27) The Kill Order 28) Troilus and Cressida

27) The Kill Order by James Dashner

This book is the prequel to the Maze Runner series, and I really enjoyed reading things from Mark's perspective, and finding out the events that led up to the flare (trying to avoid spoilers here!) There are more female characters in this book, which I appreciated, although the characterisation is slightly two-dimensional in some cases, and the writing style is still a bit clunky. I really enjoyed finding out how everything began though, and am curious about the sequel-to-the-prequel (haha) which should be coming out in 2016. I'm hoping that it focuses on Teresa and Thomas, and their time before the maze.

28) Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

I'm studying this play at uni and I find the re-telling of the Trojan War really interesting, especially as the focus isn't on Paris and Helen, but on Troilus and Cressida. While ultimately unsatisfying (the ending is not at all what we're led to expect, considering the precedent given by Romeo and Juliette and Antony and Cleopatra) the play captures our interest through the intriguing characterisation of the double-faceted Cressida, and the distrustful Troilus. The fact that their roles have already been laid out for them by Chaucer, which the characters predict in saying  'As true as Troilus' and  'as false as Cressid', does not prevent us from bemoaning their bewildering fate. This play can be viewed in turns as a history, a tragedy, and  a comedy; and this problem of genre perfectly compliments its problematic ideology.