The Glade. The Maze. The Scorch. The inner halls of WICKED. But now he has a burden that can't be shared with Thomas and the others—the Flare. And Newt can't bear the thought of his friends watching him descend into madness as he succumbs to the virus.
Leaving only a note, Newt departs the Berg before the Gladers return from their mission into Denver, Colorado. From there, he experiences the gritty nightmare of life on the streets, running from the infected and those hunting them, until he ends up in the Crank Palace, the last dumping ground of those without hope. Although Newt thought he was running away from his friends to save them from himself, along the way he meets a young mother named Keisha and her son, Dante, who end up saving Newt in a way he could never have imagined.
Taking place during the latter events of The Death Cure, Crank Palace tells the story of Newt like never before, from inside his own mind, as he searches for meaning in a life gone horribly wrong. He will try to fulfill a newfound destiny before his path leads to its inevitable conclusion—and one last meeting with his best friend.
James is the author of THE MAZE RUNNER trilogy and THE 13TH REALITY series. He also published a series (beginning with A DOOR IN THE WOODS) with a small publisher several years ago. He lives and writes in the Rocky Mountains.
Just saying that if you think your not gonna cry, just remember we're gonna see page 250 from Newt's side. WE'RE GONNA HAVE BOTH SIDES IM NOT GOING TO BE EMOTIONALLY STABLE AFTER I FINISH THIS JUST SAYING. I'll remember you all in therapy
I’m a huge Maze Runner fan but I’m also a major critic of this series so this review is going to be a crazy mess of thoughts that may or may not justify my star rating. Before I get farther into this review, Newt was my first crush ever so I am biased with my rating.
It’s also worth noting that James Dashner sexually harassed women. I do not support this author but all proceeds from this book are going to “charitable causes” chosen by his followers, so you aren’t giving the sexual harasser any money by buying this book. I feel like we should all band together and convince him to give the proceeds to an organization dedicated to helping women who are being sexually harassed and abused just to make him know that we do not support his actions.
Crank Palace is a novella that takes place in the events of The Death Cure. Newt, as you will know if you’ve read the series, was not present for a lot of the main events in the final book. Crank Palace fills in the gaps with what was happening with Newt. Dashner is great at writing amazing characters and this book was no exception, as being that the new characters of Keisha and Dante were spectacular. Keisha was a breath of fresh air for me because most of Dashner’s female characters annoy the crap out of me.
I mostly enjoyed this story, but like a lot of The Maze Runner books after The Death Cure, this one wasn’t necessary. It was nice to see more of Newt, but you can easily enjoy the series without picking this one up.
Dashner’s writing style and chapter length is what stuck out to me the most about this novella. The Maze Runner books were confusing as heck and lacked descriptive language. Dashner completely flipped his style of writing so that the story made more sense and was more descriptive in this book. However, one of the things that I loved most about The Maze Runner series was the short chapters and quick pacing. Unfortunately this novella had longer chapters and a bit of a slower pace, so I wasn’t as addicted and obsessed with this book as what I hoped I would be.
I honestly can’t give a full review of this book without spoilers, so spoilers ahead, sorry!
⤷ UPDATE (2025): I have officially switched to Storygraph and thus won't be active on Goodreads any longer.
SOME INCOHERENT THOUGHTS AND A BUNCH OF QUOTES BECAUSE I AM UTTERLY DEVASTATED (which was of course to be expected oops):
Tommy, Newt thought, Tommy will understand.
• NEWT MY BABY BOY ILYYY SO MUCH - AH MY HEART. ALSO, HOW AM I CRYING AFTER THREE FRIGGIN SENTENCES????
• “Newt had felt a lot of pain in his life, both inside and out, but he believed that very moment, watching Tommy leave him for the last time, was his new rock bottom.” me: *chuckles while surrounded by fire* this is fine
• “The only thing left to settle was how to leave it with Thomas and the others. He’d already written one depressing note to Tommy; might as well write another.”
• “With one less obstacle. One less Newt.” MR. DASHNER DO YOU TAKE PLEASURE IN SEEING ME CRY AFTER TWO PAGES???
• “Where had she gotten a buggin’ banana?” ma cu lil bri'ish boii<333
• “Oh, and I left another note asking my best friend to kill me if he ever saw me again.” THE PAGE 250 FORESHADOWING.
• Didn’t know I needed some random woman to adopt Newt and comfort him, but here I am sobbing… It’s what he deserves. It’s what we all deserve.
• “He was away from Tommy and the others and that had been the main goal all along. Who cared what happened to him now?” BITCHHHH I CAREEEEE
• “Newt had no right to know, and swore to himself he’d never ask.” PRECIOUS LIL RESPECTFUL BEAN WE DON’T DESERVE HIM
• “He liked to think he was brave, but he felt the fear of so much unpredictability, swirling all around him like waters of a raging ocean.” YOU ARE BRAVE, HONEY YOU’RE THE BRAVEST, UGH I AM WEEPING, THIS NOVELLA IS GONNA BE THE END OF ME
• “A library: Newt swore to come back there soon.” MOST PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL EVER
• “I need something to live for. I need a purpose. I need to accomplish something good before I lose my mind.” No, but this is the most Newt-thing ever and my heart is aching. Thinking he hasn’t done enough despite all the abuse and suffering he’s been through??? It hurts, even more, considering Newt’s “purpose” was quite literally to be THE GLUE between his friends, and now that he’s on his own he has pretty much lost his purpose *sobs*
• “But Newt was starting to… slip. To slip into an abyss. The abyss.” Not me triggered by the word abyss and immediately thinking of Thomas killing Newt “with his hearts falling into a black abyss”. I’M OKAY. NO, I’M NOT.
• “Newt had spent several days building himself back up, even as he felt his mind slipping. He had gotten used to a post-Thomas, post-WICKED life. Why? Why would Tommy come here? What would it take for him to leave Newt alone, to let him deal with the Flare in the way he needed? Newt closed his eyes and tried not to see Tommy in the darkness of his mind.” Damn Chapter 13 really said how ya doinnnn Newtmas shippers? Y’all ready for some (more) pain and suffering? Y’all gonna thank us later lmao
• “And then Tommy entered, holding Brenda’s hand like a child.” AH-HA!!! Have I spotted a jealous Newt ????? Is this the book equivalent of “yOu sTiLL cAre aBouT hEr, dOn’t yOu???? DON’T LIE TO ME!!!”
• “‘And you, Tommy. You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here and asking me to leave with you. A lot of bloody nerve. The sight of you makes me sick.’ Thomas’s face melted in sorrow. ‘What are you talking about? Newt, I don’t get it, why are you saying all this?’” bestie, your gay is showing. I mean, come on. Minho is standing right there, doing all the talking while Thomas is, well, being Thomas, and you’re like THE AUDACITY OF THOMAS TO EVEN BE NEAR BE!!!
• ooOHHHH A SASSY MINHO HAS APPEARED!!! YASSS KING, GIVE ‘EM HELL (love how he just walks in there, acting like he owns the place)
• “I went crazy when I saw Tommy and Minho. He… they (I see what you did there, honey) were everything to me. Are everything to me. It ripped my heart out to get the Flare, to know they were immune and I wasn’t.” THOMINEWT SUPREMACY ?? DAMN RIGHT IT IS.
• I’m literally so darn anxious like ???? why the freaking hell am I doing this to myself ???? how the bloody fuckkkk am I supposed to handle page 250 from Newt’s PoV ???? someone take away this novella from me right now
• “I want my life to end knowing I helped do something good.” Newt, baby, you already did more good than any of the other Gladers combined<333
• “She knew with a mother’s instinct, that he was right. And she gave him another gift: letting him go, something Tommy couldn’t do.” How. is. every. single. thought. my boy has about Thomas ??? PLEASE.
• The way I actually started to care for Thomas as a character now that I’ve read Newt’s PoV ??? the power of Newt’s crush, huh
• That Epilogue seriously opened with: “Newt had a bullet in his brain.” THE FUCK, JAMES DASHNER
• “Newt, I know you think your life wasn’t as important as the rest, that somehow you were a waste because you were not immune.” I’M SORRY, WHAT. MY EMOTIONS. This stings even more because… Newt never, not for a single second thought he was important, even back in the maze, even before he knew what the hell was going on (I mean… the attempted suicide ???) AND I JUST. I- I- *passes out*
• “I have your journal, Newt. If it’s my last act on this God-forsaken planet, I will get it to Thomas.” NO, BUT IMAGINE THOMAS READING HIS JOURNAL AND REALISING HOW MUCH NEWT LOVED HIM???? NO SIR, I SHALL NEVER KNOW PEACE AGAIN.
• “Tommy, Newt thought, Tommy will understand.” HOW WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO SLEEP AGAIN, KNOWING THAT NEWT’S LAST FREAKING THOUGHTS BEFORE HE DIED WERE TOMMY WILL UNDERSTAND ????? THE FUCKKKK (also, no Thomas probably won’t understand because he’s a whiny dumbass bitch and Newt literally did all the thinking for him. But maybe my boy Minho can make him understand.)
• Not gonna lie, I would absolutely sell my organs to get my hands on a movie adaptation of Crank Palace (with Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Dylan O’Brien finally giving us that Newtmas blooper almost kiss they teased us with back in 2014). I also wouldn’t mind a Thominewt spin-off tv show. I’m not asking for much, I don’t even need a plot or anything. Just happy and soft Thominewt on a little farm, herding some sheep, far away from WICKED and the Maze. Oh and Chuck should be there, too. And Frypan. And literally all the other Gladers. It’s what they deserve after everything they’ve been through.
what an AMAZING HEARTWARMING AND HEARTBREAKING STORY!
when I read the maze runner when they first introduced Newt I knew he was my favorite TMR character and one of my favorite fictional characters ever!
when I read the death cure Newts death was the SADDEST😭 book character death EVER😭. this story was just Amazing.
this book was as I said before amazing............but it was also heartbreaking, don't get me wrong it had some happy parts, and some funny parts......................but it was just sooooo heartbreaking bc well 1 its the death cure from Newts POV so we're gonna read pg 250 in Newts POV 😭😭but also bc he has the flare and he's slowly going insane that's heartbreaking in itself.
One of the reasons why Newt is one of my favorite fictional characters ever is bc he knows he has the bloody flare and he knows he slowly going insane and that's really sad but in the beginning of the book when he's leaving the berg that was a really sad moment but at the same time it was a really good moment and it showed who he was, he didn't leave bc he wanted to bc he didn't want to, but he left bc he didn't want Tommy and Minho and his other friends to see him like that but he also didn't want to hurt them either.
the bowling alley scene was really sad and I cried sooooooo much during that scene and I wish he would've went with Tommy, Brenda, Minho, and Jorge. but I also see why he didn't want them to come get him from the bowling alley, bc again he didn't want to hurt them or for them to see him like that. that just one of the many reasons I love newt!
“Newt his friend who’d do anything for somebody else, they gave him a death sentence, an incurable disease just to watch what happens.” -Tommy That’s one of my favorite lines from the series because of the first part- newt his friend who’d do anything for somebody else. And he would.
BOTTOM LINE: Newt is amazing and know matter what even if he’s turning into a crank or whatever but he still puts his friends in front of himself and that’s amazing and kind.......... but soooooo sad😭
but overall the book was AMAZING if you're A DIE HARD MAZE RUNNER FAN (like me) you DEFINITELY NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!! (but get a tissue box you'll need it)
RIP NEWT😭😭😭😭🤧❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
C'était une lecture rapide, intéressante et addictive. Je n'ai pas trouvé que c'était INDISPENSABLE, mais étant donné que j'avais adoré le Labyrinthe, j'ai trouvé que c'était un bonus intéressant :)
This book was THE BEST book in the Maze Runner series, and it’s not even a full book!
Do I say this because Newt is my favorite character? Partially. But I mostly say this because this book was so much more beautiful than I could ever imagine.
Seeing Newt get to have one last adventure before his passing was such a perfect way to get closure on all his trauma. There were twists and turns that forced me to rethink concepts that I had about the entire series’ storyline, and I cannot express enough how wonderful it was every time I got to hear Newt say that something made him happy.
The NEWTMAS was way more hinted at than I thought it would be! Atleast, Newt having a crush on him. Like, James, if you wanted to make it canon, you could’ve just said so.
There were so many quotes in this book that just HIT. HARD. But I couldn’t bookmark them because it’s an audiobook, and now I am sad.
Witnessing this story (that I at first thought could’ve been more interesting) get a whole new layer added to it was.......well, it was all I could’ve asked for in this series. Other than Newtmas. I can still ask for canon Newtmas, ok?
This was one of the only books I’ve EVER READ that has made me cry this much. It takes a lot for a book to make me cry, and this one.....this one did.
Thank you, James! I had just finished TDC when I heard about this book, and it was exactly what I needed to have this series be a new fave of mine!
Dear James Dashner, First of all, how dare you 😭😭😭....second, (and I will beg if I have to) I'd like a whole series from Newt's perspective pls 🥺🥺🥺. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HFIJENDKFKELI aaaa *fangirl crying* Newt!!! I don't even have the words but I can say without a doubt that I've never cried more over anyone. Ever. 😭😭😭 My love's been through so much and he's just so kind and hurt. I love you forever Newtie ❤️❤️ you're home, my angel, your life was one heck of a ride, way to hang on and make it as good as you could😘.
Also thank you Keisha, Dante and Jackie for giving Newt a reason to keep going. ❤️🥲
Here are a few songs that remind of Newt (for all my Newt fans❤️) ~You don't know by Katelyn Tarver ~Broken by Jonah Kagen ~In the End (Mellen Gi Remix) by Tomme Profit
**
Bc this was a novella, I'm just gonna do a short content review!
Content: about as violent as the other books (descriptions of cranks and going crazy; weapons; Newt sometimes loses himself towards the end bc of the virus; pain, injury and death described). Language ("bastard" said as an insult; "hell" used to describe something and as a curse word; "d--n" and "a--" said throughout the novel). No sexual content. Mentions of angels. Mentions of the Bliss (a drug that slows down the virus).
Perfect for fans of Newt and the other Maze Runner books. Recommend 13-14+ for language and violence.
**
Now excuse me while I go cry some more. I'M NEVER GONNA BE EMOTIONALLY STABLE AGAIN!!! I'll remember y'all in therapy! 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️
Only I am not. I thought I was prepared to read about my favourite character going insane but :) no. :) The Death Cure was heartbreaking, this even more so, even though it ended on a more positive note. But I do think that I should ask James Dashner to pay for all the tissues I had to use because of this (and all the other books) because my heart is broken.
When I only had five minutes left of this audiobook, I was prepared for the final confrontation between Newt and Thomas, but not at all for the epilogue to start off saying that Newt was alive, but with a bullet in his brain???? Everyone going into this story knew how it would end (even though part of me hoped for Newt to survive but I’m a clown). So kudos to Dashner for still managing to surprise me, it was (not) a pleasant surprise.
Mark Deakins also did a fantastic job narrating this, only the accent he did for Newt threw me off at first, because it sounded more Scottish (or Irish?) than I had expected. But he did a wonderful job, and I really enjoyed going back to these beloved characters one last time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you haven't read the first three books in The Maze Runner series, don't read ahead. You have been warned!
What do you do if you have a disease that destroys your mind, turning you into what is essentially a zombie until your death, while all of your friends are immune? What's worse: abandoning them or letting them watch your descent into madness? Newt makes the choice to leave them, though it pains him to do so. He doesn't really have a plan or goal since he'll just fall into madness and die anyway. But he meets a mother and child who are determined to survive together, and that is just what Newt needs to give him purpose. Eventually ending up in the Crank Palace, Newt's story is finally told. The events that took place in The Death Cure are told from Newt's perspective.
You think I would have been prepared to be devastated and heart-broken after reading this, seeing as how I know the conclusion of The Death Cure. And yet, like a dummy, I went and read this book anyway simply because I love Newt. Thank you, James Dashner, for once again breaking my heart into pieces. If you thought The Death Cure was bad, this is on a different level. As Newt leaves his friends and succumbs to the Flare, you hear his thoughts, you watch him struggle until his inevitable end. Now you know what went through his head during all of this. Poor, sweet Newt--he deserved so much better. Once again, I'm left heartbroken over him.
To my fellow readers who also read this series and fell in love with Newt, this book offers some closure that I felt we did not get in the original series. However, getting this closure will most likely break your heart in the process. I recommend this book, as well as tissues, a warm blanket, and ice cream, to any Newt fans out there.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Spoilers for The Maze Runner trilogy included below.
My thoughts summed up quickly: ow.
This was a nice addition to the original series, if a little unnecessary. My biggest complaint is that it felt like the focus was more on what the Flare was doing to Newt's mind than about Newt himself. We do get some insight into how it felt for him to make the decision to leave, some of his memories of the Glade; these were all things I appreciated. I guess I was just hoping for a little more. Maybe a few flashback scenes written from his perspective. At least one flashback scene where he was sane and happy with his friends. But most of the book is the Flare being triggered in his mind and him going ballistic, which is just... painful.
While I enjoyed this, 3 stars just seems like the place I'm sitting with it. There were moments that were so strong in this book, and then others that fell flatter than unleavened bread. There wasn't much going on until the very end, and then that was extremely rushed, which is to be expected from a novella, I suppose.
As there wasn't much going on, I would only recommend this to die-hard fans of the original series, but it was still enjoyable.
With that being said, we love and support Keisha in this house. An icon. 10/10.
Labirent (Koşucusu) benim gerçekten sevdiğim bir seri. Brandon Sanderson'ın Steelheart'ı gibi hafif, akıcı, keyifli. Tabi ki seride 5 kitap olunca biri diğerinden elbette ki daha iyi oluyor ama son kitaba kadar sıkılmadan okuttu.
Peki buçuklu kitaplara gerek var mı?
Yes and no.
Var çünkü kitaplara, karakterlere, kurguya, evrene o kadar yatırım yaptıktan sonra okuyucu için güvenli bir liman gibi buçuklar. Olayı biliyor, herkesi tanıyor, üstüne üstlük bir de tam seri bitti vedalaştık derken bir anda tekrar buluşuyor. Mesela Rowling'in hayır için yazdığı HP kitapları değil de gerçek bir HP buçuğu çıksa iyi olmaz mıydı? Olmak ne kelime delirirdim.
Yok çünkü kitabın iyi bir yerde bıraktığını düşünüyorsanız buçuklar neredeyse hiçbir zaman beklentiyi karşılamıyor. Tersine belki hikayeden bile soğutuyor. "Have a day" der gibi adeta. Mesela zamanımızın en tembel yazarlarından Patrick Rothfuss gitti #2.5 diye "The Slow Regard of Silent Things"i çıkardı ve Auri gibi tatlılar tatlısı bir karakteri harcadı gitti. Peki #3 geldi mi, gelmedi.
Bu yüzden Deli Sarayı'na aynı kitap numarası gibi bir 3.5 yıldız veriyorum.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: November 23, 2021
James Dashner’s “Crank Palace”, is a novella, part of his series of “The Maze Runner” novels. In “Crank” we follow Newt, who separates from the rest of his friends after realizing he has The Flare. Newt finds a friend in Keisha and her toddler son, Dante, and together the three of them run from the Cranks, while trying to come to terms with the fact that The Flare will soon turn them into something unrecognizable.
“The Maze Runner” series was one of my favourite YA dystopian adventures series’ by far, and I was thrilled to be given an ARC of Dashner’s newest “Runner” tale. At only one hundred and nine pages, it definitely counts as a ‘novella’, and I think Dashner was on point with the length of “Palace”, as the story was just long enough to keep my interest, and to bring Newt’s story to a bittersweet end.
Keisha and Dante gave Newt’s journey purpose after leaving his best friends, and I loved seeing Newt’s nurturing and caring side from another angle. I struggled with a bit of the language in this novel, as some of the conversations seemed forced and choppy. I loved Keisha as a character, and she was a definite asset to both Newt’s development and the plot as a whole but I found she was not very developed for someone who was so central to the plot. I wanted more Keisha, and a more formal and flowing conversation structure.
The Cranks are back, some of WICKD returns, and we even get to see a brief reunion with Newt and his other Gladers (Thomas, Brenda, Minho and Jorge) which thrilled me. The heartbreaking ending that we knew was coming still brought on all the feels, but it was true to the original “Maze Runner” plot, which I appreciated.
I definitely believe Newt deserved his own novella, and it opens the door for more stories featuring some of the other Gladers. I am looking forward to seeing if Dashner continues to bring us more Maze stories.