The Maze Runner Trilogy (Book 1-3) – James Dashner [SPOILER ALERT!]

Dashner, James. 2009, 2010, 2011. The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. New York City: Delacorte Press.

Rating 3 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE (YOU MIGHT NOT SEE IT AS A REVIEW, IT’S MORE LIKE A REACTION) CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILER. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE MAZE RUNNER TRILOGY, I DON’T SUGGEST YOU TO CONTINUE READING THIS. UNLESS YOU ARE OKAY WITH SPOILER (JUST SO YOU AWARE, I'M GOING TO SPOIL EVERYTHING AND PROBABLY WON'T EXPLAIN BASIC DETAILS) OR YOU’VE ALREADY READ THE TRILOGY, PLEASE PROCEED.

What the...?

Yup! Three books in one article! In my review for this trilogy in Indonesian, I blabber about how I feel that something seems odd with the translated version. I give some examples like the use of words ‘shank’, ‘shuck-face’, ‘klunk’ and many others that are kind of weird when it’s translated into Indonesian. I just felt something was not suit there. I couldn’t really enjoy reading it while the story was actually captivated me. Before I realized why, my reading experience with this book was slow and I was distracted too easily. I even thought to buy the other two books, just so I have a complete trilogy, I even haven’t finish The Maze Runner when that thought came up to me. It’s like I was really trying to distract myself. And somehow, I got my hands on the e-book version for The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, in English. I also got The Maze Runner e-book because I was curious to read it in its original language.

And... oh boy. I found out that Dashner uses ‘uncommon’ words and sentences in this trilogy. I actually like it, and I wouldn’t notice this fancy thing if I read the Indonesian translated version. Since I started to read the trilogy in English, I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. After I finished with The Maze Runner, I didn’t have it in me to sit still and patiently write the review for it. The freaking mysteries were killing me! So I just continued reading the rest of the trilogy. I purposely review it in one go in order to be more efficient, and it will be one long article (for my standard). So be it.

Trilogi The Maze Runner (Buku 1-3) – James Dashner [SPOILER ALERT!]

Dashner, James. 2009, 2010, 2011. The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. New York City: Delacorte Press.

Rating 3 bintang
(review in English, click here)

TULISAN BERIKUT (AGAKNYA BUKAN ULASAN, HANYA SEBUAH REAKSI) MENGANDUNG SPOILER, YANG BELUM BACA TRILOGI INI TIDAK DIANJURKAN MEMBACA TULISAN INI. SILA LANJUT MEMBACA BAGI YANG TIDAK KEBERATAN AKAN SPOILER MAUPUN BAGI YANG SUDAH PERNAH MEMBACA TRILOGI INI.

Apa-apaan?

YAP! Tiga buku sekaligus! Pengalaman saya membaca trilogi ini agak berbelit-belit, jadi kalau enggak penasaran-penasaran banget, langsung loncat saja ke bagian selanjutnya. Jadi begini ceritanya, awalnya kan saya baca The Maze Runner terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia, saya bacanya memang entah kenapa jadi agak lambat dan lebih gampang enggak fokus, tapi tetap senang dan bahagia. Lama-lama, kok saya merasa ada yang enggak ‘klop’? Malahan, saya kepikiran ingin beli buku kedua sama ketiganya. Padahal yang buku pertamanya juga belum kelar. Akhirnya pilihan saya jatuh ke e-book buku kedua dan buku ketiga, dalam Bahasa Inggris. Sekalian juga saya coba baca e-book buku pertamanya karena saya ingin coba baca versi bahasa aslinya.

Ternyata oh ternyata... James Dashner memang bermain di kosa kata dan bentuk-bentuk kalimat yang tidak biasa, dan pembaca baru bisa benar-benar menikmati tulisan Dashner kalau membaca bukunya dalam bahasa aslinya. Misalnya penggunaan kata ‘shank’, ‘shuck-face’, ‘klunk’. Kemudian pola kalimat Dashner yang tidak biasa itu jadi hilang di versi terjemahannya, contoh, “just slim yourself nice and calm” diterjemahkan jadi “santai dan tenang sajalah”. Jadi kalimat yang biasa banget kan? Padahal di trilogi ini ceritanya para Glader punya cara ngomong yang unik.

Intinya, saya jadinya baca trilogi ini dalam bahasa aslinya dan benar-benar ENGGAK BISA LEPAS dari buku ini. Setelah selesai dengan The Maze Runner, saya enggak bisa langsung duduk manis menulis ulasannya, karena penasaran habis-habisan sama kelanjutan ceritanya. Jadi, ya sudah saya selesaikan dulu triloginya baru bikin ulasannya. Digabung saja biar efisien, tapi bakal jadi panjang banget nih ulasan. Biarlah.