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Chaos Walking #1-3
Chaos Walking: The Complete Trilogy: Books 1-3
Read it before you see it! The astonishing series by Patrick Ness that inspired a major motion picture--now in one ready-to-devour boxed set.
Dubbed by Publishers Weekly "one of the most important works of young adult science fiction in recent years," the Chaos Walking trilogy includes three highly acclaimed novels, in paperback:
- The Knife of Never Letting Go
- The Ask and the Answer
- Monsters of Men
Dubbed by Publishers Weekly "one of the most important works of young adult science fiction in recent years," the Chaos Walking trilogy includes three highly acclaimed novels, in paperback:
- The Knife of Never Letting Go
- The Ask and the Answer
- Monsters of Men
1607 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
879 people are currently reading
6732 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Ness
58 books18.7k followersPatrick Ness, an award-winning novelist, has written for Radio 4 and The Sunday Telegraph and is a literary critic for The Guardian. He has written many books, including the Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Crash of Hennington, Topics About Which I Know Nothing, and A Monster Calls.
He has won numerous awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. Born in Virginia, he currently lives in London.
He has won numerous awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. Born in Virginia, he currently lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 331 reviews
May 1, 2014
Chaos Walking was one of those books that ruins your life. You feel so much for it that you feel like you want to finish it yet you don't want it to end. It's the kind of book you'll be thinking of weeks or even months after you finished reading it. It's not like the Hunger Games. It has a different story and Chaos Walking effected my life more than the Hunger Games did. They are both amazing books, I can say that, but they are not the same. Both of them are different in their own ways and they are both unique.
I'll do my two favorite characters now:
*Todd Hewitt - I loved Todd's character. He was not perfect, no he wasn't, yet you learn to love his bravery. He was scared to kill, he was innocent, he didn't know how to read and wasn't well educated. There are some misspellings in his words but you learn to put all that aside and love his bravery.
*Viola Eade - I imagine Viola as a pretty girl yet not the kind of beauty that popular girls usually have. She is pretty but that is not the reason Todd fell for her. He liked her bravery and she was a strong character. She was weak at times but she always learns to get back up. I honestly think Viola is an amazing role model for girls. She's weak at times but knows how to be strong.
There were lots of parts where I didn't just sob but I literally cried so hard I couldn't breathe and my mother was worried (lol). I really shipped Todd and Viola not because they were endgame but because of the bond they had. They showed what real friendship should be about. Todd would do anything to save Viola (mentioned in The Ask and the Answer) and so would Viola for Todd and that's what friendship is about.
---I actually don't want a movie if it won't do justice to this heartbreaking trilogy.
I'll do my two favorite characters now:
*Todd Hewitt - I loved Todd's character. He was not perfect, no he wasn't, yet you learn to love his bravery. He was scared to kill, he was innocent, he didn't know how to read and wasn't well educated. There are some misspellings in his words but you learn to put all that aside and love his bravery.
*Viola Eade - I imagine Viola as a pretty girl yet not the kind of beauty that popular girls usually have. She is pretty but that is not the reason Todd fell for her. He liked her bravery and she was a strong character. She was weak at times but she always learns to get back up. I honestly think Viola is an amazing role model for girls. She's weak at times but knows how to be strong.
There were lots of parts where I didn't just sob but I literally cried so hard I couldn't breathe and my mother was worried (lol). I really shipped Todd and Viola not because they were endgame but because of the bond they had. They showed what real friendship should be about. Todd would do anything to save Viola (mentioned in The Ask and the Answer) and so would Viola for Todd and that's what friendship is about.
---I actually don't want a movie if it won't do justice to this heartbreaking trilogy.
February 13, 2024
😯 wow 😯
This trilogy shook me to my core. I haven’t felt this much pain in such a long time. These books took my peace on more days then I would like to admit. That being said, I am so happy I found this series when I did because I could appreciate it. I think as a teen there are pieces about life and the meaning of it that I would never understand years ago. I feel like in the middle of our world going through it’s first pandemic in decades made me have understanding. Something I don’t think I would have had before.
This trilogy all I wanted was the cure and people to lose their noise. But once Todd’s noise was gone I couldn’t wait for it to come back. The noise was one of my favorite things about this trilogy especially the horses 🐎 and Manchee. I still miss Todd’s dog from book 1. I honestly feel like his dog needed to have a memorial service. Manchee was the homie to the fullest and I love that he got an encore in book 3. My heart is so full and anxious especially since book 3 was 80% battle. It was intense bloody and brutal but it was necessary to get where we needed to be.
Oh and F F F F Mistress Coyle I hated her since they met. 🤬🤬🤬🤬
Also the mayor is worse than "he who shall not be named 👿” 🐍 he was such a savage through and through and his powers were ridiculous. There is so much I have to say but because I was up all night I need a mental break.
One day soon I will come in and do this correctly but right now I feel like I’m going to 🤯 explode. This was freaking awesome 👏🏽.
Thank you to Candy 🍭 for making me stick with this one it was worth it.
This trilogy shook me to my core. I haven’t felt this much pain in such a long time. These books took my peace on more days then I would like to admit. That being said, I am so happy I found this series when I did because I could appreciate it. I think as a teen there are pieces about life and the meaning of it that I would never understand years ago. I feel like in the middle of our world going through it’s first pandemic in decades made me have understanding. Something I don’t think I would have had before.
This trilogy all I wanted was the cure and people to lose their noise. But once Todd’s noise was gone I couldn’t wait for it to come back. The noise was one of my favorite things about this trilogy especially the horses 🐎 and Manchee. I still miss Todd’s dog from book 1. I honestly feel like his dog needed to have a memorial service. Manchee was the homie to the fullest and I love that he got an encore in book 3. My heart is so full and anxious especially since book 3 was 80% battle. It was intense bloody and brutal but it was necessary to get where we needed to be.
Oh and F F F F Mistress Coyle I hated her since they met. 🤬🤬🤬🤬
Also the mayor is worse than "he who shall not be named 👿” 🐍 he was such a savage through and through and his powers were ridiculous. There is so much I have to say but because I was up all night I need a mental break.
One day soon I will come in and do this correctly but right now I feel like I’m going to 🤯 explode. This was freaking awesome 👏🏽.
Thank you to Candy 🍭 for making me stick with this one it was worth it.
January 21, 2012
Trilogies are becoming very common in YA literature, with the implication that if there are three of them, then the books must be really good. What I see is a pattern of an excellent first book, followed by two mediocre ones, or sliding scale of quality. Let's call this the "Matrix" effect. This series reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games: stellar first book, tons of action, big cliffhanger...then the next two books do little to further the plot, are full of padding and repeats, and are in short, a bit of a let down.
October 5, 2017
5/5 stars
Let me tell you why I absolutely love this book:
1. Todd and Viola - they're probably one of the best YA literary couples of all time. why? No insta-love and a real connection between them.
2. I actually felt what the characters were feeling! This hasn't happened in soooooo long. I'm so sick of 2D characters with no empathy. I actually could feel my heart wrenching when the characters felt something horrible.
3. The plot line is DIFFERENT!!! (hard to believe, I know). There's no vampires, or werewolves, or zombies...it's actual good Dystopic literature.
I would definitely list this series as one of the best things I've read in 2013 (if not in my existence). I am recommending these books to everyone and everything.
Let me tell you why I absolutely love this book:
1. Todd and Viola - they're probably one of the best YA literary couples of all time. why? No insta-love and a real connection between them.
2. I actually felt what the characters were feeling! This hasn't happened in soooooo long. I'm so sick of 2D characters with no empathy. I actually could feel my heart wrenching when the characters felt something horrible.
3. The plot line is DIFFERENT!!! (hard to believe, I know). There's no vampires, or werewolves, or zombies...it's actual good Dystopic literature.
I would definitely list this series as one of the best things I've read in 2013 (if not in my existence). I am recommending these books to everyone and everything.
August 17, 2018
I first read these books eight long years ago, at the age of twelve, and I thoroughly enjoyed them, but they didn't really come to mind as my "favorite" books. For the longest time, I simply claimed The Hunger Games as favorites (pardon the inevitable ill-fitting comparison to a different YA trilogy), but that has begun to feel stale, like I'm not being entirely honest when I say it. About a month ago, I was struck with a sudden urge to reread the Chaos Walking trilogy, and I found myself loving them even more than the first time I read them. Perhaps eight critical years of personal development gave me more to identify with, more sympathy with predicaments that I found mirrored in my own life, and greater appreciation for the horrible decisions the characters are forced into making. But I'll get back to thematic topics later on, because I first need to elaborate on my original motivation for rereading these books: the protagonist, Todd Hewitt.
No other fictional character I can think of has impacted me the way Todd has, in ways I haven't always been aware of. Half of my reason for writing this review was how unnerved I became reading negative reviews that asserted that Todd is somehow unsympathetic, because in my experience, that couldn't possibly be further from the truth. Long after I forgot some of the finer plot details, I still remembered Todd. Like Todd, I find myself so often ruled by guilt and remorse, which made his struggles all the more real to me, however foreign they were on the surface. Todd isn't perfect. Through the course of the trilogy, he does some terrible things. It is important to remember, however, that he is a teenager, a boy, brought up in an insular, hypermasculine town in a culture that prides itself on violence and hate. For the most part, Todd fights against this, as someone in tune with his emotions, someone who lets himself feel, as the "soft-hearted" boy who "can't kill." Inevitably, he does fail on occasion--but never without an enormous amount of regret and personal suffering. Todd is unique among his peers, but he is also not an island.
This brings me to a key theme of the trilogy that pretty much flew over my head when I was twelve: the destructive effect of masculinity, particularly on youth. Todd is the most obvious embodiment of this struggle, but there's a secondary character, , who faces this struggle in his own way. Outwardly, he is much more comfortable with the culture of Prentisstown, parroting the same violent misogyny as the men he grew up with, deriding Todd's "tenderness." But it later becomes apparent that these traits are not an inherent part of his character; he is thoroughly disturbed by many of the criminal acts he is ordered to commit, and the more time he spends with Todd, the more this part of him comes to the fore, to the point where he eventually intervenes on behalf of one of the individuals he victimized.
In general, Ness stands in my view as perhaps the best male author at writing genuine, complicated and sympathetic female characters that I’ve ever read. As a woman, I cannot even count how many emotionally exhausting books I’ve read, including an overwhelming majority of the “classics” I was forced to read in high school, where the women included were negative caricatures at best and emotionless sexual accessories to a self-absorbed male protagonist at worst. These were things to which I had not become acclimated before my first reading of this trilogy, but eight years and many violently misogynistic “classics” later, I naturally worried that my positive memories of the trilogy would be marred by what I might now identify as a dehumanizing portrayal of women. Fortunately, and to my pleasant surprise, Ness’ writing defied my worst expectations. Viola Eade, the primary female protagonist, is a strong character independent of Todd, and I don’t mean “strong” in the sense that too many supposedly progressive male authors seem to think, in which their female characters are defined simply by emulating the most abhorrent features of masculinity, but in the sense that she has her own concerns, her own motivations, and her own feelings independent of Todd, feelings she is given permission to feel and express without being scorned as somehow “weaker.” Like Todd, her emotions are not shown to be a weakness, but rather, to be her strength. As she says in The Ask and the Answer, “It’s not that you should never love something so much it can control you. It’s that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled.”
Almost inevitably, the relationship between Todd and Viola eventually develops into a romantic one, but these distinctly “romantic” elements of their relationship do not even emerge until the latter half of the third book, and even then, only sparingly. I think there is a frustrating standard in YA lit, a reflex against the terrible love triangles that have occupied so many other female protagonists, that has resulted in some misguided idea that a truly “strong” female character cannot have any romantic feelings. Viola is a refreshing response to this well-intentioned but ultimately harmful trend. Her feelings for Todd, like his for her, are quite strong--something that makes quite a lot of sense considering that they were, for the longest time, only able to count on each other to survive--but they are not all of her. Through it all, she has her own motivations, her own interests, and while one of those motivations is definitely to protect Todd, this is not her sole motivation, nor does it conveniently avoid conflict with her other goals.
The trilogy’s main antagonist, Mayor Prentiss, is just as memorable as its heroes (perhaps too much so, considering my recent realization that the primary antagonist in one of my own projects mirrors Prentiss unnervingly closely, but I digress). He is both terrifying and intriguing, frustrating and somewhat unpredictable, and for the sake not regurgitating too much of the plot, I will stay pretty vague here, but in the third book his relationship with Todd develops in such a way that, just like Todd, on the one hand I still hated him, but on the other hand there was a part of me that even now isn’t certain how to feel. It caused me to think, as Todd spells it, of “redempshun,” of the possibilities and limitations of such a concept. For the wary, it is worth noting that But the relationship between Prentiss and Todd is never so straightforward, and after finishing the trilogy, I find myself strangely longing for an antagonist as compelling as Mayor Prentiss, for, as another narrator notes in the third book, a statement that Todd no doubt could identify with as well, “even the one you hate leaves an absence when they go.”
There are some stylistic choices that some people have found disagreeable, namely, Todd’s voice and his occasional misspelled word (e.g. “preparayshuns” vs “preparations”) as a further means of conveying his illiteracy. For the most part, I think this is a matter of individual taste, and I won’t endeavor too hard to convince people that this was a good authorial choice. I personally found it endearing, however, and I feel that it was done well. It is pervasive in the text as is Todd’s illiteracy (and his self-consciousness about it) in the story itself, and I think it serves its purpose effectively. I’ll give a small criticsm regarding some inconsistencies in these misspellings--words that were spelled correctly in Todd’s narration earlier and then spelled incorrectly later, for instance (so not those that were later spelled correctly to reflect his gradual learning how to read)--but this is just a small detail that has no major effect on the enjoyability and poignancy of the books.
Patrick Ness uses a cast of multifaceted, sympathetic characters to get his audience deeply invested in the story and receptive to his important messages about the realities of moral ambiguity and the horrors of war, and he does so in a way that lasts with readers long after they’ve closed the final book. If I have any regret about reading this trilogy, it is only that I doubt I will ever find anything like them again.
No other fictional character I can think of has impacted me the way Todd has, in ways I haven't always been aware of. Half of my reason for writing this review was how unnerved I became reading negative reviews that asserted that Todd is somehow unsympathetic, because in my experience, that couldn't possibly be further from the truth. Long after I forgot some of the finer plot details, I still remembered Todd. Like Todd, I find myself so often ruled by guilt and remorse, which made his struggles all the more real to me, however foreign they were on the surface. Todd isn't perfect. Through the course of the trilogy, he does some terrible things. It is important to remember, however, that he is a teenager, a boy, brought up in an insular, hypermasculine town in a culture that prides itself on violence and hate. For the most part, Todd fights against this, as someone in tune with his emotions, someone who lets himself feel, as the "soft-hearted" boy who "can't kill." Inevitably, he does fail on occasion--but never without an enormous amount of regret and personal suffering. Todd is unique among his peers, but he is also not an island.
This brings me to a key theme of the trilogy that pretty much flew over my head when I was twelve: the destructive effect of masculinity, particularly on youth. Todd is the most obvious embodiment of this struggle, but there's a secondary character, , who faces this struggle in his own way. Outwardly, he is much more comfortable with the culture of Prentisstown, parroting the same violent misogyny as the men he grew up with, deriding Todd's "tenderness." But it later becomes apparent that these traits are not an inherent part of his character; he is thoroughly disturbed by many of the criminal acts he is ordered to commit, and the more time he spends with Todd, the more this part of him comes to the fore, to the point where he eventually intervenes on behalf of one of the individuals he victimized.
In general, Ness stands in my view as perhaps the best male author at writing genuine, complicated and sympathetic female characters that I’ve ever read. As a woman, I cannot even count how many emotionally exhausting books I’ve read, including an overwhelming majority of the “classics” I was forced to read in high school, where the women included were negative caricatures at best and emotionless sexual accessories to a self-absorbed male protagonist at worst. These were things to which I had not become acclimated before my first reading of this trilogy, but eight years and many violently misogynistic “classics” later, I naturally worried that my positive memories of the trilogy would be marred by what I might now identify as a dehumanizing portrayal of women. Fortunately, and to my pleasant surprise, Ness’ writing defied my worst expectations. Viola Eade, the primary female protagonist, is a strong character independent of Todd, and I don’t mean “strong” in the sense that too many supposedly progressive male authors seem to think, in which their female characters are defined simply by emulating the most abhorrent features of masculinity, but in the sense that she has her own concerns, her own motivations, and her own feelings independent of Todd, feelings she is given permission to feel and express without being scorned as somehow “weaker.” Like Todd, her emotions are not shown to be a weakness, but rather, to be her strength. As she says in The Ask and the Answer, “It’s not that you should never love something so much it can control you. It’s that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled.”
Almost inevitably, the relationship between Todd and Viola eventually develops into a romantic one, but these distinctly “romantic” elements of their relationship do not even emerge until the latter half of the third book, and even then, only sparingly. I think there is a frustrating standard in YA lit, a reflex against the terrible love triangles that have occupied so many other female protagonists, that has resulted in some misguided idea that a truly “strong” female character cannot have any romantic feelings. Viola is a refreshing response to this well-intentioned but ultimately harmful trend. Her feelings for Todd, like his for her, are quite strong--something that makes quite a lot of sense considering that they were, for the longest time, only able to count on each other to survive--but they are not all of her. Through it all, she has her own motivations, her own interests, and while one of those motivations is definitely to protect Todd, this is not her sole motivation, nor does it conveniently avoid conflict with her other goals.
The trilogy’s main antagonist, Mayor Prentiss, is just as memorable as its heroes (perhaps too much so, considering my recent realization that the primary antagonist in one of my own projects mirrors Prentiss unnervingly closely, but I digress). He is both terrifying and intriguing, frustrating and somewhat unpredictable, and for the sake not regurgitating too much of the plot, I will stay pretty vague here, but in the third book his relationship with Todd develops in such a way that, just like Todd, on the one hand I still hated him, but on the other hand there was a part of me that even now isn’t certain how to feel. It caused me to think, as Todd spells it, of “redempshun,” of the possibilities and limitations of such a concept. For the wary, it is worth noting that But the relationship between Prentiss and Todd is never so straightforward, and after finishing the trilogy, I find myself strangely longing for an antagonist as compelling as Mayor Prentiss, for, as another narrator notes in the third book, a statement that Todd no doubt could identify with as well, “even the one you hate leaves an absence when they go.”
There are some stylistic choices that some people have found disagreeable, namely, Todd’s voice and his occasional misspelled word (e.g. “preparayshuns” vs “preparations”) as a further means of conveying his illiteracy. For the most part, I think this is a matter of individual taste, and I won’t endeavor too hard to convince people that this was a good authorial choice. I personally found it endearing, however, and I feel that it was done well. It is pervasive in the text as is Todd’s illiteracy (and his self-consciousness about it) in the story itself, and I think it serves its purpose effectively. I’ll give a small criticsm regarding some inconsistencies in these misspellings--words that were spelled correctly in Todd’s narration earlier and then spelled incorrectly later, for instance (so not those that were later spelled correctly to reflect his gradual learning how to read)--but this is just a small detail that has no major effect on the enjoyability and poignancy of the books.
Patrick Ness uses a cast of multifaceted, sympathetic characters to get his audience deeply invested in the story and receptive to his important messages about the realities of moral ambiguity and the horrors of war, and he does so in a way that lasts with readers long after they’ve closed the final book. If I have any regret about reading this trilogy, it is only that I doubt I will ever find anything like them again.
January 3, 2022
I'm reviewing this trilogy as a single book, because that's how I devoured it. This is another one of the young adult books that tackles a morally ambiguous universe in a clear-eyed, realistic, and useful way, without skimping on all the other elements that make young adult fantasy so great (aliens, a love story, struggles for power!, enhanced mental abilities, a long journey, talking animals, etc.)
You can read the synopsis of the story anywhere else, so I'll just say the essentials here: A world where everyone can hear what every man thinks, but not what any woman does. An intelligent native species. A struggling human colony with another wave of settlers on the way. A girl from space. A boy who doesn't know history in a world of adults driven by their interpretation of the past.
There are a lot of books that pit young adults against grown-ups who don't live up to expectations or who turn out to be deeply flawed. The thing that really sets this story apart is the time Patrick Ness devotes to demonstrating that everyone is flawed, that flawed doesn't mean unredeemable, and that being redeemable doesn't always mean that you get redeemed. He explores how people betray their own principles when they get caught up in struggles for power, but also when they're acting to protect people they love. He shows how easy it is to become just moderately evil in the service of preventing a greater evil, and the consequences that can have.
Nobody in this book is a hero without stain. Nobody in this book is utterly evil. Nobody in this book is selfless, and nobody gets to escape the past unharmed.
The story starts with intra-human conflicts, but in the latter half of the series broadens to include an unexpectedly deep storyline about the human-alien war that, like Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, digs into how two sides in existential conflict can choose to move toward peace. The story here is more more than Us learning to perceive the Other as creatures like ourselves. It digs into the choices around reconciliation and forgiveness and revenge in ways that are very uncharacteristic for young adult fiction.
And, because Patrick Ness deserves praise for this too, the story includes powerful (but imperfect) women, people of color, people of different sexual orientation, and people of differing mental abilities, all without making a big deal out of it or blaring a big "Look how inclusive my story is!" sign. They're just people, and being from a historically marginalized group doesn't get them special treatment or give them an inexplicably superior moral compass.
One quick caveat for those of you who don't like it when books get creative with the layout of their text: there is a fair amount of text illustration (several fonts are used throughout the book - generally to a good purpose, in my opinion). Additionally, a lot of sentences in the story end with dashes, so if look at a page of Emily Dickenson's poetry fills you with homicidal rage, you might want to find a stick to bite on while you read this.
But you should read it, because it's true.
You can read the synopsis of the story anywhere else, so I'll just say the essentials here: A world where everyone can hear what every man thinks, but not what any woman does. An intelligent native species. A struggling human colony with another wave of settlers on the way. A girl from space. A boy who doesn't know history in a world of adults driven by their interpretation of the past.
There are a lot of books that pit young adults against grown-ups who don't live up to expectations or who turn out to be deeply flawed. The thing that really sets this story apart is the time Patrick Ness devotes to demonstrating that everyone is flawed, that flawed doesn't mean unredeemable, and that being redeemable doesn't always mean that you get redeemed. He explores how people betray their own principles when they get caught up in struggles for power, but also when they're acting to protect people they love. He shows how easy it is to become just moderately evil in the service of preventing a greater evil, and the consequences that can have.
Nobody in this book is a hero without stain. Nobody in this book is utterly evil. Nobody in this book is selfless, and nobody gets to escape the past unharmed.
The story starts with intra-human conflicts, but in the latter half of the series broadens to include an unexpectedly deep storyline about the human-alien war that, like Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, digs into how two sides in existential conflict can choose to move toward peace. The story here is more more than Us learning to perceive the Other as creatures like ourselves. It digs into the choices around reconciliation and forgiveness and revenge in ways that are very uncharacteristic for young adult fiction.
And, because Patrick Ness deserves praise for this too, the story includes powerful (but imperfect) women, people of color, people of different sexual orientation, and people of differing mental abilities, all without making a big deal out of it or blaring a big "Look how inclusive my story is!" sign. They're just people, and being from a historically marginalized group doesn't get them special treatment or give them an inexplicably superior moral compass.
One quick caveat for those of you who don't like it when books get creative with the layout of their text: there is a fair amount of text illustration (several fonts are used throughout the book - generally to a good purpose, in my opinion). Additionally, a lot of sentences in the story end with dashes, so if look at a page of Emily Dickenson's poetry fills you with homicidal rage, you might want to find a stick to bite on while you read this.
But you should read it, because it's true.
October 9, 2014
This is a really interesting planet in which everybody can hear and see the chaotic inner thoughts of men, animals, and the sentient native humanoid aliens. But the constant information has driven most people a little crazy...and one megalomaniac a LOT crazy. I couldn't put the books down, but I'm kind of glad to be leaving the craziness behind at the same time.
Because through three entire books two innocent, good-hearted teenagers are chased, controlled, betrayed, and nearly killed by the adults around them over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I mean, these kids REALLY can't catch a break. Or even catch their breath, half the time, before something else totally gut-wrenching happens to them.
These two teenagers bond very quickly while all these horrible things happen to them, and vow to protect each other. They have an intense, I-would-die-for-you devotion almost from the start that's a little over the top but helps drive the plot quite compellingly.
I like that the author weaves in lots of moral dilemmas and suffering over bad choices. Especially for a book aimed at teenagers this seems appropriate to really show a couple of teenagers thinking about what kind of people they want to be in the world. The trilogy is in large part an anti-war parable, with a lot of graphic violence to leave you with the clear message of how horrible war is. And a fair amount of reflection afterwards on how horrible the violence is, just in case you missed the point.
But oh man, there is hardly a moment of PEACE in the entire thing. I need to go read something about butterflies and unicorns now. Or at least something where people are leading normal everyday lives, and have time to explore what loving each other actually means, rather than being forced to scream each other's names in panic multiple times a day.
Because through three entire books two innocent, good-hearted teenagers are chased, controlled, betrayed, and nearly killed by the adults around them over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I mean, these kids REALLY can't catch a break. Or even catch their breath, half the time, before something else totally gut-wrenching happens to them.
These two teenagers bond very quickly while all these horrible things happen to them, and vow to protect each other. They have an intense, I-would-die-for-you devotion almost from the start that's a little over the top but helps drive the plot quite compellingly.
I like that the author weaves in lots of moral dilemmas and suffering over bad choices. Especially for a book aimed at teenagers this seems appropriate to really show a couple of teenagers thinking about what kind of people they want to be in the world. The trilogy is in large part an anti-war parable, with a lot of graphic violence to leave you with the clear message of how horrible war is. And a fair amount of reflection afterwards on how horrible the violence is, just in case you missed the point.
But oh man, there is hardly a moment of PEACE in the entire thing. I need to go read something about butterflies and unicorns now. Or at least something where people are leading normal everyday lives, and have time to explore what loving each other actually means, rather than being forced to scream each other's names in panic multiple times a day.
Read
November 19, 2018Wait, is this... the whole series in one book?
Because I need that.
Because I need that.
August 6, 2019
Patrick Ness is one of my favourite authors. This box set Chaos Walking is a perfect reason for an early Christmas shopping day. The box set contains The Knife of Never a Letting Go The Ask And Answer Monster Of Men . The Nioise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, A man is just chaos walking. This Chaos Walking box set is a bargain published by Walker Books at £23.99.
I would like to thank walker books for sending me my fabulous package box set.
I would like to thank walker books for sending me my fabulous package box set.
June 17, 2015
excellent!!!! I literally read this everywhere I went, I really love Todd Hewitt and of course Manchee!!!
Ow, Todd??
Ow, Todd??
August 4, 2013
I picked up this series because I was intrigued by the titles of the first two books. A book with a title like "The Knife of Never Letting Go" has to be good, right? And yes, I was right.
I sacrifice a little of my anti-war reading (okay, I have no such thing, but I did skip a few pages in Monsters of Men--didn't want that picture in my head) to read from this brilliant author. All first person with great voice. This was one of the few times where a story was told from multiple points of view--books 2 and 3--where I wasn't confused as to who was speaking AND I felt that it greatly enhanced the story. Only problem other than the war themes: sometimes you can't keep what's happened straight! The back story keeps changing as the main character is told different versions. I'm not saying that's a bad thing (I felt it made the read a little more exciting), but if that's the sort of thing that bothers you, be wary.
I sacrifice a little of my anti-war reading (okay, I have no such thing, but I did skip a few pages in Monsters of Men--didn't want that picture in my head) to read from this brilliant author. All first person with great voice. This was one of the few times where a story was told from multiple points of view--books 2 and 3--where I wasn't confused as to who was speaking AND I felt that it greatly enhanced the story. Only problem other than the war themes: sometimes you can't keep what's happened straight! The back story keeps changing as the main character is told different versions. I'm not saying that's a bad thing (I felt it made the read a little more exciting), but if that's the sort of thing that bothers you, be wary.
April 10, 2015
I LOVED this trilogy, absolutely brilliant
August 11, 2012
As with Hunger Games, the first book was compelling, well-written and addictive, but the next two books failed to hold my intereest. I ended up skimming them for story, but even so was rather bored by the continuing war and conflict plot and the predictable not-quite-fulfilled romance, both of which I found dragged out way too long. I think publishers like the idea of trilogies and pay by the length, encouraging authors to go on in tediously repetitive fashion.
December 13, 2014
Great trilogy
With such a unique idea, Ness had me hooked from the prequel. Every bit as good as The Maze Runner. The story lagged a bit near the end, but lacked the annoying, whining protagonist teenagers that so many books are centered on. I immediately purchased more works by Ness, and plan to keep to a look out. I expect this will be the next big thing.
With such a unique idea, Ness had me hooked from the prequel. Every bit as good as The Maze Runner. The story lagged a bit near the end, but lacked the annoying, whining protagonist teenagers that so many books are centered on. I immediately purchased more works by Ness, and plan to keep to a look out. I expect this will be the next big thing.
March 23, 2016
Ugh, this book is amazing.
July 19, 2017
In one word: Brilliant! I would just like to comment on the writing style. I mean, you don't see young adult novels that utilize dialects. It's beautifully done, really. And the pain,the raw pain and the emotions! My god the series is breathtaking! The pacing is just right and it's almost perfection... almost. I've rarely ever given any book a full rating and as tempted as I was to give this one as 5/5, I'd rather not cross that line. The series is incredible though, my personal favorite being the second book mainly because of how the torture scenes were acted out. It was real. It was human. I can't think of anything else to say to describe this series only that everyone... and I mean EVERYONE should read it.
September 20, 2015
In all honesty, this series surprised me more than I expected it to. I went in not expecting much only to find I enjoyed it much more than a lot of other young adult trilogies I have read.
To begin with I feared the worst, the writing style being rather off-putting. After a much shorter period of time than I had expected, I was soon overlooking the writing style as I found the story truly gripping. As soon as I finished one book I was picking up the next, then working my way through the short stories as I wanted to find out more.
Overall, one of the better young adult trilogies out there.
To begin with I feared the worst, the writing style being rather off-putting. After a much shorter period of time than I had expected, I was soon overlooking the writing style as I found the story truly gripping. As soon as I finished one book I was picking up the next, then working my way through the short stories as I wanted to find out more.
Overall, one of the better young adult trilogies out there.
June 21, 2012
Amazing trilogy. This is classified as young adult, but I highly recommend it for adults. The writing is rich, the story riveting, and the characters are unique and distinctive.
One caveat: Plan to read all three books at once. These books don't stand independently; they are really a big fat novel broken into three parts, each increasing in complexity.
One caveat: Plan to read all three books at once. These books don't stand independently; they are really a big fat novel broken into three parts, each increasing in complexity.
June 20, 2018
An interesting read. I am not a fan of sci fi / fantasy, but many of my students are. I will admit that this 3 book series had a lot of twists and turns. Even though it is a YA book, I feel like middle school students would enjoy.
December 5, 2011
I. Need. This.
June 16, 2017
This series had the biggest cliffhanger I've ever seen and it's amazing
March 23, 2018
Mi trilogía favorita por siempre y para siempre.
May 22, 2018
"Ow, Todd" and "Boy colt" seared on my soul for ever more.
January 25, 2021
I'm gonna be honest I tried at maybe at around 40%. Its a nice rainy day and I wanted something to go along with my French vanilla cappuccino while I listened to the storm outside...the "improper language" that kept happening. examples being "preparayshuns" creachers" etc just was not doing it for me to cozy up to. I don't feel like working that hard to figure what the character is saying for an entirety of a whole book. I got to about pg. 18 when I realized a small headache was beginning to settle in. I saw the trailer for the movie and I am definitely intrigued by the concept of this book but I just can't with the grammar. I understand its to be at the characters yadda yadda but I just don't feel like workin for it...maybe ill pick it up again...? but honestly probably not
February 6, 2025
One of my favorite trilogy’s ever!!!
The plot was amazing and the sub plot ( the romance itself) was so good,that i was giggling and kicking my feet.
Some of the characters were a bit insufferable but there’s still love in me for them🫶🏻
Honestly this was one of the only books who hooked me with just the first paragraph and i’m really so glad i gave this a chance :)
The plot was amazing and the sub plot ( the romance itself) was so good,that i was giggling and kicking my feet.
Some of the characters were a bit insufferable but there’s still love in me for them🫶🏻
Honestly this was one of the only books who hooked me with just the first paragraph and i’m really so glad i gave this a chance :)
August 24, 2022
A very complex and twisted plot. Also the language use is clever. I couldn't have thought up anything as complicated, let alone make it so cloak and dagger-y or gripping. Don't know how Patrick Ness thought it up.🤔😀😜👌👍
September 22, 2017
Goodreads
What I'm Reading Now (and/or listening to right now):
The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Ask and the Answer
1. Holy Moly! Where do I even begin?
2. The audiobook of this series is so well done and the narration adds a tremendous amount to the ebb and flow of the stories, but also seeing Ness' use or font, etc. adds to the story. So if you decide to listen to it, at least during book 1, just take a quick look at the text when you have a chance.
3. This series came highly recommended and I was forewarned to how thought-provoking it is, along with incredible world-building...I'm truly at a loss for words how to describe it so that you will pick it up and listen. In the first book, we begin to learn the story about men and women having to leave Earth because they'd ravaged the planet and resources were scarce. Upon arriving on this "New World," a habitable planet on which men can hear each others' thoughts, call the din of all the thoughts of people close by "noise" and can even hear the thoughts of animals, reptiles and insects...but before I say anything more about that, you must know that they were not alone on New World. Right off the Bat we meet Todd Hewitt and his dog Manchee, who at the opening of the book is thinking about poo and squirrels. Todd was born on New World and survival has been difficult but in 29 days he will be come a man, something to which he is looking forward to happening. Ness layers in aspects of religion, human supremacy, and more into an intense race against time and bad people. I
4. After the roller coaster of book 1 (during which I gasped, I cried, I urged the characters to do/not do something, and even sat in my car after arriving home so I could finish that section), and after the gut-wrenching roller coaster of book 1, I said "WOW. Just wow!" and "so thought-provoking." But part way into book 2, Ness continues to tighten the spring and then BAM! Every time you think things are going the right away, another wrench gets thrown into the mix. He's so masterful at storytelling and now as I listen to book 2, I think I might understand even a just a little bit now how people felt when the Nazi's took over a town in Europe. How Hitler manipulated people to his endgame, through various control mechanisms, fear, and perceptions. I think I might understand a little bit how things got as far as they did even though people could could see what was happening and wanted to veer away from the catastrophic goings-on. I don't know what the end of book 2 will bring or what book 3 will bring but I don't expect my recommendation to change. Get this book/audiobook series and read/listen to it.
What I'm Reading Now (and/or listening to right now):
The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Ask and the Answer
1. Holy Moly! Where do I even begin?
2. The audiobook of this series is so well done and the narration adds a tremendous amount to the ebb and flow of the stories, but also seeing Ness' use or font, etc. adds to the story. So if you decide to listen to it, at least during book 1, just take a quick look at the text when you have a chance.
3. This series came highly recommended and I was forewarned to how thought-provoking it is, along with incredible world-building...I'm truly at a loss for words how to describe it so that you will pick it up and listen. In the first book, we begin to learn the story about men and women having to leave Earth because they'd ravaged the planet and resources were scarce. Upon arriving on this "New World," a habitable planet on which men can hear each others' thoughts, call the din of all the thoughts of people close by "noise" and can even hear the thoughts of animals, reptiles and insects...but before I say anything more about that, you must know that they were not alone on New World. Right off the Bat we meet Todd Hewitt and his dog Manchee, who at the opening of the book is thinking about poo and squirrels. Todd was born on New World and survival has been difficult but in 29 days he will be come a man, something to which he is looking forward to happening. Ness layers in aspects of religion, human supremacy, and more into an intense race against time and bad people. I
4. After the roller coaster of book 1 (during which I gasped, I cried, I urged the characters to do/not do something, and even sat in my car after arriving home so I could finish that section), and after the gut-wrenching roller coaster of book 1, I said "WOW. Just wow!" and "so thought-provoking." But part way into book 2, Ness continues to tighten the spring and then BAM! Every time you think things are going the right away, another wrench gets thrown into the mix. He's so masterful at storytelling and now as I listen to book 2, I think I might understand even a just a little bit now how people felt when the Nazi's took over a town in Europe. How Hitler manipulated people to his endgame, through various control mechanisms, fear, and perceptions. I think I might understand a little bit how things got as far as they did even though people could could see what was happening and wanted to veer away from the catastrophic goings-on. I don't know what the end of book 2 will bring or what book 3 will bring but I don't expect my recommendation to change. Get this book/audiobook series and read/listen to it.
August 17, 2012
I have to say, I was pretty impressed with this series, and the moral dilemas it CONSTANTLY brings up. Really intense and interesting themes through the book and a mostly non-cheasy evolution of the characters. It brings up a lot of difficult questions, and as a reader you think you know the obvious solutions, but I think Ness does a good job of stressing that doing a thing, even if it's necessary/deserved, doesn't leave you undamaged. The "love story" is actually not that intense (which I appreciated), and is more about human bonds than anything tweeny and obnoxious. The only issue I had with this is that the author made the main characters RIDICULOUSLY too young for what they go through and achieve. Todd is somewhere between 14 and 15 (and you can assume similar for Viola). It's just not plausible for the story, they really needed to be in the adult-ish range; Todd watches full on torture (as in CIA-isn't-allowed-to-do-this type of torture) and does some pretty awful things himself. The books are really quite adult and not exactly your usual young adult fiction, I'm not sure why the author felt the need to make the characters so young, maybe to identify with teens? But seriously no teen would be able to identify with the events in these books. Anyway, that little detail nagged me throughout the series, but otherwise I was very impressed (and I took up this series very grudgingly). You might as well get the trilogy all at once, you're not going to be able to read only one.
May 19, 2012
This is a really good story and I am not going to tell you about it. You have to read it for yourself. I personally hate it when I read a review that is actually a book-report. I'll tell you what you need to know - I considered it MORE than worth the time invested to read it!!
This is a story of "doing the right thing". Todd and Viola seem to be put to the test constantly and in the end (of course) come out victorious, but that's not to stay it was a storybook ending. It almost read like a futuristic non-fiction. The whole world was so detailed to me that I always felt that I was right there. I got to know all the characters and I felt what they felt throughout the story (even the horses).
There are only three small things I didn't like about this book:
1) The misspelling of words - I'm sure it is to put you in the mindset of the way this poor, almost illiterate boy speaks, but it is still a little annoying
2) There are a couple of parts that go on forever - it is to show how long it lasted for Todd and Viola but it does start to get boring
3) It ended too soon - I really wanted more which goes to show how involved I was in the lives of these people
This is a story of "doing the right thing". Todd and Viola seem to be put to the test constantly and in the end (of course) come out victorious, but that's not to stay it was a storybook ending. It almost read like a futuristic non-fiction. The whole world was so detailed to me that I always felt that I was right there. I got to know all the characters and I felt what they felt throughout the story (even the horses).
There are only three small things I didn't like about this book:
1) The misspelling of words - I'm sure it is to put you in the mindset of the way this poor, almost illiterate boy speaks, but it is still a little annoying
2) There are a couple of parts that go on forever - it is to show how long it lasted for Todd and Viola but it does start to get boring
3) It ended too soon - I really wanted more which goes to show how involved I was in the lives of these people
October 13, 2018
Sci-Fi - This is one of my favorite series! It was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm so glad he suggested it. I finished these lengthy books in no time! I had to find out what happened to Todd and Viola! Todd lives on the planet, New World, where men can hear everyone and everything's thoughts (men and animals). This is due to the Noise germ that the native species, the Spackle, spread during a war. This germ killed all the women on the planet, but as Todd realizes his town is keeping some major secrets, he discovers a girl, Viola, who as crashlanded on the planet. The strange thing is that he can't hear her thoughts. Uh oh! Just a side note - Todd's dog, Manchee, is hilarious. He totally reminded me of the dog, Doug, in the movie Up. Make sure you read the extra short stories at the end of each book. They provide a bit more background to certain situations. I loved all three books int he series and was sad when they were over!
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