The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Eye of Minds
(The Mortality Doctrine, #1)
by James Dashner
Released |October 8th 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers|
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An all-new, edge-of-your seat adventure from James Dashner, the author of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, The Eye of Minds is the first book in The Mortality Doctrine, a series set in a world of hyperadvanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming beyond your wildest dreams . . . and your worst nightmares.
Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.
But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

James Dashner is amazing when it comes to creating a unique world. The Eye of Minds was made up of a complex gaming world with 'hyperadvanced' technology. It was amazing and I could envision every little aspect. I'm typically not into gaming books, but I found this one to be fast paced and exciting. I've read the Maze Runner trilogy and the prequel to it and really enjoyed it. So going into The Eye of Minds I was expecting it to be fast paced and action packed. It didn't disappoint :) If you're wanting something with some romance in it, this book may not be for you because that was pretty much non existent, but I actually didn't mind it one bit. If you're looking for excitement and action then I'd definitely recommend giving the book a try.


Michael was a pretty interesting character. He lived on his own with a nanny that came to his apartment to fix him breakfast and things like that. He pretty much dedicated his life to the gaming world. I found the whole coffin and the sleep thing to be interesting. The characters go into their coffins when they're about to enter into the game and the coffin feeds them nutrients as they're gaming for hours. I found it pretty cool that they could eat and thing while being in the game. There were restaurants, malls, clubs and anything else you can think of.

But the thing is, we didn't really know much about Michael or the other two characters Sarah and Bryson. I wish we knew more about them and I was hoping that they'd meet up in the outside world. But they only know each other from the gaming world. But even though we didn't learn much about them I liked how they interacted with each other and the friendship that they share. The three of them together were amazing hackers and were on a mission from the VNS to find the mortality doctrine. It wasn't easy and they went through hell to doing it.

The twist at the end is what got me. I wasn't expecting it at all and I was sort of OMG'ing when it happened. That moment of 'your kidding me (cue open mouth)'. I'm now really excited to check out the sequel to see what happens next. I think this was a good start to a new series.