can be skipped without losing anything essential. The Maze Cutter and its two sequels form a separate, self-contained trilogy set decades later with new protagonists — treat it as a spin-off rather than a continuation of Thomas's story, and read the original five Maze Runner books first.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Maze Runner series?
The core series is five books: the trilogy (The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure) plus two prequels (The Kill Order, The Fever Code). James Dashner later added a new spin-off trilogy — The Maze Cutter, The Godhead Complex, The Infinite Glade — set in the same world decades later, plus the short companion pieces The Maze Runner Files and the novella Crank Palace.
What order should I read the Maze Runner books in?
Publication order: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, then the prequels The Kill Order and The Fever Code. Start with the trilogy — the prequels are written for readers who already know how it ends.
Should I read The Kill Order or The Fever Code before The Maze Runner?
No. Both prequels are built around reveals that only work if you've already read the original trilogy. Reading them first spoils Thomas's amnesia-driven discovery of his own past.
Is The Maze Cutter connected to Thomas's story?
It's set in the same post-Flare universe 73 years after The Death Cure, with new characters, and works as a standalone spin-off trilogy rather than a direct sequel to Thomas and the Gladers.
Is the Maze Runner series finished?
The original five-book series (trilogy plus two prequels) has been complete since 2016. The newer Maze Cutter spin-off trilogy concluded with The Infinite Glade in 2025, with no further books currently announced.
Reading order last verified .