Customer Reviews

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

...or you'll have missed out on a brilliant book. I won't regale you with plot details (you can find them elsewhere easily enough and I'd hate to spoil this for you), I'll just tell you why I loved it.

A few months ago, I was complaining to a friend that there was nothing really original coming out these days in the areas of speculative fiction, particularly when it comes to the YA end of the spectrum. It all seems to be vampires this, werewolves that, discovering latent magical powers here, falling in angsty love with someone with magical powers there... My friend listened patiently and then recommended that I read the 'The Knife of Never Letting Go'. Friends are great.

I chewed through this book in a few sessions. I wouldn't have put it down if everyday life hadn't so rudely interrupted. It made me laugh, cry and cheer. Then I gave it to my partner who is not a keen fiction reader and he loved it as well.

Before Patrick Ness started punching out punchy fiction, he was (and still is) a journalist. It shows. Not a word is wasted in this book, the prose is always expertly crafted and never dithering waffle. The post-apocalyptic dystopian world is unique and wonderfully built, even though we only get to see it through the eyes of Todd, our illiterate protagonist. Ness evokes a rare and pure honesty in Todd's voice that immediately sweeps us up in the action and continues to hurtle us through the story until we slam into the brick wall of an ending.

'The Knife of Never Letting Go' is a masterpiece in itself, but thank the Muses that Chaos Walking is going to be a trilogy.

My 'Where It's At' rating: 4.8/5

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Todd lives in Prentisstown, a dystopian nightmare where all women are dead and everyone can hear each other's thoughts (known as noise). As the only "boy", the youngest in the restless and violent town, Todd's only real companion is his (talking) dog, Manchee. When he discovers a girl in the swamp one day, his caretakers tell him he's in danger and he has to make a run for it.

As thus begins book one of the Chaos Walking trilogy. It's best to go into the book knowing only as much as Todd knows (which is surprisingly little considering no one's thoughts are private), so I won't go into spoilers here. Suffice to say that leaving Prentisstown considerably expands Todd's worldview and understanding. Todd is an intriguing character, a real innocent, with a voice that matches his lack of education.

The ideas here are very creative, especially in regards to the noise. It's interesting to see what animals have to say (not much of interest actually) and how differently the various settlements Todd encounters on his journey have dealt with the problem of broadcasting their every thought.

I cruised through this thinking the whole time that it's an A-/B+ book - until I hit the ending. The narrative is dark, but the ending is even darker and though it works on an intellectual level, it's an emotional sucker punch - a cliffhanger that makes you think the book must be missing some pages.

On a far-flung world newly settled by humanity, twelve-year-old Todd Hewitt of Prentisstown is a boy on the brink of becoming a man.

When settlers came to this world, they found it already inhabited by aliens known as the Spackle, and a war was waged against them to colonize the planet. Now, almost twenty years after the first settlers landed, the world is low-tech but free of the "spacks." However, they left behind them the "Noise germ," a chemical contaminant that causes all the men who come in contact with it to broadcast their thoughts for everyone's hearing--and kills all the infected women.

On the eve of his thirteenth birthday, Todd has never seen a woman. He was the last child born in the settlement before his mother succumbed to the Noise germ and died, and now he's the only boy left in the village of Prentisstown, all the others having turned thirteen and been proclaimed men. Now, with Todd's birthday approaching, the entire town is anxious, and Todd can hear it.

The men of the town are keeping something from him; although they can hear each other think, it's possible to learn techniques that allow one to control the information that others can hear. Ben and Cillian, his adoptive guardians and old friends of his parents, are both worried for him, though Todd doesn't know why.

And then, with less than a month to go until Todd's thirteenth birthday, he stumbles across a secret that no boy is meant to know and all men have been forced to forget, a secret about the history of his world and the lies he's been told. Todd has no choice but to escape from the town he's called his home and the people who have been his parents, on the run from something more terrible than the alien Spackle, and more familiar.

The sheer intensity of the story Ness tells kept me reading straight through this book, despite its length and occasionally hefty prose. Todd's first-person, present-tense narration has an inexorable pull that places the reader within the context of the story and keeps you turning the pages. The plot is full of twists and turns, the world is immaculately and innovatively crafted, and the characters' pain and longing seeps from the pages.

My largest complaint with this book was the way in which it ended, without resolving some major issues that had been significant throughout the story. It is the first book in a series, so this sense of incompleteness may be slightly forgiven, but I felt like I'd spent the entire book hurtling forward into empty space only to be slammed at the last minute against a brick wall.

That said, I'd recommend THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO to anyone who enjoys dystopia or slightly darker fiction, and I know I can't wait to see what happens next!

Reviewed by: Candace Cunard

"The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything."

Todd Hewitt is a twelve-year-old boy living in Prentisstown in the New World. The New World is a another planet that was settled years ago by people who wanted a simpler way of life. But when they reached the New World, they encountered an alien race known as the Spackle. And there was war. A war in which a germ was released that caused the "noise". This germ not only killed all the women in the New World, but most of the men. Only the men of Prentisstown are left. And they have the "Noise" disease. They can hear each others thoughts, or noise as its called. And although this sounds pretty cool in theory, being able to read eveyone's thoughts makes for a big jumbled mess most of the time. So many thoughts coming at you in all directions is enough to drive a person crazy. But this is the only world Todd has ever known.

Both his mother and father died during the war. Todd lives with friends of his mother's, Ben and Cillian, and his dog, Manchee. Prentisstown is the only settlement left from when the settlers arrived on the New World. But just 30 days before Todd's 13th birthday (the one that means he's a "Man"), something happens on his walk through the swamp. Something that causes him to go on the run from everyone and everything he has ever known. And, boy is his world turned upside down!

That's about all I can say about this book without giving away any part of the plot. And I think going in blind is the best possible way to read this book. Now...on to what *I* thought of it:

I had to give myself a day or two's time to let the story sink in before I could write this review. Is it at all possible to love a book and hate the same book all at once? Because if it is, that's how I feel about it! I know I read a couple of reviews that said this could possibly be a new favorite of all time. I'm not going to go that far. No way this book is going on the list past The Stand or To Kill a Mockingbird. I may change my mind when I'm done reading the Trilogy. But as a stand alone book, not a chance. I need closure in my life. I really HATE when a book leaves you with a huge cliff-hanger ending. And that is exactly what Ness does at the end of this one.

Reading The Knife of Never Letting Go is like riding on a roller coaster. It starts off at a real nice pace, then BAM! It kicks into high gear and doesn't stop until the final page. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. But there is no chance to catch your breath. It is so intense that you can almost feel your heart beating at times. It is an emotional read. It will absolutely tear at your heart-strings. And it is very violent and extremely graphic.

And there is another thing: I actually felt physically exhausted when I had finished reading this book. I can not remember the last time that happened to me. There is at least one scene in the book that left me so drained, I could barely get out of my chair. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut, my heart ripped from my chest and stomped on. I was so angry I wanted to throw the book out the door! And yet, I picked it up again and continued reading.

All of the things I've said sound really negative. And I don't mean it exactly like that. Those are a few of the reasons I said I hated this book. Some of the reasons I loved the book: the wonderful characters. Characters that were written so well, I could picture them vividly in my head. Characters that were so real to me I cried and screamed when something happened to them (and trust me, there is a LOT that happens). Protagonists so human that it's impossible not to completely empathize with them. A dog that could possibly be the greatest character ever written. (I now see why I could never be a cat person. Dogs are just too loyal and sweet!) And a villain that was so evil, it made me see red each time I even stumbled across his name.

There is also a fantastic story to go along with the great characters. It is dystopian in nature, which I love anyway. But the world Ness created is just incredible. The whole concept of the "noise" is unique. You would think it would be impossible to keep secrets in a world where everyone can read each others minds, but in fact, this world has MORE secrets than anywhere I know! And it's written in such a way that it is completely believable. Take this quote:
"Cuz knowledge is dangerous," he says, as serious as I've ever seen him and when I look into his Noise to see what he's hiding, it roars up and slaps me back.

But don't kid yourself. This is not a fun, light read. There is a stab-you-through-the-heart intensity that is hard to like. It is gritty and violent. And sometimes you are so overwhelmed with sadness that you physically ache. But if the sign of a good book is the fact that the author has made you feel something, then this is a great book because it engulfs you with FEELING. Even with the portions of the book that I hated, I'm still giving it a 100% 5 star rating. It was that good. Will it ever surpass my favorite books? Probably not. But I do reserve the right to revisit the topic when I complete the trilogy!

Todd is on the doorstep of manhood and running for his life. He will be faced with tough decisions, along with the consequents of his actions and the collapse of all that seems reasonable much to soon in his young life.

Guard your heart - it will swell with compassion, it will be broken and it will pound with excitement and anticipation when you are done.

Patrick Ness is a first rate storyteller with a vivid imagination and he is a powerful literary talent that deserves paying attention to. For readers of all ages, this non-stop thriller will take you places you've never dreamed possible.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is, as protagonist Todd Hewwit might say, ruddy brillant. I think there are four basic reasons for this, and I'll do my best to explain those here without giving away spoilers.

#1) Todd Hewwit himself. It is RARE that I actually favor a lead character over all others; usally they pale compared to, say, the witty best friend or love interest, or even sometimes the clever villian. Todd is diffrent. He's very nearly illiterate, speaks in the country dialect that is all he knows from his life in New World, and makes a few bad, and at times heartbreaking decisions...and for all that, you cannot NOT like him. He is prehaps all the more enduring for those very reasons.

#2) The writing. I can't remember the last book I read in which the narration so perfectly reflected the narrator. I never once thought "A boy his age wouldn't really say or do that." This novel is tight, fast-paced, thoughtful. Here's a small example: "My feet are tired and sore. Hers must be, too. I've got blisters and aches and my heart hurts from all I miss and all thats gone. And hers does, too. But we run. Boy, do we run. Cuz maybe (shut up)--Just maybe (don't think it)--Maybe there really is hope at the end of the road."

#3) The Grit. This book is wonderfully gritty. Basically it's one long chase scene on a planet where (almost) everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, and at all times trouble is either happening or about to happen. If you're a nail-biter you might want to wear gloves while reading, because the suspense is downright agonizing at certain points. These characters and their situations feel real. You cry for them when their worlds crumble and then cheer them on when they pick themselves up. The story goes to dark places and stays there, but in an endless string of YA fiction where authors are hesitant to even scratch their characters, let alone break a bone or two, this is refreshing and credible.

#4)Bigness. Unlike so, so many teen novels these days, The Knife is about much more than a boy/girl relationship. Yes, much of what Todd does is fueled by his devotion to someone, but the story is bigger than that one connection. Consequences are far reaching, and the choices of one boy end up effecting many.

If none of the above is compelling enough to make you read The Knife, I have a #5 reason for you: Manchee. Who is Manchee? Read the book. And just to warn you, the ending is a huge cliffhanger, so you might want to have the second one, The Ask and the Answer, close at hand.

Doesn't completely hold together logically and certain encounters get repetitive--die already! Die! But couldn't put it down. Characters I cared about. Thought-provoking. Ness is a master of non-stop suspense and action that you actually care about.

Todd Hewitt lives in a town where no thought is secret, and even animals have the ability to speak. A byproduct of the war with the Spackle, the resident beings of this planet when the colonists touched down years ago, the constant presence of "noise" has driven most of the men crazy. Other aftereffects of the war, such as the annihilation of every other colony outside of Prentisstown and the death of every woman on the planet, has already put a strain on the minds of these men. Todd eagerly awaits his birthday--only one month away--when he will officially become a man...and something much more important than the last boy in Prentisstown.

While out picking swamp apples for one of his two guardians, Todd and his dog, Manchee, come across a strange, rare thing--a spot of silence in the constant noise. When he returns home to tell his caretakers about his discovery, they tell him he must leave town, immediately. Even odder is that they already have a bag packed for him, and will give Todd no explanation while they buy him time to run.

Todd and Manchee suddenly find themselves racing through the countryside with an army in pursuit. Every man in Prentisstown now seems to be after him, and Todd still does not know why. His only clue is a battered book that he cannot read, and the knowledge that everything he has ever known about his life in Prentisstown has been a lie. Finding aid in the most unexpected of places, Todd must now survive the wrath of an unforgiving world in order to find out the truth.

Now, I'm not the type to cry as I read the sad parts in books, or watch the sad parts in movies, but I have to admit that I actually shed a few tears over this story, since I'd grown so invested in these characters and their trials. With sneakily brilliant writing, this book will be one knife in your chest that will keep you anxious for the sequel.

The point is that it's so, so, so utterly human and beautiful at times that I could hardly stand it. The suspense, too, of course-- after I had made it about halfway through the book I couldn't put it down because every single chapter seemed to end on a cliffhanger (not excluding the last chapter, although fortunately all three books are out now so it isn't such a problem).

The protagonist, Todd, misspells things everywhere and although in the beginning it is easy to perceive him as an idiot, he is brilliant. Even though his circumstances are so different from anything I've ever experienced, I found it easy to relate to him because of the way that Ness weaves words together-- it is so raw and so unique and so bare-boned. And so perfect.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is fantastic. Read it.

Honestly, this book was a breathtaking experience to read. It is so engaging that you feel the highs and lows the narrator feels. This book is in ways comparable to the very popular HUNGER GAMES trilogy out now (which I greatly enjoyed as well). Both exhibit phenomenally good writing style, narrators with strong hearts and voices, impossible odds, relentless action, and a well-developed dystopian world. These are books among YA fantasy that really stand out from the pack for being turly original and high-quality writing. That said, I liked THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO in some ways more than THE HUNGER GAMES. The action was very engaging and the mystery of what's really going on kept me enthralled. THE HUNGER GAMES is a little more subtle. I am suprised the CHAOS WALKING trilogy isn't as popular and I think it deserves a wider audience, including adults.

The story is told from the mouth of semi-literate Todd Hewitt, the last boy left in Prentisstown who has not yet reached manhood. No more children can be born because the women were all killed by a virus that also caused men to hear the thoughts of every man and creature on the planet they attempted to colonized, the constant Noise that Todd can never hide from or turn off. When he one day finds something that is impossible, a hole in the Noise, he has stumbled upon a dangerous secret that sends him running for his life. And not all is ever as it seems as Todd may have to grow up much faster than he anticipated...

The Noise is an interesting invention which Ness explores from many angles. The Noise is rendered really well visually in the book, which uses multiple typefaces to bring it out on the page. While reading, you can't help but feel almost like Todd does: you are completely inundated by raw emotion and ideas and images that pop to life. Not all the emotion brought out is positive, either. It's an involving experience to read, one you won't forget, and you FEEL it from start to finish.

The voice of Todd is highly idiosyncristic and amusing to read, abandoning many grammar and spelling rules but not too much so that it becomes confusing to follow. It is very reminiscent of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. You will even laugh. Patrick Ness is a gifted author who brings Todd (and the secondary charaters) vividly to life. Todd is both a character to cheer for and a very human character with shortcomings we may be frustrated with. He's very well-rounded and original, and becomes even more rich and complex in the second book, THE ASK AND THE ANSWER.

At times, important information is aggravatingly witheld when Todd sees something or hears something in his head that challenges his beliefs and he will hide it from the reader by saying "I didn't want to think about it." It can seem like Ness is toying with the limits our patience, but the payoff at the end is worth the while. It can also seem like Ness overdoes the foreshadowing a bit, and clever readers can probably guess at the truth before Todd discovers it in whole. But you will never see the ending coming.

Very original and at times dark (although I've read darker stuff) but also very uplifting in moments with some beautiful ideas shining between the darkness. My concern with it isn't so much the grimness (you should expect it; it IS dystopian fiction after all) but the graphic violent content. The situations are life-threatening and Ness doesn't shy away from some rather bloody and disturbing images. Everyone has a different threshold for violence, so just be warned it is there. For me, it wan't overwhelming and added to the suspense and rawness of the book.

Aside from that, I couldn't give stronger reccommendation for THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. It is one of the best reads I've had in a while. And, you will want to buy THE ASK AND THE ANSWER immediately after finishing this for the end is a nail-biting cliffhanger. Some people dispute the cliffhanger end as a way to manipulate you into buying the second book, but I think it works and leaves you on the right note for the sequel. I wouldn't end it anywhere else.