The Knife of Never Letting Go (with bonus short story): Chaos Walking: Book One
The riveting Chaos Walking trilogy by two-time Carnegie Medalist Patrick Ness, reissued with compelling new covers -- and a bonus short story in each book. "Narrated with crack dramatic and comic timing. . . . The cliffhanger ending is as effective as a shot to the gut." -- Booklist (starred review) Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
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Community Reviews
This was dark and filled with despair. Todd is a fitting metaphor for everyman. In this story he literally comes of age, with dire consequences.
If Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials are supposed to be a darker Harry Potter, than Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series is shaping up to be a darker His Dark Materials.
The book starts in Prentisstown, where all men's Noise (thoughts) can be heard by everyone, and there aren't any women. Todd, 30 days away from his 13th birthday, at which point he will become a man, has been told that the Noise came with the same germ from the native inhabitants of the planet that killed all the women. But one day Todd starts finding out that everything he's known about his town and his planet is not what he's been told.
Ness opts to reveal the secrets to the reader as they are revealed to Todd, a technique that can be frustrating, but mostly works well. Most of the secrets are revealed (we think) by the end of this first book in a projected trilogy, but there's still plenty of suspense as to what actually happens to our hero and whether good will triumph over evil.
The book starts in Prentisstown, where all men's Noise (thoughts) can be heard by everyone, and there aren't any women. Todd, 30 days away from his 13th birthday, at which point he will become a man, has been told that the Noise came with the same germ from the native inhabitants of the planet that killed all the women. But one day Todd starts finding out that everything he's known about his town and his planet is not what he's been told.
Ness opts to reveal the secrets to the reader as they are revealed to Todd, a technique that can be frustrating, but mostly works well. Most of the secrets are revealed (we think) by the end of this first book in a projected trilogy, but there's still plenty of suspense as to what actually happens to our hero and whether good will triumph over evil.
3rd time reading this as part of my February "Love Month" in which I am re-reading a large chunk of the books I've marked as favorites over the years to see if they are still truly favorites or if they were only a favorite because they struck at the right time/place in my life.
This is the book that began my (completely one-sided) love affair with Patrick Ness. I first read it over a decade ago and last read it 8 years ago. Would I still count it as a favorite or had I matured past this YA dystopian tale? Sure, dystopia was all the rage back in the day, but it's not quite so cool now.
Except this still is.
I love this book. I love the idea of the New World and how the people who traveled to this alien world would choose to inhabit it. Would they make the same mistakes they had on the world they left or would they do things differently? If they did things differently, would it be good different or bad different? I love the idea of Noise, of being able to hear the thoughts of all the men. I love thinking about how different people would handle (or not be able to handle) not being able to turn off the constant stream of thoughts from all the men around them and what an insane racket that would be. I love the emotion that this book whacks out of me. And that's what it feels like, a WHACK. I'm cruisin' along and then something happens or there are just certain words and it's like I get WHACKED hard on the back and am having to choke back a sob, dripping tears on my book.
Our main character, Todd, is not the most instantly likeable bloke. He isn't the smartest fella. He often loses his temper in the way that a young man (almost 13 if you are counting by the 13 month calendar year, which he is) might. Stubborn and emotional. He doesn't always make the best decisions, certainly not always the smartest or the bravest ones. The true Todd is revealed layer by layer - his vulnerability and goodness and loyalty are exposed. What makes these things (that we may take for granted in a person) so incredible is that there were few role models in his life to help him become this person. The majority of his town is full of bitter, angry, depressed, violent, uneducated (by force) men.
There aren't enough words to describe the love for Todd's dog, Manchee. Just know that Todd? may stick with you for ever and ever.
There are a handful of other great characters that I love and a couple of villains that I loathe and an ending that I completely forgot was a "gimme the next book NOW" cliffhanger , but I won't get into all that because I didn't mean for this to turn into an actual review - just a "yay or nay" if it was still a favorite.
Still a favorite.
5 Stars
This is the book that began my (completely one-sided) love affair with Patrick Ness. I first read it over a decade ago and last read it 8 years ago. Would I still count it as a favorite or had I matured past this YA dystopian tale? Sure, dystopia was all the rage back in the day, but it's not quite so cool now.
Except this still is.
I love this book. I love the idea of the New World and how the people who traveled to this alien world would choose to inhabit it. Would they make the same mistakes they had on the world they left or would they do things differently? If they did things differently, would it be good different or bad different? I love the idea of Noise, of being able to hear the thoughts of all the men. I love thinking about how different people would handle (or not be able to handle) not being able to turn off the constant stream of thoughts from all the men around them and what an insane racket that would be. I love the emotion that this book whacks out of me. And that's what it feels like, a WHACK. I'm cruisin' along and then something happens or there are just certain words and it's like I get WHACKED hard on the back and am having to choke back a sob, dripping tears on my book.
Our main character, Todd, is not the most instantly likeable bloke. He isn't the smartest fella. He often loses his temper in the way that a young man (almost 13 if you are counting by the 13 month calendar year, which he is) might. Stubborn and emotional. He doesn't always make the best decisions, certainly not always the smartest or the bravest ones. The true Todd is revealed layer by layer - his vulnerability and goodness and loyalty are exposed. What makes these things (that we may take for granted in a person) so incredible is that there were few role models in his life to help him become this person. The majority of his town is full of bitter, angry, depressed, violent, uneducated (by force) men.
There aren't enough words to describe the love for Todd's dog, Manchee. Just know that Todd? may stick with you for ever and ever.
There are a handful of other great characters that I love and a couple of villains that I loathe and an ending that I completely forgot was a "gimme the next book NOW" cliffhanger , but I won't get into all that because I didn't mean for this to turn into an actual review - just a "yay or nay" if it was still a favorite.
Still a favorite.
5 Stars
I loved this. Deeply. It had a unique premise, a fresh voice, and was full of darkness with tiny ribbons of whimsy running through it. The characters felt fleshed-out and real, running from both an internal and external evil. (Spoiler-free) There's a scene with cows that seemed to be the most beautiful, poetic scene in the book, and it surprised me. This book deals with heavy topics (expectations, loss, gender) while still managing to feel somewhat light. It segues immediately into the second book. I'd recommend it.
This book definitely wasn't my favorite read so let me share few stuff I liked and disliked!
First of all- the characters. I disliked Todd a lot at the start because he seemed...well not exactly badly written but he was pretty wimpy and he wasn't doing it for me but it got better throughout the story. I understood his reasons and personality better while reading which makes sense. I really liked how he cared about Viola and Manchee (that literally feels so bad to write-), how he was ready to sacrifice. Viola. I liked her from the start. The relationship between her and Todd was handled pretty nicely. Not too slow nor too quick, they weren't bestfriends right of the bat and the sparks of feelings were pretty on place. I liked the side characters a lot, can't even lie. All of them have their own place in my heart. The villains were scary, I mean it got a little bit boring when they always appeared again and again and just didn't want to die but their come back was reasonable I guess.
I didn't really understand what Aaron wanted through the book. He was really confusing since he wanted Todd to kill him because he was innocent but he did kill. Not human but he did. Does that not count? I even think Aaron has seen the victim since he attacked at the camp but ok- go on-
Story- I loved how original it was. I mean yes, they are running from constant danger which is every other book but the world itself is what interested me. Maybe I just haven't read enough books yet but I like the idea which was really well displayed. Todd slowly learning about the truth of the New World and keeping reader interested by not saying all of it until the last part of book and still keeping some secrets while revealing more.
This book wasn't the best book but I don't regret buying and reading it, very curious to read the rest of the trilogy.
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