Friday, September 18, 2009

Don't Read Spoilers

I have a small concern. I've been reading many of the advance reader reviews on the internet (something Sara Zarr keeps telling me to NOT do) and I'm really surprised at how some of them are chock full of spoilers. A few are even telling things that happen clear up to the very end.

THE MAZE RUNNER depends heavily on surprise and intrigue. So... two things. Please put SPOILER ALERT before you spill the beans on significant plot points, and for those of you waiting to read it, please don't read the spoilers! I promise your experience reading this book will be so much better if you know little going in.

I don't know, is this a reasonable concern? I'm very thankful for the reviews and the time that went into them. Very much so. Especially you awesome bloggers out there (most of whom are totally great on warning about spoilers). I just want readers to have the best experience possible, and if you know certain things, the book might be ruined. In my opinion.

It's like when someone told my mother-in-law how THE SIXTH SENSE ended. Unforgivable! That person should've been sent to jail for life. Wait, I think it was my wife... haha. Love you sweetie! No, really! I do! Fine, I'll do the dishes...

In other news...

1. Okay, the winner of the forum thingy from my last post is Alysa. (Congrats!) So now I owe books to Jenn, LouMac, and Alysa. Make sure I have your address (email addy is in last post). Also, I'm waiting to see if they have more ARCs. If not, then you'll just have to get a hardback I guess.

2. If you missed the thing about the forum, go over to http://www.randombuzzers.com/ and sign up. I'll be doing official chats over there starting on Sept. 28th.

3. We are 17 days and 21 hours away from the release! Roughly.

4. My full tour schedule is up on the new website, http://www.themazerunner.com/. I'll be coming to 8 cities, and I hope to see many of you while out and about. Just click on the author section to see the tour details.

5. If you haven't played the game on there yet, do it! Even the great Shannon Hale got addicted to it and ignored her children. Serious, they were taken by the state child services just last night. Isn't that awesome?

6. I received some fun stuff in the mail: bookmarks and teaser chapter booklets for MAZE. Here's a picture (sorry my camera phone is so sucky - not sure where that glare came from):



7. I'm off to the LUW writer's conference at the Homestead in the mountains for 2 days. It's gonna be fun - I get to MC the awards dinner. Let's hope I don't make a fool of myself.

8. Everyone have a wonderful weekend!

26 comments:

Enna Isilee said...

Blar! I hate spoilers!

And you're coming to my town! I'm so surprised.

Rich Mom, Rich Dad. Poor Mom, Poor Dad. said...

Thumbs down to reviews that have spoilers without a spoiler alert! I hate that!!!

Yes, that's a legitimate concern of yours!

Juliana said...

The game is evil. Just FYI. :-D

Wish I could make the LUW conference this weekend. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

I hate spoilers too. I'm way excited to FINALLY get my hands on a copy. A legal copy. That I'll force you to sign someday.

Dave said...
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Dave said...
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Q said...

I don't see the point of seeking out spoilers. Isn't reading the book just...better?

Have you finished the game yet? I'm stuck on level nine. Grrrrr.

Kelly M said...

Hey, you're coming back to Phoenix! Do you have time to do dinner again? I'll have to read the book before then so I can pick your brain. Guess I'll hit the book store Oct. 6th. :) You'll have to let me know where exactly you'll be those two days so we can come see you. So exciting!

Unknown said...

Spoilers suck, I agree. Someone ruined Gundam 00 episode 23 for me and there was a major twist in it. I was super not happy.

In other news, I am now ranked third in the high score on the Maze Runner game. Eat it.

Nichole Giles said...

You'll totally rock at the M.C. gig, dude. That's your forte. Or, at the very least, I'll be entertained!

Nichole

Corinne said...

So, your book SMOKED IT. I LOVED IT. I did not spoil a dang thing in my own review because I am SO CRAZY about not knowing anything about a book before I read it :) Anyway, here is my review, if you want to read it :)

http://corinnesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-maze-runner-by-james-dashner.html

Again, THANKS for a great time.

Aubrey said...

James I could not agree more and I am a reviewer! I never post spoilers without a warning. Sometimes when I have done author q&as they have sent me spoilery answers and I even warn about those!

If it is a pre-publication review, I tend to just stay away from them all together! I hate it when people spoil stuff for me.

I plan to review MAZE this week and I won't be spoiling anything. I hope most of the other reviews don't!

Aubrey said...

Oh and I agree with Juliana the game is evil. I would have been a terrible runner because I can't get past level 2!

J.N. Future Author said...

hehe, so close to your release date! then you can be famous and all that jazz!

also: Greetings from Korea!

J.N. Future Author said...

Aubrey, being an avid gamer, i have already tried the maze game and have to agree - I never got past level 2 because it all depends on you finding the speed upgrades right from the very start! I got really close to finishing before time ran out like 3 times.

Sounless you are lucky and get alot of speed upgrades, I'm thinking its impossible to complete otherwise

Taffy said...

It was nice meeting you, James. I heard you did a good job being MC. So I guess you didn't need any courteous laughter after all.
I meant to ask you, is dialogue important in a book? :)

Magenta said...

Spoilers are bad! Why do people post them? It just ruins it for everyone else! I am careful to rarely ever put spoilers in the reviews I write. I certainly would never reveal what happens at the end of a book, because that's simply wrong. Readers should find out the story for themselves.

The forum thing is cool. You guys ought to check it out. I really look forward to the chats on the 28th. ^,^

2 weeks! Definitely something to celebrate in the Dashner household, I'm sure. ^_~

The very highest level I was able to get in the Maze Runner game was 9. The maze is just too big for me! ~,~ Plus my fastest computer is kind of down now, so my place has been lost! Darn, darn, darn it!

Congrats Graham, for making 3rd place. I wish I knew what happened in level 10. I wouldn't mind hearing it, but you better keep quiet, since we don't want to spoil it for the rest of the gamers. I could venture my own guess at what happens in the end, but I don't want to tell it, in case I happen to be right. ~,~

I'll check your review later, Corinne.

Magenta said...

J. N.! Good to see you, from Korea! I'm glad you tried out the game. Too bad you can't get past level 2. ~,~

I have no idea whether you'll be able to, but it would be so cool if you'd check out the Random Buzzer forum thing James Dashner started. I even have my own topic. ^_^

Vanessa M. said...

i totally agree that spoilers suck.... though i did read the one you made, james, and i didn't think it much of spoiler which i was glad about. :)

i agree level two is like way hard, but i find that the easiest way to beat it is to go to the sides fist, that way if u r in the middle and you only need like 5% more of the map you can just walk right out of the middle and back and you win. just something i found that made it easier.

Dedee said...

Spoilers! That's like my husband being told before he had even read book four what happened at the end of book 6 in Harry Potter. Cruelty! He was waiting to watch the movies but read the books after book 6 got spoiled for him.

It's all good. I'll be at the store the day this comes out!

Vanessa M. said...
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numberonedashnerfan said...

hey,
The bookmarks and chapter booklets look great!!!....cant wait for your books to come out..." Life is like writing in pen; once you have made a mark, it's there for good. All you can do is make the most of that mark and not waste ink making useless marks. If only we could write in pencil."......James might want to watch where you park I may just be driving my self after ranges to your book signing(I have my permit)....

James Dashner said...

Thanks for all the comments guys. Corrine, thank YOU for your great review!

And Taffy... Taffy, Taffy, Taffy. Don't know if I can ever forgive you for missing it...

JN, why are you in Korea again?

Anna said...

James, I also do not like spoilers.

More accurately: I have a love/hate relationship with them. I used to have a bad habit of reading the last page, or the last sentence, or something, but I try not to do that anymore.

One of my brothers told my Dad the ending to THE SIXTH SENSE. Not sure which one, though.

Anna said...

Oh, and I shamefully read on wikipedia that Sirius Black was going to die before I read Order of the Phoenix. I was so mad, and I really wish I hadn't been snooping, but I couldn't help it....

Taffy said...

James,
Next time I will be a the awards ceremony that you MC because I will be one of the winners :)