The Eye of Minds (The Mortality Doctrine, Book One)

I'll have to be honest, the reason I picked this book up was because of the cover and the title. I've never read Maze Runner (James Dasher's other series) so I didn't know what to expect.So I'll start off with the basics and give no spoilers to the best of my ability.The book setting is in the future where technology for the younger generation (and the younger at heart) run around in a Virtual world, VirtNet for short, doing everything and feeling everything one could ever imagine. That's right, they can FEEL it too, after all what's the point of a game if it isn't realistic?Now the main character, Michael has the dream of being the best gamer in the world and is one of the many after the notorious "Life Blood Deep", an even more realistic dimension of "Life Blood" where, as mentioned above, you can do and be whatever you want (so long as you have money). So in the present age it would be like going to a local casino, and after pulling so many slots, you get a free all access pass to Las Vegas! Cool Right? Well bad news there's a cyber terrorist who has the VNS (VirtNet Security) going mad! Seriously, this organization makes the Secret Service look like punks and they still can't get a hold of this one terrorist. However, for some reason the VNS believe Michael and his two friends can and they send them on the mission of hunting the cyber terrorist down. The reward, being set for life and not getting in trouble for doing anything illegal in the VirtNet (sweet!), the penalty for refusing, no technology access (heavens above not that!) and suggestive death threats to friends and family.Now, all of this opens up the book and the rest is laid out in a typical quest format that James Dashner does well, although, fair warning it is extremely graphic! I won't go into detail but I found myself just wanting to skip ahead to see if the characters actually got anywhere. And another thing I didn't like was the fact that the main character always seems to be in pain. I mean geez this kid could take a beating, both physiological and physical.On a good note the world building and settings of "Life Blood" were simply incredible! The world seemed so large and detailed that it just exploded out of the book. It was hard not to get sucked in and see what the character saw down to the neon wire. This includes the characters. I loved all of them and they were developed in such a way that I felt an attachment, meaning I wanted what they want and were rooting or boo-ing them when they did something good or bad.The villain (cyber terrorist) is done really well too, with enough mystery to keep the reader going. Now villains come in two varieties, ones you love to hate or ones who you can relate but still believe they are going about things the wrong way. The cyber terrorist is a unique blend of both where at first you love to hate him but then, once you get a closer look, you realize he does have a compelling purpose.So to conclude the book is really easy to get into but once there you find the story stalls a bit from the constant violence and graphic scenes. It picks up though and the ending is well worth it! The twist is truly one that makes the readers think and ingeniously wants one to go back and re-examine the beginning where all the clues are flashing in our faces.I'm looking forward to book 2 to see what James Dashner will do with this twist he leaves with us.

I really like James Dashner's writing, and was excited to read the first installment in The Mortality Doctrine series. The Eye of Minds was very different from my usual reads: it's about high-intensity virtual gaming. I'm not a gamer, but I still really enjoyed this unique, imaginative, thrilling book.Michael is a gamer, and not just any gamer; he's an expert hacker. In Michael's world, he and his friends spend more time in the VirtNet than in the real world. Their gaming systems are a little odd: they have these coffins that they lie in to enter the VirtNet. The coffins are equipped with technology that allows them to feel everything that's happening in the game. So, if they get hurt while gaming, they feel it in their bodies. Everything feels real, which makes the gaming experience more exciting than real life. The premise of the coffins and gaming having a real impact on the gamer's body was unique and well-executed, if a bit creepy.Like Dashner's other books, The Eye of Minds is told in a first person narrative with Michael as the narrator. There is no love story at all; which is typical for Dashner. These attributes would appeal to a male readership, however they didn't keep me from enjoying The Eye of Minds.As is custom for Dashner's novels, The Eye of Minds was full of fantastic imagery. I felt like I was really on The Path with Michael and his friends. There were parts of this book that completely freaked me out: no ghosts, but enough scary things to keep me thinking about them after I finished reading.The story moved at a good pace, and held my interest. I was shocked at the twist at the end---so shocked I must have read that passage three times. I couldn't believe how the story ended, and now I'm really excited to read book two, The Rule of Thoughts.

DON'T WORRY! NO SPOILERS!This book was good, but could have been much better.I went into this book expecting something at least somewhat similar to the Maze Runner, but didn't quite get what I was expecting.While this book IS good compared to others out there on the market, it didn't quite live up to the Maze Runner, or even the 13th Reality books.The following is an outline of the overall pros and cons of this book:PROS:~ VERY unique idea. I've never seen anything like it before.~ Had the same kind of teen-appropriate "gritty" feel that the Maze Runner contained.~ Had SOME action, but not nearly as much as the Maze Runner.~ Really opens your eyes to the "dangers" of the digital age we're now entering.~ Contained themes that will make me look at the world differently in the future.~ Had a MIND-BLOWINGLY crazy conclusion, that will leave readers DYING for the second book.CONS:~ Flimsy characters. By the end of the book I could only really tell you two things about the character's personal life: his name and his age.~ Didn't contain quite as much action as the Maze Runner or 13th Reality books.~ Plot driven. This CAN be an advantage to some people, but I personally prefer character driven books~ Didn't really contain a climax. The "climax" wasn't really that exciting.~ From the middle of the book, to about 10 pages before the book ends, it is mostly boring.~ Had a bunch of jumbled scenes that didn't really flow together.FINAL ANALYSIS:While some people may appreciate this book, I think the majority of Maze Runner fans will be quite disappointed. The only thing that redeemed it and made me give it 3 stars instead of 2 is a piece of shocking information that is discovered in the last 5 pages of the book. (Don't worry, I won't tell you what it is.)Because of this ONE BIT OF INFORMATION, this author completely redeemed this book, and gives the rest of the series promise.While I didn't care much for this installment, I will definitely read the 2nd book in the series.To sum things up, this book was a disappointment, but it wasn't ALL bad. And if you're a Maze Runner fan, you'll likely feel the same.I DO recommend that you read this book, because the rest of the series shows promise, just don't expect to be blown away by this one.-Mark LeGrand Messick, bestselling author

Alright, it was OK for a light read. The main problem was that it didn't connect well with the underlying premise / world within which it was set. Essentially, the skills and scenarios that underlie the core story line just "magically happen" with no sense of explanation of how it happens or what they do... "they close their eyes, the code flies around them and they manipulate it"... Umm yeah, bit like "he closed his eyes, said 'I DO believe in fairies' and he found himself magically transported to fairy land".The end was fast and (for me at least) relatively predictable, so the 'twist' was unfortunately more of a 'tweak' by the time it happened, then the book was suddenly done. OK, it's part of a series, so sudden cliffhanger endings make it easier to continue, but it felt like it was wrapped up artificially quickly to meet that very purpose.It sounds like I'm critical, I am. It's a critique, a review. I still rated as 3 stars though. The reason being that I did not expect a William Gibson novel, I expected a story in line with the Maze Runner series, and that's what I got. Was good holiday reading, endless twists and turns, and the constant questioning of "is this real?"In all it was a good, fun read, and I will continue the series. I just felt it was let down as it picked a "world" for a backdrop and just staged the story in front of it. The same story could as easily have been told against other backdrops with similar results as it didn't really link deeply with the world. Bit of a maze runner clone, but enjoyable holiday reading all the same. Some nice ideas touched on and interested to see where he takes the story.

Wasn't the best read, not badly written but not a great story. When I say 'unimaginative' I say this because all the characters seem to do is continually shift from new environment to environment, there was no original ideas, lore or arcs that you bought into. Creating a new location every couple of chapters as the main method to try and keep the reader involved just came across to me as lazy writing

Bought for son aged 14, he read it quickly and really enjoyed it.

Good but the best ever book.

This book is an amazing follow up to the trilogy'Maze Runner' It has an amazing storyline with twists and turns and plots you will never see coming. Anyone who has nothing to read or has loads to read NEEDS to buy this book.Absolutely fabulous.