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Chaos Walking #3
Monsters of Men
As a world-ending war surges to life around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.
643 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2010
About the author
Patrick Ness
43 books18.6k 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 8,209 reviews
June 22, 2010
I am shocked. I am speechless. I don't even think I can do this book justice by writing this review. My first reaction is just to scream "OH MY EFFING GOD!!!" (only I don't say "effing"! heh heh … Well, if you've read the books you get the joke) … which is exactly what I said about fifty times after I finished reading it last night.
Seriously, it isn't often that a book like this comes along. I don't think a book has left me feeling this shocked and amazed in years––not even the first two books, which also totally blew my mind.
All right, well, let's get down to business. I should stop ranting and get to reviewing.
So, Monsters of Men is the third book in Patrick Ness's amazingamazingamazing trilogy, Chaos Walking. As I already said, the first two books––The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer––absolutely blew me away, so I had very high expectations for the final chapter. Of course, when you have high expectations, you get nervous, too. I didn't know how on earth Ness was going to end this or what he was going to do with it … but I trusted him to write something incredible. And ohmygoodness he totally exceeded those very high expectations.
Ha, so, funny story about this book. It came out in the UK in early May, and it is not scheduled to come out in the United States until late September. I was just about to explode with impatience, and I totally would have died if I'd had to wait that long. Fortunately someone told me about this website, The Book Depository, which allows you to order books from other countries with free shipping. (YESSSS!!!) So I ordered it and it came for me in the mail yesterday (after my last day of school, too! talk about the best day ever!) and I pretty much read it nonstop from 3:30 to 11:30. I even took it to my sister's middle-school graduation and read it standing up, because I could not bear to put it down. Teehee.
So, anyway. The book. I do not even know where to begin. AL;KDFJSJF;SJKFD. Yeah, that's about all I have to say. Just kidding. But really, I'm trying to find the words to write this.
Basically, these books are emotionally exhausting. I don't know how else to put it. You become so attached to Todd and Viola and you see them go through so much terrifying crap and it's just like … aaahhh … It gives you that total feeling of dread that eats away at the inside of your stomach, and your eyes are glued to the page and it's like "HOLY CRAP! What if one of them dies or both of them dies or AGGGH??!!! NO NO NO PATRICK NESS WOULDN'T DO THAT … Oh wait, he totally would. CRAP!" I was hardly breathing the whole time I was reading this. And at the end my heart was literally pounding because I was so shocked and so terrified and so devastated and so amazed and I had tears in my eyes and I was about to scream at the book and … GAH. Trust me, it takes a LOT for a book to affect me like this. Okay, I am hyperventilating all over again, just thinking about it. Moving on.
So, Todd and Viola. Let's talk about them, because I love them like they were actual people. Firstly Todd … He has been our beloved narrator since book one––he's a sweetheart, he's funny, he's honest, he's confused, he's completely believable … And in Monsters of Men I loved him more than ever. He is definitely one of my favorite main characters of all time. I totally felt for him in this one, and it was heartbreaking to see how he gets caught up in the horrors of war … yet, his dedication to Viola keeps him from completely losing himself. (Awwww <3) And Viola is totally awesome too––strong and determined, and just as dedicated to Todd as he is to her. (AWWWWW! I'm gonna make myself cry. *sniffles*) Their adorable relationship really drives the plot along. Just about everything Todd and Viola do, they do for each other. Although the story is dark, disturbing, and violent, at its heart it is ultimately a story about how love triumphs over war.
Patrick Ness. Let's talk about him now, because he actually IS a real person, and in my opinion he is a writing GOD. I know that a lot of people turn away from this series complaining that the writing gives them a headache. (Poopies on them. GRRR. Wait, what? I didn't say that.) And what these people don't recognize is something called originality, which I dare to say most authors lack these days. So, yes, Patrick Ness does write in a stream-of-consciousness style––one-sentence paragraphs, paragraphs that break off in the middle, occasionally spelling words phonetically, switching perspectives every two pages … And yeah, it takes a while to get used to it. I didn't like the first book when I started it, but after about 100 pages or so I got hooked, and I have been addicted to this series ever since. Part of its true power is in Ness's writing. Although it's not the typical "good" writing style, meaning it defies quite a few grammar rules, it is truly amazing writing. There's a difference between being a bad writer and making a choice to not write in a typical style. In this case, it's the latter, and it pays off. Patrick Ness writes in a concise manner––carefully choosing words and images so that each one is meaningful and sticks permanently in the reader's head. His writing is raw, emotional, and completely haunting. And it manages to do this while still being very subtle––that is, Ness doesn't have to outright say things to make them obvious, and that somehow makes them more powerful. I don't know how else to explain it, but you have to read it to see what I mean. I tried to do some writing last night after I finished reading and I just couldn't because I felt like I'd been put to shame! I'm not saying I want to steal his style, but I can only hope that I will find a writing style of my own that will affect someone as powerfully as his has affected and inspired me. :)
This book is truly, truly amazing. It's a fascinating exploration of human nature and every aspect of it––how we make war when we want peace, how violence destroys us and how love heals us, how we mature from girls and boys to women and men, how love influences the choices we make … I could go on and on. But over all, these books are astounding, compelling, heartbreaking, touching, terrifying, and haunting. This is by far one of the best books and one of the best series I have ever read in my entire life, and if you have not read them you are missing out on an amazing story. GO READ THEM NOW.
Seriously, it isn't often that a book like this comes along. I don't think a book has left me feeling this shocked and amazed in years––not even the first two books, which also totally blew my mind.
All right, well, let's get down to business. I should stop ranting and get to reviewing.
So, Monsters of Men is the third book in Patrick Ness's amazingamazingamazing trilogy, Chaos Walking. As I already said, the first two books––The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer––absolutely blew me away, so I had very high expectations for the final chapter. Of course, when you have high expectations, you get nervous, too. I didn't know how on earth Ness was going to end this or what he was going to do with it … but I trusted him to write something incredible. And ohmygoodness he totally exceeded those very high expectations.
Ha, so, funny story about this book. It came out in the UK in early May, and it is not scheduled to come out in the United States until late September. I was just about to explode with impatience, and I totally would have died if I'd had to wait that long. Fortunately someone told me about this website, The Book Depository, which allows you to order books from other countries with free shipping. (YESSSS!!!) So I ordered it and it came for me in the mail yesterday (after my last day of school, too! talk about the best day ever!) and I pretty much read it nonstop from 3:30 to 11:30. I even took it to my sister's middle-school graduation and read it standing up, because I could not bear to put it down. Teehee.
So, anyway. The book. I do not even know where to begin. AL;KDFJSJF;SJKFD. Yeah, that's about all I have to say. Just kidding. But really, I'm trying to find the words to write this.
Basically, these books are emotionally exhausting. I don't know how else to put it. You become so attached to Todd and Viola and you see them go through so much terrifying crap and it's just like … aaahhh … It gives you that total feeling of dread that eats away at the inside of your stomach, and your eyes are glued to the page and it's like "HOLY CRAP! What if one of them dies or both of them dies or AGGGH??!!! NO NO NO PATRICK NESS WOULDN'T DO THAT … Oh wait, he totally would. CRAP!" I was hardly breathing the whole time I was reading this. And at the end my heart was literally pounding because I was so shocked and so terrified and so devastated and so amazed and I had tears in my eyes and I was about to scream at the book and … GAH. Trust me, it takes a LOT for a book to affect me like this. Okay, I am hyperventilating all over again, just thinking about it. Moving on.
So, Todd and Viola. Let's talk about them, because I love them like they were actual people. Firstly Todd … He has been our beloved narrator since book one––he's a sweetheart, he's funny, he's honest, he's confused, he's completely believable … And in Monsters of Men I loved him more than ever. He is definitely one of my favorite main characters of all time. I totally felt for him in this one, and it was heartbreaking to see how he gets caught up in the horrors of war … yet, his dedication to Viola keeps him from completely losing himself. (Awwww <3) And Viola is totally awesome too––strong and determined, and just as dedicated to Todd as he is to her. (AWWWWW! I'm gonna make myself cry. *sniffles*) Their adorable relationship really drives the plot along. Just about everything Todd and Viola do, they do for each other. Although the story is dark, disturbing, and violent, at its heart it is ultimately a story about how love triumphs over war.
Patrick Ness. Let's talk about him now, because he actually IS a real person, and in my opinion he is a writing GOD. I know that a lot of people turn away from this series complaining that the writing gives them a headache. (Poopies on them. GRRR. Wait, what? I didn't say that.) And what these people don't recognize is something called originality, which I dare to say most authors lack these days. So, yes, Patrick Ness does write in a stream-of-consciousness style––one-sentence paragraphs, paragraphs that break off in the middle, occasionally spelling words phonetically, switching perspectives every two pages … And yeah, it takes a while to get used to it. I didn't like the first book when I started it, but after about 100 pages or so I got hooked, and I have been addicted to this series ever since. Part of its true power is in Ness's writing. Although it's not the typical "good" writing style, meaning it defies quite a few grammar rules, it is truly amazing writing. There's a difference between being a bad writer and making a choice to not write in a typical style. In this case, it's the latter, and it pays off. Patrick Ness writes in a concise manner––carefully choosing words and images so that each one is meaningful and sticks permanently in the reader's head. His writing is raw, emotional, and completely haunting. And it manages to do this while still being very subtle––that is, Ness doesn't have to outright say things to make them obvious, and that somehow makes them more powerful. I don't know how else to explain it, but you have to read it to see what I mean. I tried to do some writing last night after I finished reading and I just couldn't because I felt like I'd been put to shame! I'm not saying I want to steal his style, but I can only hope that I will find a writing style of my own that will affect someone as powerfully as his has affected and inspired me. :)
This book is truly, truly amazing. It's a fascinating exploration of human nature and every aspect of it––how we make war when we want peace, how violence destroys us and how love heals us, how we mature from girls and boys to women and men, how love influences the choices we make … I could go on and on. But over all, these books are astounding, compelling, heartbreaking, touching, terrifying, and haunting. This is by far one of the best books and one of the best series I have ever read in my entire life, and if you have not read them you are missing out on an amazing story. GO READ THEM NOW.
January 27, 2019
After falling completely in love with the first two books in the Chaos Walking Trilogy, it made perfect sense for me to seek out the final installment asap. And I must admit, my immediate thoughts were mixed. This book doesn't share the fast pace of 'The Knife Of Never Letting Go' and doesn't put as much emphasis on the shock factor like 'The Ask And The Answer'. But it delivered beautifully in a way I could never have imagined.
Firstly, I've never been a fan of rapidly alternating perspectives, but not only does Patrick Ness make it enjoyable, he also makes it necessary. The introduction of the third perspective and it being good old 1017, hell bent on vengeance, is just incredible. I like the careful way Ness makes the lines between heroes and villains very blurred. Is Madame Coyle a freedom-fighter or a terrorist? Are a few innocent lives worth casting aside if what you're trying to achieve benefits the larger numbers? This book is a political statement as well as a great adventure story. A question about the nature of humanity as well as a vivid, entertaining read.
Ness constantly delivers surprise after surprise. I don't want to say too much about that and ruin the novel, but the ending was the most shocking one I have read in such a long time... I cried. Literally cried and I just couldn't believe that it happened.
This is an astonishing, thought-provoking, important novel. It will stay with me for a very long time.
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Firstly, I've never been a fan of rapidly alternating perspectives, but not only does Patrick Ness make it enjoyable, he also makes it necessary. The introduction of the third perspective and it being good old 1017, hell bent on vengeance, is just incredible. I like the careful way Ness makes the lines between heroes and villains very blurred. Is Madame Coyle a freedom-fighter or a terrorist? Are a few innocent lives worth casting aside if what you're trying to achieve benefits the larger numbers? This book is a political statement as well as a great adventure story. A question about the nature of humanity as well as a vivid, entertaining read.
Ness constantly delivers surprise after surprise. I don't want to say too much about that and ruin the novel, but the ending was the most shocking one I have read in such a long time... I cried. Literally cried and I just couldn't believe that it happened.
This is an astonishing, thought-provoking, important novel. It will stay with me for a very long time.
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September 26, 2013
Also find this review on Don't Stop Readin'
OH. MY. GOD.
I-
CAN’T-
EVEN-
Page 572
It will always haunt me.
I will never be able to forget it.
It was when I started crying hysterically until my throat started aching.
There are not enough adjectives in the dictionary to sing praises of this series. I am simply tongue-tied by the brilliance of this trilogy, the depth of the topics explored via the characters in this book.
I really cannot write a proper review, I just can’t. I am so severely shocked and utterly awestruck, it is as if someone has pulled a rug right from under me.
I feel like I am a part of an elite club after reading this masterpiece and I feel bad for the people who haven’t read this yet. I genuinely do. This trilogy is not just some sheepish young-adult fantasy thrown together; it is so much different, so much beyond it. Every character is so strong and of significance, that you cannot help but admire Ness's imagination.
The predicament, whether we’re on the wrong side or right side in a war is a main theme of this book too. Like I said in my review of The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness is the one with power here. He can manipulate his readers just like Mayor Prentiss was able to manipulate Todd.
When all the ugly faces of war are presented, you cannot decide on whose side you’d want to be because he shows that there is no side with best intentions, you can never completely agree with one person’s idea of winning it.
These books should not be categorised as middle-grade/ya books, even adults should read them. It is an excellent, thought-provoking series recommended to all, although I agree with others that 3rd book did not follow the path 2nd and 1st books went on, it still was a moving read and extremely deserving to be the closing chapter of this immensely emotional and powerful ride.
On Page 402 there is a line -
“ And I wait for a long minute.
And I don’t know what to say.
And I don’t know what to do. "
That is exactly how I feel right now.
Throughout the book there are at least a dozen plot twists but it is the ending that entirely makes you fall in love with Monsters of Men. It is so unbelievable that you will have to read the same line over and over again with teary eyes to fully grasp what's happening.
PATRICK NESS.
I bow to thee.
OH. MY. GOD.
I-
CAN’T-
EVEN-
Page 572
It will always haunt me.
I will never be able to forget it.
It was when I started crying hysterically until my throat started aching.
There are not enough adjectives in the dictionary to sing praises of this series. I am simply tongue-tied by the brilliance of this trilogy, the depth of the topics explored via the characters in this book.
I really cannot write a proper review, I just can’t. I am so severely shocked and utterly awestruck, it is as if someone has pulled a rug right from under me.
I feel like I am a part of an elite club after reading this masterpiece and I feel bad for the people who haven’t read this yet. I genuinely do. This trilogy is not just some sheepish young-adult fantasy thrown together; it is so much different, so much beyond it. Every character is so strong and of significance, that you cannot help but admire Ness's imagination.
The predicament, whether we’re on the wrong side or right side in a war is a main theme of this book too. Like I said in my review of The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness is the one with power here. He can manipulate his readers just like Mayor Prentiss was able to manipulate Todd.
When all the ugly faces of war are presented, you cannot decide on whose side you’d want to be because he shows that there is no side with best intentions, you can never completely agree with one person’s idea of winning it.
These books should not be categorised as middle-grade/ya books, even adults should read them. It is an excellent, thought-provoking series recommended to all, although I agree with others that 3rd book did not follow the path 2nd and 1st books went on, it still was a moving read and extremely deserving to be the closing chapter of this immensely emotional and powerful ride.
On Page 402 there is a line -
“ And I wait for a long minute.
And I don’t know what to say.
And I don’t know what to do. "
That is exactly how I feel right now.
Throughout the book there are at least a dozen plot twists but it is the ending that entirely makes you fall in love with Monsters of Men. It is so unbelievable that you will have to read the same line over and over again with teary eyes to fully grasp what's happening.
PATRICK NESS.
I bow to thee.
January 8, 2016
EVERYTHING HURTS RIGHT NOW, DON'T TALK TO ME!!!!
June 9, 2023
One of the best endings of a trilogy i have ever read. I sobbed, and laughed, but most sobbed. So poetic, honestly, Patrick Ness is a gift to this earth.
January 15, 2016
Sometimes you get to the final book in a series, and it feels like a different author is writing it, that the real author who began the story back at book one packed a suitcase and got a one-way ticket to some far-off place. This is how I feel about Monsters of Men, which is really the proverbial nail in the Chaos Walking trilogy's coffin.
I've read several glowing reviews for this book, and I admit I struggle to see many of the things those readers are seeing. While everyone's entitled to their own opinions—enjoyment is subjective—I believe readers are less likely to enjoy this trilogy when the books are read consecutively. I can see how waiting a year between books might result in one forgetting the little bits and pieces Ness inserted into his world, and so their absence might not be so frustrating and noticeable. I don't believe I'd like this book with such a wait between readings, but I suspect I wouldn't find the problems as glaring as I do now. When reading the books back to back, the numerous technical flaws with Ness' writing are impossible to ignore.
By far, Ness' biggest problem in Monsters of Men is technique. It's strange to say that, considering I so love his technique in The Knife of Never Letting Go, but there's a vast difference, and I would say declining quality, between the first and last books of this trilogy.
Ness continues his sloppy perspective-switching from The Ask and the Answer—and it unfortunately gets worse. Whereas most of the perspective-switching in book two was between chapters, it's between scenes in Monsters of Men. One 400-word scene switches to another 400-word scene from a different perspective, then back again, and on and on. If not for POV headings, readers would struggle to keep up. (Although, the characters spend so much time screaming each other's names that you're never entirely lost. VIOLA! TODD! VIOLA! MARCIA, MARCIA, MARCIA!) Typographical differences are meant to exist between the different points of view, too, but I found this was a little inconsistent for me in the ebook format for Nook. In other words, if you're dying to read this, do so in print.
There's eventually so much perspective switching that Todd and Viola not only don't sound like themselves from previous books, they halfway morph into some near-schizophrenic first person point of view. Either Todd has an educated, though immature, female alter ego or Viola's got an illiterate, redneck boy living inside her. Neither feels quite right. Worse yet, Ness adds in another first person perspective. It should be said that not everything needs to be known about everyone at all times in a book. If a writer thinks otherwise, to any degree, he or she should almost certainly be writing in third person, not first. This is basic stuff, and I'm dismayed Ness had no editor come to his rescue.
It's difficult for me to look past technical issues to see positives in character development, but I think Ness fails to deliver on this front, too. For Todd and Viola, I can see where he attempts to show development, but it's lost in the perspective chaos (no pun intended) and the ever-conveniently-changing plot device that the Noise becomes.
Character development is far worse with Mayor Prentiss, Chaos Walking's bad guy who's meant to disturb readers with his near-unending cruelty and unhinged understanding of the world. I waited and hoped for some deep revelation about Prentiss and his behavior, but he really only becomes an idiotic, grinning sideshow. I should have known not to expect much when the book opened with this dialogue:
Mistress Coyle is a better-written bad guy. She's all about control and power, and readers know enough about her history to know some of the reasons why she behaves the way she does. But Mistress Coyle is not the bad guy readers were introduced to in book one, and though she's of a similar nature to Prentiss, she is the lesser of evils, whether Ness intended for her to be or not.
That Mistress Coyle is a mildly interesting and believable bad guy doesn't really matter, though. The whole trilogy falls flat and ultimately makes no sense if we don't understand Mayor Prentiss' history and motives. The previous war with the Spackle, the genocide of women in Prentisstown and his subsequent rise to power there, the connection to Preacher Aaron's religious fundamentalism, the chasing of Todd "for his innocence," the chasing of Viola, his overtaking of all settlements between Prentisstown and Haven, his continued hatred of Spackle and women, his love of war, his interest in Viola's people, his ability to control minds, and countless other things make no sense if readers aren't given details. He doesn't seem to care about fame or fortune—or even power, really—just mind games and war. Without more behind his behavior, he becomes a stock character, mere decoration for Ness' moral and political messages, and a placeholder for true conflict.
I'm going to "spoil" the big "secret" about Mayor Prentiss for you: He's crazy and bad to the bone. That's it.
That brings me back to Ness' philosophical messages against war and violence. An inadequate handling of Mayor Prentiss muddles the message Ness is trying to get out to young people. Prentiss is not a realistic portrayal of real-world evil, and so any pacifistic messages surrounding him crumble. Everything's made more awkward when Ness pulls out the old Noble Savage trope for the Spackle. They are glorified Native Americans, right down to their peace-seeking chieftain and his elaborate headpiece. Todd and Viola's response to the world they live in can't deliver important life lessons because their world no longer mirrors any sort of reality by the end of this book. All the good and evil has been created using cookie-cutter stereotypes.
Other young adult authors have better communicated how difficult it is to understand and cope with the hows and whys of people's behavior, as well as how unclear appropriate courses of action can be. While Ness accomplishes some of the latter in Monsters of Men through Todd and Viola, he struggles to portray the former because of his poor development of Mayor Prentiss. If only the evil men of our world were more like Ness portrays Prentiss: void of political, moral, and financial motivations and connections. It wouldn't be so difficult to know how to respond to them.
These are just some of the problems with this book. Questions are left unanswered, too many characters prove to be unimportant, and the ending can only be described as an anticlimactic showdown reminiscent of every bad superhero movie ever made.
I still think The Knife of Never Letting Go is a fun read, which is why I can't bring myself to give this book the one-star rating it may very well deserve, but The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men are disappointing followups. This trilogy had potential, but Ness ultimately doesn't deliver.
========================================
Quotes From the Book
(Apply your own positive/negative connotations.)
========================================
That’s the nasty, nasty secret of war- When yer winning- When yer winning, it’s ruddy thrilling—
---
And then I turn to the Mayor and I’m filled with her, with her love for me and my love for her- And it makes me big as an effing mountain-
I've read several glowing reviews for this book, and I admit I struggle to see many of the things those readers are seeing. While everyone's entitled to their own opinions—enjoyment is subjective—I believe readers are less likely to enjoy this trilogy when the books are read consecutively. I can see how waiting a year between books might result in one forgetting the little bits and pieces Ness inserted into his world, and so their absence might not be so frustrating and noticeable. I don't believe I'd like this book with such a wait between readings, but I suspect I wouldn't find the problems as glaring as I do now. When reading the books back to back, the numerous technical flaws with Ness' writing are impossible to ignore.
By far, Ness' biggest problem in Monsters of Men is technique. It's strange to say that, considering I so love his technique in The Knife of Never Letting Go, but there's a vast difference, and I would say declining quality, between the first and last books of this trilogy.
Ness continues his sloppy perspective-switching from The Ask and the Answer—and it unfortunately gets worse. Whereas most of the perspective-switching in book two was between chapters, it's between scenes in Monsters of Men. One 400-word scene switches to another 400-word scene from a different perspective, then back again, and on and on. If not for POV headings, readers would struggle to keep up. (Although, the characters spend so much time screaming each other's names that you're never entirely lost. VIOLA! TODD! VIOLA! MARCIA, MARCIA, MARCIA!) Typographical differences are meant to exist between the different points of view, too, but I found this was a little inconsistent for me in the ebook format for Nook. In other words, if you're dying to read this, do so in print.
There's eventually so much perspective switching that Todd and Viola not only don't sound like themselves from previous books, they halfway morph into some near-schizophrenic first person point of view. Either Todd has an educated, though immature, female alter ego or Viola's got an illiterate, redneck boy living inside her. Neither feels quite right. Worse yet, Ness adds in another first person perspective. It should be said that not everything needs to be known about everyone at all times in a book. If a writer thinks otherwise, to any degree, he or she should almost certainly be writing in third person, not first. This is basic stuff, and I'm dismayed Ness had no editor come to his rescue.
It's difficult for me to look past technical issues to see positives in character development, but I think Ness fails to deliver on this front, too. For Todd and Viola, I can see where he attempts to show development, but it's lost in the perspective chaos (no pun intended) and the ever-conveniently-changing plot device that the Noise becomes.
Character development is far worse with Mayor Prentiss, Chaos Walking's bad guy who's meant to disturb readers with his near-unending cruelty and unhinged understanding of the world. I waited and hoped for some deep revelation about Prentiss and his behavior, but he really only becomes an idiotic, grinning sideshow. I should have known not to expect much when the book opened with this dialogue:
"War," says Mayor Prentiss, his eyes glinting. "At last."
Mistress Coyle is a better-written bad guy. She's all about control and power, and readers know enough about her history to know some of the reasons why she behaves the way she does. But Mistress Coyle is not the bad guy readers were introduced to in book one, and though she's of a similar nature to Prentiss, she is the lesser of evils, whether Ness intended for her to be or not.
That Mistress Coyle is a mildly interesting and believable bad guy doesn't really matter, though. The whole trilogy falls flat and ultimately makes no sense if we don't understand Mayor Prentiss' history and motives. The previous war with the Spackle, the genocide of women in Prentisstown and his subsequent rise to power there, the connection to Preacher Aaron's religious fundamentalism, the chasing of Todd "for his innocence," the chasing of Viola, his overtaking of all settlements between Prentisstown and Haven, his continued hatred of Spackle and women, his love of war, his interest in Viola's people, his ability to control minds, and countless other things make no sense if readers aren't given details. He doesn't seem to care about fame or fortune—or even power, really—just mind games and war. Without more behind his behavior, he becomes a stock character, mere decoration for Ness' moral and political messages, and a placeholder for true conflict.
I'm going to "spoil" the big "secret" about Mayor Prentiss for you: He's crazy and bad to the bone. That's it.
That brings me back to Ness' philosophical messages against war and violence. An inadequate handling of Mayor Prentiss muddles the message Ness is trying to get out to young people. Prentiss is not a realistic portrayal of real-world evil, and so any pacifistic messages surrounding him crumble. Everything's made more awkward when Ness pulls out the old Noble Savage trope for the Spackle. They are glorified Native Americans, right down to their peace-seeking chieftain and his elaborate headpiece. Todd and Viola's response to the world they live in can't deliver important life lessons because their world no longer mirrors any sort of reality by the end of this book. All the good and evil has been created using cookie-cutter stereotypes.
Other young adult authors have better communicated how difficult it is to understand and cope with the hows and whys of people's behavior, as well as how unclear appropriate courses of action can be. While Ness accomplishes some of the latter in Monsters of Men through Todd and Viola, he struggles to portray the former because of his poor development of Mayor Prentiss. If only the evil men of our world were more like Ness portrays Prentiss: void of political, moral, and financial motivations and connections. It wouldn't be so difficult to know how to respond to them.
These are just some of the problems with this book. Questions are left unanswered, too many characters prove to be unimportant, and the ending can only be described as an anticlimactic showdown reminiscent of every bad superhero movie ever made.
I still think The Knife of Never Letting Go is a fun read, which is why I can't bring myself to give this book the one-star rating it may very well deserve, but The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men are disappointing followups. This trilogy had potential, but Ness ultimately doesn't deliver.
========================================
Quotes From the Book
(Apply your own positive/negative connotations.)
========================================
That’s the nasty, nasty secret of war- When yer winning- When yer winning, it’s ruddy thrilling—
---
And then I turn to the Mayor and I’m filled with her, with her love for me and my love for her- And it makes me big as an effing mountain-
November 23, 2018
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription
“Worst is the one who knows better and does nothing.”
🌟 In the previous books, the start would always be “relatively” slow and then the pacing picks up till it becomes faster and better. This time, the author started powerfully, with a fast and great thing, a WAR!! I think this book had the best beginning in this series but unfortunately, it was tamed a little bit in the middle.
🌟 There was a 3rd POV in this book and I am not going to spoil it because it was creative and is better to be left a surprise. I am not sure if I was a big fan of the writing style of that character because it took me a while to get used to it and it was confusing at first!
🌟 Not to be confused with the general writing style, which is as good as ever!
“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they’re never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that’s not how a person with integrity acts.”
🌟 I think the world building and characters are as realistic as ever! These are surely things that I won’t forget quickly. I just didn’t like the continuous Bickering between President Prentiss (one of the smartest “Villains” I have ever read)and Mistress Coyle. It was one of the reason that made the middle part less interesting.
🌟 The Plot is great and there are twists and drama and darkness as usual that will destroy you in the best possible way!
🌟 Summary: A great continuation of the series that is almost guaranteed not to disappoint you. With a new POV, new twists and new developments that will leave your mouth hanging open! I ended up giving this book and the trilogy as a whole 4 out of 5 stars!
“Worst is the one who knows better and does nothing.”
🌟 In the previous books, the start would always be “relatively” slow and then the pacing picks up till it becomes faster and better. This time, the author started powerfully, with a fast and great thing, a WAR!! I think this book had the best beginning in this series but unfortunately, it was tamed a little bit in the middle.
🌟 There was a 3rd POV in this book and I am not going to spoil it because it was creative and is better to be left a surprise. I am not sure if I was a big fan of the writing style of that character because it took me a while to get used to it and it was confusing at first!
🌟 Not to be confused with the general writing style, which is as good as ever!
“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they’re never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that’s not how a person with integrity acts.”
🌟 I think the world building and characters are as realistic as ever! These are surely things that I won’t forget quickly. I just didn’t like the continuous Bickering between President Prentiss (one of the smartest “Villains” I have ever read)and Mistress Coyle. It was one of the reason that made the middle part less interesting.
🌟 The Plot is great and there are twists and drama and darkness as usual that will destroy you in the best possible way!
🌟 Summary: A great continuation of the series that is almost guaranteed not to disappoint you. With a new POV, new twists and new developments that will leave your mouth hanging open! I ended up giving this book and the trilogy as a whole 4 out of 5 stars!
April 15, 2020
this lower-than-five-stars rating is probably my fault. i had to put the book down because of life (stupid life) so there was a whole day there where i didn't get to read a single word of this, and i may have simply lost my momentum as a result.
this book is still fantastic.
it is a slower-paced, more meditative book than the other two. before, it was all breakneck excitement and every time the characters seemed to be able to pause for breath - blammo! another effing tragedy! which strangely, did not come across as gratuitous. ness is such a strong writer that he never let the story become "expected" or tedious - there was always a healthy ratio of character-building to adrenaline rushes, so it never seemed that he was just putting explosions and death in the way to make sure you were still paying attention.
because obviously we are paying attention.
this one had a more philosophical cast to it than the first two. that is not to say there is no action - there are battles and smaller skirmishes and many innocent characters have terrible things happen to them, so it is very similar in that way to the first two books, with more politics-of-war and musings on the nature and meaning of humanity. everything is cast in shades of gray, where good guys have bad days and bad guys occasionally do the right thing. ness is always about three steps ahead of the reader's expectayshuns (also, much less of that in this final book), and it is nearly impossible to predict what is about to happen.
however, and i am probably going to get slapped all over the internet about this, i really wasn't into the voice of the return/land/sky. while i understand intellectually that it is necessary to include that perspective and it gives a depth to the story that is important and that the book could not have reached a satisfying conclusion without including it, emotionally, i found it dry and less heart-shredding than viola and todd's story.
i know.
but it's true. whenever i came to that font, i was like "nooo - gimmie more viola!!" it's not my fault that those two characters are so close to my heart, while the land is interesting but not all up in my emotional grill.
this really was an excellent conclusion to one of the finest trilogies i have ever read. both todd and viola grow so much as characters, it is a phenomenal series for that part alone. and the rest - ahhhh. i can't say enough good about this series.
having just experienced a bug-holocaust and still reeling from toxic fumes, it is probably best to end here, so i can escape to clearer air. effing bugs. i would like to band them and see how they like it...
come to my blog!
this book is still fantastic.
it is a slower-paced, more meditative book than the other two. before, it was all breakneck excitement and every time the characters seemed to be able to pause for breath - blammo! another effing tragedy! which strangely, did not come across as gratuitous. ness is such a strong writer that he never let the story become "expected" or tedious - there was always a healthy ratio of character-building to adrenaline rushes, so it never seemed that he was just putting explosions and death in the way to make sure you were still paying attention.
because obviously we are paying attention.
this one had a more philosophical cast to it than the first two. that is not to say there is no action - there are battles and smaller skirmishes and many innocent characters have terrible things happen to them, so it is very similar in that way to the first two books, with more politics-of-war and musings on the nature and meaning of humanity. everything is cast in shades of gray, where good guys have bad days and bad guys occasionally do the right thing. ness is always about three steps ahead of the reader's expectayshuns (also, much less of that in this final book), and it is nearly impossible to predict what is about to happen.
however, and i am probably going to get slapped all over the internet about this, i really wasn't into the voice of the return/land/sky. while i understand intellectually that it is necessary to include that perspective and it gives a depth to the story that is important and that the book could not have reached a satisfying conclusion without including it, emotionally, i found it dry and less heart-shredding than viola and todd's story.
i know.
but it's true. whenever i came to that font, i was like "nooo - gimmie more viola!!" it's not my fault that those two characters are so close to my heart, while the land is interesting but not all up in my emotional grill.
this really was an excellent conclusion to one of the finest trilogies i have ever read. both todd and viola grow so much as characters, it is a phenomenal series for that part alone. and the rest - ahhhh. i can't say enough good about this series.
having just experienced a bug-holocaust and still reeling from toxic fumes, it is probably best to end here, so i can escape to clearer air. effing bugs. i would like to band them and see how they like it...
come to my blog!
May 20, 2017
Patrick Ness, that's what other writers of YA dystopian books want to be when they grow up.
July 28, 2013
Spoilers
Ugh, I hated it. I mostly enjoyed the first two books in the series but Monsters of Men was bloody awful. It was a struggle to get through it. The main problem was fucker Todd and fucker Viola, they were the most selfish and vile teenagers ever — the dicks actually thought it was cool to start a war as long as it meant saving the other. What pissed me off more was even though they were horrid little gits, everyone and their mother acted like they were oh so perfect. Ugh. What gave those two fuckers the right to kill thousands just because they wuved each other? They were such bitches.
-Todd was a fucking fucker. The way he treated all the women and Spackles throughout the series sickened me. Yea, he was following orders when he hurt them… But not once did he try and get out of it. He didn't even attempt to help those weaker than him. He had power, he had respect, he even had the mayor on his side — he could have stood up for them or he could have joined the Answer and fought for their freedom. But he did none of those things. He did what was easiest for him, he did whatever was best for him, and he only cared about himself and his pwecious Viola. Ugh.
The worst part was how sorry Todd felt for himself. He thought he had it hard but he was living the good life compared to everyone around him. The women were imprisoned, branded, abused, tortured and raped — Did Todd care? No. He only gave a fuck about his own pathetic problems. The Spackle were treated like utter shit, their homes were taken over by a bunch of fuckers, their only method of communication was suppressed, they had no hope whatsoever - Did Todd care? No, he was too worried about his own shit.
Todd's attitude towards the Spackle was fucked up, he thought they were animals, and was cool with hurting and enslaving them. What was more fucked up was that Todd was pissed when one of the Spackle didn't thank him when he deigned to help said Spackle. What did he expect after torturing and degrading him and his people? Did he honestly think that showing the Spackle a tiny bit of respect would erase the months of forced labour and torture? Who the fuck would be nice to someone after they enslaved and tortured them? He was so fucking dumb.
Then on top of that fuckery, Todd started to control other people's minds. Why? Because he didn't immediately get his own way so he thought he'd force people to do his bidding. Ugh.
He pissed me off so much. I had no sympathy for him whatsoever. How dare he act so hard done by! His life was paradise compared to other people. I loathed him with a passion.
Oh and his love for Viola was bullshit. Yea, he had feelings for her but I doubt it was love. If he really loved her he wouldn't have gotten all cozy with the guy that shot her and nearly killed her, and the man that he watched torture her.
-Other things that annoyed me about Todd was him constantly telling people to shut up — he had no idea how to have a proper conversation. I also got tired of the amount of times he told the mayor that he'd kill him — his numerous empty threats were ridiculous.
This quote perfectly summed up Todd's attitude:
"Because he knew he was doing wrong. He felt the pain of his actions–
But he did not amend them, shows the Sky.
The rest are worth as much as their pack animals, I show, but worst is the one who knows better and does nothing."
-I was so sick of Viola. Her constant whining about Todd annoyed the fuck out of me. There was a war going on, and loads of people dying… And instead of trying to help, she just whinged about Todd. She really needed some perspective.
Viola was pretty much as bad as Todd - she was actually willing to cause genocide just so she could save her little boyfriend. The selfish cow. And then the giddy cow acted so moral, and self righteous, and as if she was a good, honest and decent person. After starting a war, she had no right to act all judgmental and goody goody. She and Todd were the worst. At least Mistress Coyle and the mayor genuinely seemed to care about their people, whereas Todd and Viola only cared about each other.
-Why the fuck did everyone think Viola and Todd were brilliant leaders?! First of all they were children. Secondly, Todd had no mind of his own — all he did was follow orders no matter how distasteful he found said orders. And Viola only ever cared about Todd's welfare and no-one else's. How did that make them good leaders?! A dead rat could lead better than those two selfish fuckery fucks.
-Viola only cared about male characters, it was all about Todd, Liam, Bradley and Wilf. There wasn't one female character that really meant anything to her. She hated Mistress Coyle which was understandable, and she was distantly friendly with Simone, Corinne and Maddy but ultimately they meant very little to her. It was all about the boys for her. Ugh.
-I enjoy reading selfish and vile characters but not when 1. They think they're actually good and decent 2. They're portrayed as heroes 3. All the other characters bang on about how good, clever and brave they are and 4. They're made out to be speshul wittle snowflakes.
-I actually think that sadistic Davy had more innocence and good in him than fucker Todd. Davy had no love, no friends, and nothing else good in his life and thats why he was a dick — but as soon as he got a tiny bit of friendship from Todd he became a much better person. Whereas Todd was raised by two people that loved him and would do anything him, and he had Viola's love too, he also had the mayor's approval — yet even with all that around him he was still a vicious selfish wanker. If Davy had had what Todd did, he would have been ten times the man that Todd was.
All in all, I hated it. The main characters were insufferable, the plot was predictable and the ending was cheesy as hell.
Ugh, I hated it. I mostly enjoyed the first two books in the series but Monsters of Men was bloody awful. It was a struggle to get through it. The main problem was fucker Todd and fucker Viola, they were the most selfish and vile teenagers ever — the dicks actually thought it was cool to start a war as long as it meant saving the other. What pissed me off more was even though they were horrid little gits, everyone and their mother acted like they were oh so perfect. Ugh. What gave those two fuckers the right to kill thousands just because they wuved each other? They were such bitches.
-Todd was a fucking fucker. The way he treated all the women and Spackles throughout the series sickened me. Yea, he was following orders when he hurt them… But not once did he try and get out of it. He didn't even attempt to help those weaker than him. He had power, he had respect, he even had the mayor on his side — he could have stood up for them or he could have joined the Answer and fought for their freedom. But he did none of those things. He did what was easiest for him, he did whatever was best for him, and he only cared about himself and his pwecious Viola. Ugh.
The worst part was how sorry Todd felt for himself. He thought he had it hard but he was living the good life compared to everyone around him. The women were imprisoned, branded, abused, tortured and raped — Did Todd care? No. He only gave a fuck about his own pathetic problems. The Spackle were treated like utter shit, their homes were taken over by a bunch of fuckers, their only method of communication was suppressed, they had no hope whatsoever - Did Todd care? No, he was too worried about his own shit.
Todd's attitude towards the Spackle was fucked up, he thought they were animals, and was cool with hurting and enslaving them. What was more fucked up was that Todd was pissed when one of the Spackle didn't thank him when he deigned to help said Spackle. What did he expect after torturing and degrading him and his people? Did he honestly think that showing the Spackle a tiny bit of respect would erase the months of forced labour and torture? Who the fuck would be nice to someone after they enslaved and tortured them? He was so fucking dumb.
Then on top of that fuckery, Todd started to control other people's minds. Why? Because he didn't immediately get his own way so he thought he'd force people to do his bidding. Ugh.
He pissed me off so much. I had no sympathy for him whatsoever. How dare he act so hard done by! His life was paradise compared to other people. I loathed him with a passion.
Oh and his love for Viola was bullshit. Yea, he had feelings for her but I doubt it was love. If he really loved her he wouldn't have gotten all cozy with the guy that shot her and nearly killed her, and the man that he watched torture her.
-Other things that annoyed me about Todd was him constantly telling people to shut up — he had no idea how to have a proper conversation. I also got tired of the amount of times he told the mayor that he'd kill him — his numerous empty threats were ridiculous.
This quote perfectly summed up Todd's attitude:
"Because he knew he was doing wrong. He felt the pain of his actions–
But he did not amend them, shows the Sky.
The rest are worth as much as their pack animals, I show, but worst is the one who knows better and does nothing."
-I was so sick of Viola. Her constant whining about Todd annoyed the fuck out of me. There was a war going on, and loads of people dying… And instead of trying to help, she just whinged about Todd. She really needed some perspective.
Viola was pretty much as bad as Todd - she was actually willing to cause genocide just so she could save her little boyfriend. The selfish cow. And then the giddy cow acted so moral, and self righteous, and as if she was a good, honest and decent person. After starting a war, she had no right to act all judgmental and goody goody. She and Todd were the worst. At least Mistress Coyle and the mayor genuinely seemed to care about their people, whereas Todd and Viola only cared about each other.
-Why the fuck did everyone think Viola and Todd were brilliant leaders?! First of all they were children. Secondly, Todd had no mind of his own — all he did was follow orders no matter how distasteful he found said orders. And Viola only ever cared about Todd's welfare and no-one else's. How did that make them good leaders?! A dead rat could lead better than those two selfish fuckery fucks.
-Viola only cared about male characters, it was all about Todd, Liam, Bradley and Wilf. There wasn't one female character that really meant anything to her. She hated Mistress Coyle which was understandable, and she was distantly friendly with Simone, Corinne and Maddy but ultimately they meant very little to her. It was all about the boys for her. Ugh.
-I enjoy reading selfish and vile characters but not when 1. They think they're actually good and decent 2. They're portrayed as heroes 3. All the other characters bang on about how good, clever and brave they are and 4. They're made out to be speshul wittle snowflakes.
-I actually think that sadistic Davy had more innocence and good in him than fucker Todd. Davy had no love, no friends, and nothing else good in his life and thats why he was a dick — but as soon as he got a tiny bit of friendship from Todd he became a much better person. Whereas Todd was raised by two people that loved him and would do anything him, and he had Viola's love too, he also had the mayor's approval — yet even with all that around him he was still a vicious selfish wanker. If Davy had had what Todd did, he would have been ten times the man that Todd was.
All in all, I hated it. The main characters were insufferable, the plot was predictable and the ending was cheesy as hell.
May 2, 2018
3.5 stars ⭐️
I liked this, it was enjoyable. I just didn’t seem to find it as mind blowing and life altering as some other readers.
“War makes monsters of men.”
I was never bored, but I feel this novel could have been cut down by a few hundred pages. A good 300 pages in was just back and forth war between the people of New Prentisstown, Mistress Coyle’s group and the Spackle.
But there was plenty I did like and that he had become like a messenger between the men and the Spackle. I liked the small sci fi elements, including the spaceship and the technology that came with it.
Overall, I loved Todd and Viola’s relationship. The strength they drew from one another even when the other had made terrible mistakes. Also the ending was satisfying
Entertaining, with good characters and villains, an interesting New World to experience.
I liked this, it was enjoyable. I just didn’t seem to find it as mind blowing and life altering as some other readers.
“War makes monsters of men.”
I was never bored, but I feel this novel could have been cut down by a few hundred pages. A good 300 pages in was just back and forth war between the people of New Prentisstown, Mistress Coyle’s group and the Spackle.
But there was plenty I did like and that he had become like a messenger between the men and the Spackle. I liked the small sci fi elements, including the spaceship and the technology that came with it.
Overall, I loved Todd and Viola’s relationship. The strength they drew from one another even when the other had made terrible mistakes. Also the ending was satisfying
Entertaining, with good characters and villains, an interesting New World to experience.
December 4, 2013
If you read my reviews of The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer, you'll find that I was a smitten kitten with the Chaos Walking series. In the carbon copy world of young adult literature, these are inventive books with powerful themes resonating throughout. I have been anticipating the moment when I would finish the last book in the trilogy, expecting to savor the return to Todd and Viola's world. So what effin' happened that led to a tepid 3 star rating? I'm still trying to figure it out.
Maybe it was series fatigue or maybe I waited too long between reading books 2 and 3 (I hate getting locked into series books, so that is a possibility). For whatever reason, Monsters of Men never grabbed me in the way the first two books did. It felt repetitive. War with the Spackle, conflict between Mayor Prentiss and Mistress Coyle, Todd and Viola don't know what to do, and round and round it goes. Each time I picked up the book, I felt like it was Groundhog Day--I could have sworn I read the same damn thing yesterday. The war is somewhat anticlimactic and I never felt any real tension. I'm rather out of sorts about this because I feel as though I somehow let down the book instead of the book letting me down. Did I miss something? Is there something I'm just not getting? These are the thoughts that plague me because I wanted, nay, needed to love this book. And I just didn't. Todd and Viola's angst over being separated is irritating to me because I could not for the life of me understand why they insisted on being apart ("Just walk your ass up the damn hill, Todd," I kept encouraging him throughout, but he never listened), Mayor Prentiss doesn't seem like that big of a bad ass threat, and the one twist the novel is relying on is fairly predictable.
Despite this, I liked the addition of the narration from 1017's point of view. Told in the language of the indigenous people of New World, Ness does a good job of making the voice seem alien and foreign. These chapters are somewhat difficult to read in terms of adjusting to the syntax and invented phrases, but it added to my ability to believe in the Spackle as a separate sentient species from humans. Also, the questions raised (is there morality in war, what makes a terrorist, how do we know when we can trust our leaders, is violence ever justified) are all complex and worthy of our attention. Ness skillfully asks these questions without glorifying war nor necessarily vilifying it, which makes this an above average young adult read.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
Maybe it was series fatigue or maybe I waited too long between reading books 2 and 3 (I hate getting locked into series books, so that is a possibility). For whatever reason, Monsters of Men never grabbed me in the way the first two books did. It felt repetitive. War with the Spackle, conflict between Mayor Prentiss and Mistress Coyle, Todd and Viola don't know what to do, and round and round it goes. Each time I picked up the book, I felt like it was Groundhog Day--I could have sworn I read the same damn thing yesterday. The war is somewhat anticlimactic and I never felt any real tension. I'm rather out of sorts about this because I feel as though I somehow let down the book instead of the book letting me down. Did I miss something? Is there something I'm just not getting? These are the thoughts that plague me because I wanted, nay, needed to love this book. And I just didn't. Todd and Viola's angst over being separated is irritating to me because I could not for the life of me understand why they insisted on being apart ("Just walk your ass up the damn hill, Todd," I kept encouraging him throughout, but he never listened), Mayor Prentiss doesn't seem like that big of a bad ass threat, and the one twist the novel is relying on is fairly predictable.
Despite this, I liked the addition of the narration from 1017's point of view. Told in the language of the indigenous people of New World, Ness does a good job of making the voice seem alien and foreign. These chapters are somewhat difficult to read in terms of adjusting to the syntax and invented phrases, but it added to my ability to believe in the Spackle as a separate sentient species from humans. Also, the questions raised (is there morality in war, what makes a terrorist, how do we know when we can trust our leaders, is violence ever justified) are all complex and worthy of our attention. Ness skillfully asks these questions without glorifying war nor necessarily vilifying it, which makes this an above average young adult read.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
December 6, 2010
Two words: Emotional Investment.
This review is me on a soapboxtelling shouting at anyone/everyone within hearing distance to read it… NOW! So, I guess, this review isn't a review after all. Right before I started Monsters, I was so worried if Ness would kill off one, some, or all his characters. Then I asked myself, “Is that all you can think of?” My response: a resounding, YES! My concern extending to the living or dying of these people, clearly establishes my emotional investment. If someone were to complain about the eye dialect or what not, I’d probably rabidly say… “But that’s the point! Prentiss destroyed any chance they had of getting educated. He had the schools burned… They can’t help being the way they are!” If someone were to point out that its monstrous size just covers a lot of violence, I’d (again) say, “Because that’s the way it is… Sans rainbows and robins, the world can be violent and ugly… but at least there’s some hope.” So, yes I’m probably too close to the characters; too much a loyal fan of the series to say anything unbiased about the books and the people in it.
I will say that Monsters of Men is not an easy read, at all. It’s…
INTENSE.
ORIGINAL.
GUT-WRENCHING.
Why? There are so many themes in it~ love, violence, prejudice… heck, it could be about hope (or its absence.) But there’s a distinct absence of a self-righteous voice. All of them admit to doing horrendous things; none claim perfection or total goodness. I love that absence. That typical dichotomy of us = good and them = bad is absent. Basically, it says to me that we are all capable of being monsters. Or more aptly, there are only people~ all capable of doing bad things; all capable of doing good things. That it’s all a matter of choice.
So, yeah, this is me, still on my soapbox… still insisting that people get there hands on this series. Love it, hate it... just read it!
This review is me on a soapbox
I will say that Monsters of Men is not an easy read, at all. It’s…
INTENSE.
ORIGINAL.
GUT-WRENCHING.
Why? There are so many themes in it~ love, violence, prejudice… heck, it could be about hope (or its absence.) But there’s a distinct absence of a self-righteous voice. All of them admit to doing horrendous things; none claim perfection or total goodness. I love that absence. That typical dichotomy of us = good and them = bad is absent. Basically, it says to me that we are all capable of being monsters. Or more aptly, there are only people~ all capable of doing bad things; all capable of doing good things. That it’s all a matter of choice.
So, yeah, this is me, still on my soapbox… still insisting that people get there hands on this series. Love it, hate it... just read it!
December 14, 2011
"The leaders of men
Born out of your frustration
The leaders of men
Just a strange infatuation
The leaders of men
Made a promise for a new life
No savior for our sakes
To twist the internees of hate
Self-induced manipulation
To crush all thoughts of mass salvation"
- 'Leaders of Men' by Joy Division
Patrick Ness?
Patrick Ness says: "Even in a society where we're constantly being told to 'be be ourselves', the pressure is to conform is terrible, especially for the young. If the Chaos Walking trilogy is about anything, it's about identity, finding out who you are. How do you stay an individual when the pressure to conform, to change who you are, is actually life-threatening?" Patrick Ness.
Underdog, black sheep, black swan, dark horse in the running. Under dogs you run and run. Where do you get that image, that puzzle with all its gray and black and white pieces, from? How do you think when the wrong answers are so loud that you can't hear yourself ask the question? Can you stop rooting for yourself, stop running long enough, to see past the mass of white, white sheep?
What if you will not think for yourself? Can you believe that others will? And if you can't? Will you ever have the right context to understand what is in another's head (not to mention heart. Which isn't enough. Mentioned).
Mariel? I'd say that the trilogy is about thinking for yourself, and about its conceit. For good and for ultimate weakness. It could have been something truly special, and sometimes was. If I had reviewed the first two books before reading Monsters of Men it would have been a different feeling. Now, I don't know if what I had loved was real because of where it went. I feel like I was tricked into voting for a politician who was secretly putting into place laws that violated all I held most dear. Did I believe in a struggle for understanding where it was taken for granted? 'Monsters' said that you should not try to put yourself in another's place but put them in their place. Was it conceit for the maybe teen readership? [As in the kids know best because they are kids.] I don't want to say if it was how they took that. (I cannot be a person who would know what someone else is reading for. What are good intentions and how can I know what those are? Teens can think for themselves the same as me. That this is ya is a nonissue for me.) Todd and Viola are told over and over again (way, way, way too often in Monsters of Men) that they are leaders of men. Wait... But how can you be a leader when you do not trust others to think for themselves? How can you care about, let alone understand, anyone else when you are waiting for someone else to think for you? What if the point of understanding is empathy all along (it is! it is!)? That thing about trusting that there is a mind inside another person with the will and the right to think for themselves. How did it go from what happens when you don't try to listen to a book about having someone else decide for you? Maybe it was that all along.
I have to disagree with other reviews that book two The Ask and the Answer was about Todd and Viola trusting each other. I read it like they refused to think for themselves because they were waiting for the other one to do it for them. Not trusting themselves, if anything. Not wanting to be alone more than that. This would have been brilliant if it were not for the conceit of the final book. Todd tortures women and the aliens, the spackle, in the name of doing what he is told. He deadens himself to waiting for Viola. Viola and Todd who on the surface know that what they are doing is wrong (if someone else's fault, of course) and do it anyway because the other one is supposed to come and tell them what to do. Are the adults who say they have the answer lying? Well, they didn't have the right question 'cause they only cared about the answer (what would Viola think? What would Todd think?). That would have been just great if Monsters of Men hadn't come next and told me so often that they were what was worth saving. To easy to let themselves off the hook, what with setting themselves up as their ideals. Survival is not forever so how can it be all that matters? It is not enough to have your characters tell the reader (repeatedly and transparently) that the ideal is forgiveness. There has to be something past survival.
Do you trust others to think for themselves?
There are a lot of lies in this series.
1. Todd Hewitt is the boy who cannot kill.
2. Todd Hewitt thinks for himself.
3. Todd Hewitt is a leader of men.
And,
4. That people need a leader.
5. That people will not think for themselves.
Patrick Ness ruined his great series in my heart. Screw thinking about motivations. It just feels wrong. I want to quote Joel's review and say fuck this book.
At the best it was something... I felt that there was something in the mind that could not be touched. If you think you know what someone else is thinking... Like if you read one of those psychology checklists of what behavior means, the same old variety of meaning of and behind what anyone could be doing. And it's depressing because it robs of choice. Like if all of that didn't matter because it still couldn't predict what someone was capable of. There's no number six on the list. There's always the chance of something else, for something more. There's something at stake. Surprise and just maybe there's something in someone else is that is all their own. Something in the mind that can still be reached because there's a part of you that is just your own. At the best of this series there is that chance. In The Knife of Never Letting Go Todd understands Viola without having to hear her thoughts. He understands because he doesn't have to know what she is thinking. He just has to care that there is a Viola inside Viola that has that mind space to run and run in. In Monsters of Men Viola cannot trust Todd unless she can hear his thoughts. He could have felt it out for himself, what was true to himself for how he wanted to communicate with others. That SHOULD have been the point. Patrick Ness? Were you listening? Todd? What do you think about this? Did you really not know that the part that is just your own is just as important as any togetherness of the Land and the Sky that the aliens learned to turn their thoughts into one noise that speaks for all (oh wait, they don't count. Todd killed spackle but if he can't kill then that means they don't count). Speak for me if you know that I can also speak for me. Are you alive in the first place if you do not learn from your mistakes? (Ness could have said, "Hey, got drunk and beat your wife? Come in to church and ask God for forgiveness. And then do it again until next Sunday.") Robbed. of. all. meaning.
Todd and Viola only care about each other. It was a wonderfully twisted codependent relationship in 'Answer'. (Theirs is not a romance, sorry.) My favorite part was when they are happy when they believe they are going to be on the run again, like in 'Knife'. They don't realize that their happiness in 'Knife' came from the hope they had that they were running somewhere safe (not the Haven that handed themselves over to a rumor of an army). There had to be somewhere to go! Their "I only care about us" mentality was giving up and they don't even know it. So how the hell are these two leaders of men? Because Todd gave up just as much as Haven did. He did! He did! He did! I don't care how many times it is written in those books that Todd thinks for himself because he doesn't. (He might have if 1017 had thanked him for saving him. The book was great to me when I thought that Ness knew that Todd needed to be told. The kid actually expected to be thanked for not killing a slave!) They ran because they didn't want to know the outcome. You don't have to live if you are always running.
It isn't about how much thinking you do! It's about the right to do so! Yeah, it may be about getting up again when you fall. But what about the ground you fall on? Those you take down with you? What about meeting other people's eyes? Arrrrgh. You might as well pick up and move to a planet all by yourself. The other people would be better off without you.
I gotta wonder if Ness didn't lose sight of New World altogether in maybe some messages about the current world. Mental death in information overload, war and just following orders and giving up. If it hadn't been for the conceit that Todd and Viola had the answer (because boy, they really fucking didn't). 'Cause, you know, recognizing that it happens doesn't mean you know the future. It's still just an educated guess. History will teach us nothing.
So they killed the women in Prentisstown because the men couldn't handle that the women's thoughts could not be heard. In some parts of New World the women were separated as breeding machines.They were seen as apart. So in Monsters of Men is stated somewhere towards the end that women turned off their noise out of an inner desire to be silent and it could be learned to be turned back on. That men had noise because of something in them. Um, what the fuck? Nooooooooooooo. This is not right. Another chance to investigate cultural faith in another's right to think tossed in the bargain bins. Nothing matters as long as the two lead characters are special and everything is about them? It's not like they live on a planet with other people than themselves? I know that sexism exists. I know that there is an age old men are from Mars mentality. It never told me that I knew how men or man think. It should be not be collective. Not that it mattered in the end. Because only two people count on that planet... Isn't that the mentality to be fought against? That one matters more than the other?
So what is the answer and what is the question? What makes Monsters of men? I think it is the answer without question. I would have believed in monsters and leaders if it had not been so egocentric. Do you become what you are because that's what someone told you you are? Isn't telling us who your characters are without making them earn it, isn't that being what others tell them they are? Like, isn't that the same as telling the readers your book is about being true to yourself? Like a big cheat you did not earn? Patrick Ness?
Do you know that feeling off of someone who seems to be talking without thinking first? Philosophy without thought where the first two books felt like something was behind it that couldn't bear to be thought about. You know, approaching a question...
If I wasn't told repeatedly that Todd had that mental strength. He didn't! No way! Not even close! (Oh yeah, the spackle don't count. Because they are different! So branding and killing them doesn't matter.) Let me sense it if it is there. The mayor thinks for Todd. Viola thinks for Todd. Ben thinks for Todd. Todd is mind controlled by the Mayor until Ben returns to think for him instead! Yes! THIS is a book about being yourself? How?!!!! 'Cause that's actually its opposite. What would have happened if he hadn't had Ben? It's not like he ever TRUSTED the Mayor, or cared about what happened to him. He seemed to only want the choice made for him. Yes, this is a kid who trusts someone he doesn't trust. If he didn't trust the Mayor why do we need him to tell us who Todd is? So who was this for? He's special because he's the main character?! Sad sighs. I loved Knife and really liked Answer. Maybe I didn't like those books that much, though, if this is where it ended. Too much talk. I am the circle and the circle is me. Barfs.
Todd? But he won't answer, will he? This series would have been sooooo good if it hadn't been for that bloody conceit. Maybe it is a comfort to outsider teens to be the only person in the crowd that makes no sense to them to be capable of making sense. Like that's the point. There was a lot more possible in this story than that. It's incredibly frustrating to me that this is where Ness chose to take the story. They are heroes because they are my main characters. The fuck? What about not setting up Todd and Viola as everyoen's answer? If I were on New World I would not pick Todd or Viola. I'd move far, far away from them.
What about Viola's ability to imitate those who she is with? (Don't get me started on her training to be a settler. Don't try to, you know, put that in practice, Ness. Because that didn't even matter! Sheesh! Did Todd know how to, for that matter? He knew how to follow orders.) Todd had his doubts about her until he missed that hope of being on the run. It was great when I thought that was why... But was it? Coughs cop out coughs. Why did it start out a book about not being the asshole that thinks you know everything about someone because you think you know all their thoughts into a book about I can't trust you unless I'm telling you what to think?
The buzz isn't the good in Todd that the Mayor cannot have. It's the desire to have something to care about from a man who didn't believe anyone else could think. Todd's was wanting a parent. Couldn't he have cut all of that "You're so special" crap? Please? Patrick Ness? Does anyone else have to be more special than anyone else by rights? Choices, really?
(Why am I writing a long ass review? Monsters of Men is Todd is special, Todd can think, Todd! Todd! Todd! The first two books are Todd?) I'm repeating myself a lot. I think in circles... I think in squares (boxed in). I'm frustrated. Did these books suck all along?
Luckily Viola doesn't have to live 'cause she just has to wait to see if Todd lives or dies. And remember. Not, you know, not kill 1017 'cause he's a person same as her. It's all for Todd. Barfs.
"Lose some sleep and say that you tried." - 'Auto-suggestion' by Joy Division. Exactly. That's Todd in 'Answer' in a nutshell. I can't believe this book.
P.s. I don't believe that Cillian and Ben were the only homosexual couple in Prentisstown. I don't believe that Todd didn't at least overhear wishes to bugger his ass. Ness wasn't afraid of torture scenes so why not this? He definitely wasn't afraid of homosexuality. He wasn't afraid of rape. What gives? (The only thing he seemed to be afraid of was living up to the oft said statement that people can pick themselves up again if they fall. If that were true than why was nearly every other character a sheep!?)
P.s.s. I knew that Manchee was going to die the moment that Todd appreciated him. That's like signing his death warrant! I don't think I need to say that I would have picked the dog over Viola. I believed in Manchee's heart if not his mind. Sobs!
P.s.s.s. Todd should have also learned how to read without the ability just being given to him by the Mayor. Way to avoid any growth there, Ness. He's unreasonably angry to anyone who even brings his illiteracy up. What are you trying to tell us here by not making him work for it at all? That negates the entire point of the series, doesn't it? At least the one you said about how people deaden themselves to information overload. And then your hero doesn't ever have to face up to the anger he feels that he cannot read? He's given, not by choice, the ability through mind control. Is that what the spackle's collective noise highway is supposed to be? About being told and not about listening? How is that choice? Are you trying to tell your readers that you shouldn't earn anything, or face up to your limitations? This says more about Todd, and Ness's values for his character and world, than I ever could.
And what happened to the Patrick Ness who wrote that Todd and Viola clung to each other only because they had no one else? Why? Why?! Why would Viola let go of everyone else? Don't tell me it is because Todd is inherently more special than anyone else. Don't you dare say that.
Ps.s.s.s.s I'm also ticked off that Ness tells us (via the Mayor, of course) that Todd is a BETTER PERSON than Davy Prentiss. Todd is his "leader". They almost had a relationship until Ness decided it was worth more to just tell us that Todd rubbed off on him by being a better person. They couldn't get to know each other. Nope, Todd had to be the leader. Equality is for the dogs, eh? Listening to people... Nope. Leader bullshit. Again. Um, even though Todd rolled over same as Davy. (Oh wait, it was for super special Viola. So other people don't count. It's for VIOLA. She's special.) They hailed from the same culture, suffered under the same numbing mental pressure and both refused to think for themselves. How about investigating the why of that? No? How the fuck is Todd a BETTER PERSON than Davy? (Davy had the influence of the Mayor. Todd had Ben. In my mind, that makes Todd LUCKY, not better by rights.) Because the author says he is?! I guess the second book was kinda sucky in the same was as the third. Why was I surprised?
You are not being yourself if you don't even try.
Born out of your frustration
The leaders of men
Just a strange infatuation
The leaders of men
Made a promise for a new life
No savior for our sakes
To twist the internees of hate
Self-induced manipulation
To crush all thoughts of mass salvation"
- 'Leaders of Men' by Joy Division
Patrick Ness?
Patrick Ness says: "Even in a society where we're constantly being told to 'be be ourselves', the pressure is to conform is terrible, especially for the young. If the Chaos Walking trilogy is about anything, it's about identity, finding out who you are. How do you stay an individual when the pressure to conform, to change who you are, is actually life-threatening?" Patrick Ness.
Underdog, black sheep, black swan, dark horse in the running. Under dogs you run and run. Where do you get that image, that puzzle with all its gray and black and white pieces, from? How do you think when the wrong answers are so loud that you can't hear yourself ask the question? Can you stop rooting for yourself, stop running long enough, to see past the mass of white, white sheep?
What if you will not think for yourself? Can you believe that others will? And if you can't? Will you ever have the right context to understand what is in another's head (not to mention heart. Which isn't enough. Mentioned).
Mariel? I'd say that the trilogy is about thinking for yourself, and about its conceit. For good and for ultimate weakness. It could have been something truly special, and sometimes was. If I had reviewed the first two books before reading Monsters of Men it would have been a different feeling. Now, I don't know if what I had loved was real because of where it went. I feel like I was tricked into voting for a politician who was secretly putting into place laws that violated all I held most dear. Did I believe in a struggle for understanding where it was taken for granted? 'Monsters' said that you should not try to put yourself in another's place but put them in their place. Was it conceit for the maybe teen readership? [As in the kids know best because they are kids.] I don't want to say if it was how they took that. (I cannot be a person who would know what someone else is reading for. What are good intentions and how can I know what those are? Teens can think for themselves the same as me. That this is ya is a nonissue for me.) Todd and Viola are told over and over again (way, way, way too often in Monsters of Men) that they are leaders of men. Wait... But how can you be a leader when you do not trust others to think for themselves? How can you care about, let alone understand, anyone else when you are waiting for someone else to think for you? What if the point of understanding is empathy all along (it is! it is!)? That thing about trusting that there is a mind inside another person with the will and the right to think for themselves. How did it go from what happens when you don't try to listen to a book about having someone else decide for you? Maybe it was that all along.
I have to disagree with other reviews that book two The Ask and the Answer was about Todd and Viola trusting each other. I read it like they refused to think for themselves because they were waiting for the other one to do it for them. Not trusting themselves, if anything. Not wanting to be alone more than that. This would have been brilliant if it were not for the conceit of the final book. Todd tortures women and the aliens, the spackle, in the name of doing what he is told. He deadens himself to waiting for Viola. Viola and Todd who on the surface know that what they are doing is wrong (if someone else's fault, of course) and do it anyway because the other one is supposed to come and tell them what to do. Are the adults who say they have the answer lying? Well, they didn't have the right question 'cause they only cared about the answer (what would Viola think? What would Todd think?). That would have been just great if Monsters of Men hadn't come next and told me so often that they were what was worth saving. To easy to let themselves off the hook, what with setting themselves up as their ideals. Survival is not forever so how can it be all that matters? It is not enough to have your characters tell the reader (repeatedly and transparently) that the ideal is forgiveness. There has to be something past survival.
Do you trust others to think for themselves?
There are a lot of lies in this series.
1. Todd Hewitt is the boy who cannot kill.
2. Todd Hewitt thinks for himself.
3. Todd Hewitt is a leader of men.
And,
4. That people need a leader.
5. That people will not think for themselves.
Patrick Ness ruined his great series in my heart. Screw thinking about motivations. It just feels wrong. I want to quote Joel's review and say fuck this book.
At the best it was something... I felt that there was something in the mind that could not be touched. If you think you know what someone else is thinking... Like if you read one of those psychology checklists of what behavior means, the same old variety of meaning of and behind what anyone could be doing. And it's depressing because it robs of choice. Like if all of that didn't matter because it still couldn't predict what someone was capable of. There's no number six on the list. There's always the chance of something else, for something more. There's something at stake. Surprise and just maybe there's something in someone else is that is all their own. Something in the mind that can still be reached because there's a part of you that is just your own. At the best of this series there is that chance. In The Knife of Never Letting Go Todd understands Viola without having to hear her thoughts. He understands because he doesn't have to know what she is thinking. He just has to care that there is a Viola inside Viola that has that mind space to run and run in. In Monsters of Men Viola cannot trust Todd unless she can hear his thoughts. He could have felt it out for himself, what was true to himself for how he wanted to communicate with others. That SHOULD have been the point. Patrick Ness? Were you listening? Todd? What do you think about this? Did you really not know that the part that is just your own is just as important as any togetherness of the Land and the Sky that the aliens learned to turn their thoughts into one noise that speaks for all (oh wait, they don't count. Todd killed spackle but if he can't kill then that means they don't count). Speak for me if you know that I can also speak for me. Are you alive in the first place if you do not learn from your mistakes? (Ness could have said, "Hey, got drunk and beat your wife? Come in to church and ask God for forgiveness. And then do it again until next Sunday.") Robbed. of. all. meaning.
Todd and Viola only care about each other. It was a wonderfully twisted codependent relationship in 'Answer'. (Theirs is not a romance, sorry.) My favorite part was when they are happy when they believe they are going to be on the run again, like in 'Knife'. They don't realize that their happiness in 'Knife' came from the hope they had that they were running somewhere safe (not the Haven that handed themselves over to a rumor of an army). There had to be somewhere to go! Their "I only care about us" mentality was giving up and they don't even know it. So how the hell are these two leaders of men? Because Todd gave up just as much as Haven did. He did! He did! He did! I don't care how many times it is written in those books that Todd thinks for himself because he doesn't. (He might have if 1017 had thanked him for saving him. The book was great to me when I thought that Ness knew that Todd needed to be told. The kid actually expected to be thanked for not killing a slave!) They ran because they didn't want to know the outcome. You don't have to live if you are always running.
It isn't about how much thinking you do! It's about the right to do so! Yeah, it may be about getting up again when you fall. But what about the ground you fall on? Those you take down with you? What about meeting other people's eyes? Arrrrgh. You might as well pick up and move to a planet all by yourself. The other people would be better off without you.
I gotta wonder if Ness didn't lose sight of New World altogether in maybe some messages about the current world. Mental death in information overload, war and just following orders and giving up. If it hadn't been for the conceit that Todd and Viola had the answer (because boy, they really fucking didn't). 'Cause, you know, recognizing that it happens doesn't mean you know the future. It's still just an educated guess. History will teach us nothing.
So they killed the women in Prentisstown because the men couldn't handle that the women's thoughts could not be heard. In some parts of New World the women were separated as breeding machines.They were seen as apart. So in Monsters of Men is stated somewhere towards the end that women turned off their noise out of an inner desire to be silent and it could be learned to be turned back on. That men had noise because of something in them. Um, what the fuck? Nooooooooooooo. This is not right. Another chance to investigate cultural faith in another's right to think tossed in the bargain bins. Nothing matters as long as the two lead characters are special and everything is about them? It's not like they live on a planet with other people than themselves? I know that sexism exists. I know that there is an age old men are from Mars mentality. It never told me that I knew how men or man think. It should be not be collective. Not that it mattered in the end. Because only two people count on that planet... Isn't that the mentality to be fought against? That one matters more than the other?
So what is the answer and what is the question? What makes Monsters of men? I think it is the answer without question. I would have believed in monsters and leaders if it had not been so egocentric. Do you become what you are because that's what someone told you you are? Isn't telling us who your characters are without making them earn it, isn't that being what others tell them they are? Like, isn't that the same as telling the readers your book is about being true to yourself? Like a big cheat you did not earn? Patrick Ness?
Do you know that feeling off of someone who seems to be talking without thinking first? Philosophy without thought where the first two books felt like something was behind it that couldn't bear to be thought about. You know, approaching a question...
If I wasn't told repeatedly that Todd had that mental strength. He didn't! No way! Not even close! (Oh yeah, the spackle don't count. Because they are different! So branding and killing them doesn't matter.) Let me sense it if it is there. The mayor thinks for Todd. Viola thinks for Todd. Ben thinks for Todd. Todd is mind controlled by the Mayor until Ben returns to think for him instead! Yes! THIS is a book about being yourself? How?!!!! 'Cause that's actually its opposite. What would have happened if he hadn't had Ben? It's not like he ever TRUSTED the Mayor, or cared about what happened to him. He seemed to only want the choice made for him. Yes, this is a kid who trusts someone he doesn't trust. If he didn't trust the Mayor why do we need him to tell us who Todd is? So who was this for? He's special because he's the main character?! Sad sighs. I loved Knife and really liked Answer. Maybe I didn't like those books that much, though, if this is where it ended. Too much talk. I am the circle and the circle is me. Barfs.
Todd? But he won't answer, will he? This series would have been sooooo good if it hadn't been for that bloody conceit. Maybe it is a comfort to outsider teens to be the only person in the crowd that makes no sense to them to be capable of making sense. Like that's the point. There was a lot more possible in this story than that. It's incredibly frustrating to me that this is where Ness chose to take the story. They are heroes because they are my main characters. The fuck? What about not setting up Todd and Viola as everyoen's answer? If I were on New World I would not pick Todd or Viola. I'd move far, far away from them.
What about Viola's ability to imitate those who she is with? (Don't get me started on her training to be a settler. Don't try to, you know, put that in practice, Ness. Because that didn't even matter! Sheesh! Did Todd know how to, for that matter? He knew how to follow orders.) Todd had his doubts about her until he missed that hope of being on the run. It was great when I thought that was why... But was it? Coughs cop out coughs. Why did it start out a book about not being the asshole that thinks you know everything about someone because you think you know all their thoughts into a book about I can't trust you unless I'm telling you what to think?
The buzz isn't the good in Todd that the Mayor cannot have. It's the desire to have something to care about from a man who didn't believe anyone else could think. Todd's was wanting a parent. Couldn't he have cut all of that "You're so special" crap? Please? Patrick Ness? Does anyone else have to be more special than anyone else by rights? Choices, really?
(Why am I writing a long ass review? Monsters of Men is Todd is special, Todd can think, Todd! Todd! Todd! The first two books are Todd?) I'm repeating myself a lot. I think in circles... I think in squares (boxed in). I'm frustrated. Did these books suck all along?
Luckily Viola doesn't have to live 'cause she just has to wait to see if Todd lives or dies. And remember. Not, you know, not kill 1017 'cause he's a person same as her. It's all for Todd. Barfs.
"Lose some sleep and say that you tried." - 'Auto-suggestion' by Joy Division. Exactly. That's Todd in 'Answer' in a nutshell. I can't believe this book.
P.s. I don't believe that Cillian and Ben were the only homosexual couple in Prentisstown. I don't believe that Todd didn't at least overhear wishes to bugger his ass. Ness wasn't afraid of torture scenes so why not this? He definitely wasn't afraid of homosexuality. He wasn't afraid of rape. What gives? (The only thing he seemed to be afraid of was living up to the oft said statement that people can pick themselves up again if they fall. If that were true than why was nearly every other character a sheep!?)
P.s.s. I knew that Manchee was going to die the moment that Todd appreciated him. That's like signing his death warrant! I don't think I need to say that I would have picked the dog over Viola. I believed in Manchee's heart if not his mind. Sobs!
P.s.s.s. Todd should have also learned how to read without the ability just being given to him by the Mayor. Way to avoid any growth there, Ness. He's unreasonably angry to anyone who even brings his illiteracy up. What are you trying to tell us here by not making him work for it at all? That negates the entire point of the series, doesn't it? At least the one you said about how people deaden themselves to information overload. And then your hero doesn't ever have to face up to the anger he feels that he cannot read? He's given, not by choice, the ability through mind control. Is that what the spackle's collective noise highway is supposed to be? About being told and not about listening? How is that choice? Are you trying to tell your readers that you shouldn't earn anything, or face up to your limitations? This says more about Todd, and Ness's values for his character and world, than I ever could.
And what happened to the Patrick Ness who wrote that Todd and Viola clung to each other only because they had no one else? Why? Why?! Why would Viola let go of everyone else? Don't tell me it is because Todd is inherently more special than anyone else. Don't you dare say that.
Ps.s.s.s.s I'm also ticked off that Ness tells us (via the Mayor, of course) that Todd is a BETTER PERSON than Davy Prentiss. Todd is his "leader". They almost had a relationship until Ness decided it was worth more to just tell us that Todd rubbed off on him by being a better person. They couldn't get to know each other. Nope, Todd had to be the leader. Equality is for the dogs, eh? Listening to people... Nope. Leader bullshit. Again. Um, even though Todd rolled over same as Davy. (Oh wait, it was for super special Viola. So other people don't count. It's for VIOLA. She's special.) They hailed from the same culture, suffered under the same numbing mental pressure and both refused to think for themselves. How about investigating the why of that? No? How the fuck is Todd a BETTER PERSON than Davy? (Davy had the influence of the Mayor. Todd had Ben. In my mind, that makes Todd LUCKY, not better by rights.) Because the author says he is?! I guess the second book was kinda sucky in the same was as the third. Why was I surprised?
You are not being yourself if you don't even try.
February 22, 2016
*sigh*
I'm in love. I'm in love. I'm in love.
*heart eyes*
“That's the secret of this planet, Todd. Communication, real and open, so we can finally understand each other for once.”
So, now that I've managed to gather my thoughts a bit, I'll try and write some form of a review for the whole trilogy rather than the last instalment alone.
First off, I can't recommend this trilogy enough. It's unique. It's original and goddamn near perfect... No, it IS perfect.
This book is about a boy who lives in a town of men - and men alone - where they can hear each other's thoughts. Every little secret, every detail is not private to you anymore and can be heard by everyone. Then he stumbles upon an 'area' and he's unable to hear their thoughts. At all. And the story takes off from there.
I feel that it is best to go into these books knowing as little as possible. It's where its beauty lies. But essentially, it's a journey of self-discovery in its most purest and honest form. It's discovering what it means to be human, to understand the world you live in, to know that not everything is black and white, that good people can become monstrous and that the worst of people still deserve redemption, to just accept differences for what it is rather than to look at it in a foreign and judgemental way, or what politics and the mainstream media like to do which is to either exploit it or control and colonise it. I love how this applies to us today, where the attack is now on ethnic and religious minorities.
There are more underlying themes Patrick Ness explores in incredible and careful detail. Where the reader is forced to think and put themselves in the characters shoes. It was extremely engaging and nerve wracking in that sense
I'm just in awe of Patrick Ness right now. Even though this is marketed as a young adult/children's book, mainly because the protagonists are so young and it's written in a phonetic and colloquial style — which I believed was EXTREMELY effective, at times gorgeously poetic — it is still by far one of the most sophisticated and intelligent reads I've come across.
I can't foresee anyone disliking it. And if you do, then you're the problem...
I kid.
I kid.
I'm in love. I'm in love. I'm in love.
*heart eyes*
“That's the secret of this planet, Todd. Communication, real and open, so we can finally understand each other for once.”
So, now that I've managed to gather my thoughts a bit, I'll try and write some form of a review for the whole trilogy rather than the last instalment alone.
First off, I can't recommend this trilogy enough. It's unique. It's original and goddamn near perfect... No, it IS perfect.
This book is about a boy who lives in a town of men - and men alone - where they can hear each other's thoughts. Every little secret, every detail is not private to you anymore and can be heard by everyone. Then he stumbles upon an 'area' and he's unable to hear their thoughts. At all. And the story takes off from there.
I feel that it is best to go into these books knowing as little as possible. It's where its beauty lies. But essentially, it's a journey of self-discovery in its most purest and honest form. It's discovering what it means to be human, to understand the world you live in, to know that not everything is black and white, that good people can become monstrous and that the worst of people still deserve redemption, to just accept differences for what it is rather than to look at it in a foreign and judgemental way, or what politics and the mainstream media like to do which is to either exploit it or control and colonise it. I love how this applies to us today, where the attack is now on ethnic and religious minorities.
There are more underlying themes Patrick Ness explores in incredible and careful detail. Where the reader is forced to think and put themselves in the characters shoes. It was extremely engaging and nerve wracking in that sense
I'm just in awe of Patrick Ness right now. Even though this is marketed as a young adult/children's book, mainly because the protagonists are so young and it's written in a phonetic and colloquial style — which I believed was EXTREMELY effective, at times gorgeously poetic — it is still by far one of the most sophisticated and intelligent reads I've come across.
I can't foresee anyone disliking it. And if you do, then you're the problem...
I kid.
I kid.
November 10, 2020
WHAT A FITTING ENDING TO A GREAT SERIES!
I really loved reading this series! And while this one did move a little too slow for my taste (sorry) I thought that the ending was absolutely brilliant! I also really enjoyed the character evolvement and the whole ambiguity about who's good and who's bad. That's always such a riveting theme, and it was handled really, really nicely here.
I really loved reading this series! And while this one did move a little too slow for my taste (sorry) I thought that the ending was absolutely brilliant! I also really enjoyed the character evolvement and the whole ambiguity about who's good and who's bad. That's always such a riveting theme, and it was handled really, really nicely here.
November 26, 2019
So I am done. My emotional rollercoaster is over. Thanks to everyone who took part in it.
As always, I have more to say then I am actually going to write down because most of the time I have the feeling that I don't have enough words to describe what's going on in my mind. (And well, as being said before, I am not a native speaker, forgive me. But this is what comes close to my first proper review in a long time!)
But I think.. I should just start:
There's so much depth in this book; Are the Spackle right for what they are doing? Are the humans? Can you make a war personal? Isn't war always personal even if it's just hate? - and so much more you actually have to consider when talking about this book but I just can't I can't I can't I just wanna say that Patrick Ness is the first author who described war in a - let's say- distopian book best. He made it so relastic to me. You actually don't know who's good and who's not. Obviously the Mayor should always be blamed for everything but it is not that easy in the last book of this trilogy.
The character development of every single one was amazing and something I really didn't expect but enjoyed.
Altough I have to mentioned that sometimes I didn't like how things where going between Todd and Viola but that's a spoilery thingie so we leave it as it is.
It is still really hard for me to describe what I feel for the characters because none of them is flat or anything and I am sure everyone has done bad things in this book but at the end.. at the end I have to say I still love them with all my heart.
Ok Wilf is precious. But he always has been sooooo
As in the other two books Patrick Ness writing was great and really pulled you into the story until you are unable to let go. But I have to admit that I had the feeling the story was a bit slow at the beginning and the first middle. On the other hand: maybe this was just me? From a rational point of view the story didn't have a lack of anything. Todd and Viola, a good plot, mind-blowing plot twists and the world finally got more depth.
To come to the world and the Spackle now... I finally understand them and this feels fantastic. The concept of Noise is more logical then ever. Nevertheless it still feels like I am missing something out. You know what I would really admire? A book about the world of "New World" the creatures and everything we didn't get a defintion for in the trilogy. This has potential. And I have a desire that needs to be satisfied tbh :c
The end of the trilogy was... surprsing but in most parts it was like I wished it would be. I can't say more because this would contain spoilers and so lets just say I enjoyed it, I nearly cried a bit and my heart was fully entitled in the story of Todd and Viola. (My babys.)
Definitely one of my favourite new trilogies. I would recommend this to everyone!
It is really something unqiue in the world of all those YA books who are so similar to each other.
As always, I have more to say then I am actually going to write down because most of the time I have the feeling that I don't have enough words to describe what's going on in my mind. (And well, as being said before, I am not a native speaker, forgive me. But this is what comes close to my first proper review in a long time!)
But I think.. I should just start:
There's so much depth in this book; Are the Spackle right for what they are doing? Are the humans? Can you make a war personal? Isn't war always personal even if it's just hate? - and so much more you actually have to consider when talking about this book but I just can't I can't I can't I just wanna say that Patrick Ness is the first author who described war in a - let's say- distopian book best. He made it so relastic to me. You actually don't know who's good and who's not. Obviously the Mayor should always be blamed for everything but it is not that easy in the last book of this trilogy.
“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts.”
The character development of every single one was amazing and something I really didn't expect but enjoyed.
Altough I have to mentioned that sometimes I didn't like how things where going between Todd and Viola but that's a spoilery thingie so we leave it as it is.
It is still really hard for me to describe what I feel for the characters because none of them is flat or anything and I am sure everyone has done bad things in this book but at the end.. at the end I have to say I still love them with all my heart.
Ok Wilf is precious. But he always has been sooooo
“It's always darkest before the dawn, Todd.”
I look at him, baffled. “No, it ain't! What kinda stupid saying is that? It's always lightest before the dawn!”
As in the other two books Patrick Ness writing was great and really pulled you into the story until you are unable to let go. But I have to admit that I had the feeling the story was a bit slow at the beginning and the first middle. On the other hand: maybe this was just me? From a rational point of view the story didn't have a lack of anything. Todd and Viola, a good plot, mind-blowing plot twists and the world finally got more depth.
“Because even the one you hate leaves an absence when they go.”
To come to the world and the Spackle now... I finally understand them and this feels fantastic. The concept of Noise is more logical then ever. Nevertheless it still feels like I am missing something out. You know what I would really admire? A book about the world of "New World" the creatures and everything we didn't get a defintion for in the trilogy. This has potential. And I have a desire that needs to be satisfied tbh :c
“What a sad thing men are. Can’t do nothing good without being so weak we have to mess it up. Can’t build something up without tearing it
down.”
The end of the trilogy was... surprsing but in most parts it was like I wished it would be. I can't say more because this would contain spoilers and so lets just say I enjoyed it, I nearly cried a bit and my heart was fully entitled in the story of Todd and Viola. (My babys.)
Definitely one of my favourite new trilogies. I would recommend this to everyone!
It is really something unqiue in the world of all those YA books who are so similar to each other.
March 29, 2016
That was some solid and furious ending. Maybe a bit larger that it should’ve been but powerful in the lessons it wants to deliver, and emotional in its characters. I’m very happy I got to finish this trilogy that has so many depths under the already great superficial plot lines. Highly recomended for any YA lover looking for a mature reading.
Choices may be unbelievably hard but they’re never impossible.
Cuando un libro centra toda su historia en algo muy pequeño y lo repite mucho puede llegar a hartar. Lo cual me paso a mí y por eso no le doy las 5 estrellas. De repente fue mucho Viola/Todd y que todo dependiera de que uno fuera a salvar al otro o así. De ahí en fuera este libro y la trilogía en general es increíble.
Empieza y termina con destrucción y guerra, ya que empieza y termina con grupos de gente que han acumulado mucho odio o poder. Y entender lo fácil que es para el humano crear guerra que paz es una gran trama para leer, si se desenvuelve tan bien como aquí.
Una historia con mucha inocencia a pesar de las crueles tramas que tiene y las incontables situaciones duras por las que hace pasar a sus protagonistas.
Las decisiones difíciles marcaran a nuestros personajes y los harán madurar de una forma cruel pero necesaria, enfocándose más en sus grises que en sus blancos o negros y te hará cambiar de opinión sobre muchos de ellos y venerar menos a quienes creías más puros de intenciones. Y junto con la intensidad que la escritura de Ness aporta se siente como un libro mucho más serio que el promedio YA y eso es algo que no puedo más que aplaudir.
Altamente recomendado. Espero poder leer las historias cortas pronto. A monster calls sigue siendo mi libro favorito del autor pero sin lugar a dudas Patrick Ness sabe llegar al corazón de sus lectores.
War makes monsters of men.
Choices may be unbelievably hard but they’re never impossible.
Cuando un libro centra toda su historia en algo muy pequeño y lo repite mucho puede llegar a hartar. Lo cual me paso a mí y por eso no le doy las 5 estrellas. De repente fue mucho Viola/Todd y que todo dependiera de que uno fuera a salvar al otro o así. De ahí en fuera este libro y la trilogía en general es increíble.
Empieza y termina con destrucción y guerra, ya que empieza y termina con grupos de gente que han acumulado mucho odio o poder. Y entender lo fácil que es para el humano crear guerra que paz es una gran trama para leer, si se desenvuelve tan bien como aquí.
Una historia con mucha inocencia a pesar de las crueles tramas que tiene y las incontables situaciones duras por las que hace pasar a sus protagonistas.
Las decisiones difíciles marcaran a nuestros personajes y los harán madurar de una forma cruel pero necesaria, enfocándose más en sus grises que en sus blancos o negros y te hará cambiar de opinión sobre muchos de ellos y venerar menos a quienes creías más puros de intenciones. Y junto con la intensidad que la escritura de Ness aporta se siente como un libro mucho más serio que el promedio YA y eso es algo que no puedo más que aplaudir.
Altamente recomendado. Espero poder leer las historias cortas pronto. A monster calls sigue siendo mi libro favorito del autor pero sin lugar a dudas Patrick Ness sabe llegar al corazón de sus lectores.
War makes monsters of men.
July 2, 2017
Definitivno najslabija knjiga trilogije.
Malo vise me je smorio rat na 500 strana.
Malo vise me je smorio rat na 500 strana.
August 13, 2017
*** 2.65 ***
"...“Worst is the one who knows better and does nothing.” ..."
I don't get it... I think this is the moment I figure I am reading this series wrong, because I stuck with it to the end and I still had some major issues with it. Most of all, the two teenage main characters, Tod and Viola. It is very hard to keep on reading when you strongly dislike the leading couple and where everything and everyone makes you extremely angry. I had this constant buzz, or noise, of anger simmering under my skin, ready to explode every twentieth time Todd or Viola would say in the most dramatic and emotive way possible, the other person's name! I am so happy I don't know anyone with either name, because I would not be able to handle it if I hear those names ever again😈! But I digress...
So, the third and last book in the series began exactly where the previous one ended. The President is in control of the city and even more so of all the men around him. Somehow the crazy maniac, who has been working on controlling his noise (thoughts the Human men and all native to the planet creatures radiate spontaneously) for a while now, has figured out how to mind-control others who also have "the noise"... So this despicable human being has been obsessed with this teenager Todd, whom he likes better than his son, because he is showing similar to his mental abilities. That obsession by itself was creepy, should have been enough for Tod to distrust the fucker and stay away from him. But it wasn't only that! The President had tried to kill him, his girlfriend, his fathers, all women (after torturing them for pleasure, raping them, drowning them, and branding them like cattle, allowing his men to do the same), and enslaved and tried to annihilate the native peoples of the Land... You would think all of that would be enough for Tod to stay as far away from Prentice as is possible, but no. Todd becomes his besty, with delusions that by staying with him he will rub off some of his good will and hopes for peaceful and happy future and unity between the human fractions and the local Spekle, somehow changing President Prentice and redeeming him. At best this was naive, at worst completely stupid! At least Viola never forgot how truly irredeemable he is. But again, she didn't have the noise and she was not as susceptible to the insidiously damaging mental influence of the megalomaniac asshole!
"...“War makes monsters of men, you once said to me Todd. Well, so does too much knowledge. Too much knowledge of your fellow man, too much knowledge of his weakness, his pathetic greed and vanity, and how laughably easy it is to control him.” ..."
However, Viola showed her immaturity from beginning to end. She was ready to start a war which would kill thousands in order to keep her boyfriend safe, but with time you would think she has learned the importance of not making war personal and think of the big picture. Hell nooooo, that would be to much to ask! Even when the faith of the World was in her hands, she was still ready to choose her fillings for Todd above all else😈. I know some might find this Romantic, but I find it demeaning to all young people, assuming that they would be this selfish and indifferent to all but their first love, to the point of destroying humanity and themselves as a result... At least I hope that this is not a likely emotional response, because otherwise we are living in a world doomed to self-destruction by ignorance...😧.
"...“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts.”..."
In the whole book I loved the Land, the local native population name for themselves, the most. They are part of the ecological system on a planet where all creatures communicate through their noise, creating its collective consciousness and balance... They refer to the Humans as The Clearing, an empty space, like a scar on the Land, and they have brought only pain and destruction ... 1017, one of the enslaved Land who ran away when the President killed all of his brethren in the settlement, has Returned to the Land and the leader of his people, The Sky, decides that the lives of those Spekle/Land killed need to be avenged. We see the pain 1017 feels for the brutal treatment and loss of loved ones, the anger, loneliness, rage, need for reparations, desire to see his enemies die, as well as fear of the future, all so similar to the feelings of the likely oppressed women and controlled men under the President's regime... Yet, he is different from his kind, having lived all of his life among Humans as a slave, adopting many of their ways, becoming more separate because of it... His noise is not in harmony as the rest and he grieves for this closeness being taken away from him...
Apart from the looming conflict between the two cultures, there is the well armed military who are under Prentice's control and Todd on one side, and they are violently opposed by a group of rebels, lead by an ambitious and strong willed woman and Viola on the other. There are also five space ships full of new Human settlers circling in orbit, who most probably bring with them an arsenal of weapons. Will the fractured Humans put their differences aside in order to meet the challenge of the natives. Could they solve things peacefully, or are they setting themselves up for mutual extermination?
"...“What a sad thing men are. Can’t do nothing good without being so weak we have to mess it up. Can’t build something up without tearing it down.”..."
I am not going to deny that I wanted to know how the story ended and this curiosity is what kept me reading when I wanted to throw my Kindle in disgust with all the terrible choices everyone was making all of the time! I choose to believe that this is Fantasy and only in a fictional life could people be this ignorant and annoying. I was pleased with the message of unity, understanding and need for hard choices in order to have a peaceful and prosperous existence. However, even in my most open-minded state I have a difficult time believing that a person like the President would waste his time, which is full of doing horrifying things in order to subjugate all beings on the planet, with an illiterate, petulant and whiny kid, who can't think of anything else but his Viola. Or that any of those hardened settlers would take the two 14 year olds seriously as leaders in time of war no matter what anyone says. Again, I tried to suspend belief and roll with it, but the characters and immaturity of the two of them didn't engender even a spark of respect in me as individuals, so I could not take it seriously. Thus, the final result for me was just anger, dissatisfied unfulfillment, and the desire never again to read/hear "TOdD!", "VIOLA!!", "TOOOOOdddD", "VIOoooLAAAAA!!!", and so on to infinity... It could have been a great story if only we had some main characters we could have some respect for...
I am not sure if I could recommend this series to anyone, mostly because I am not sure who the intended audience is and because it is an acquired taste. And the ending... Gahhh!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!
"...“Worst is the one who knows better and does nothing.” ..."
I don't get it... I think this is the moment I figure I am reading this series wrong, because I stuck with it to the end and I still had some major issues with it. Most of all, the two teenage main characters, Tod and Viola. It is very hard to keep on reading when you strongly dislike the leading couple and where everything and everyone makes you extremely angry. I had this constant buzz, or noise, of anger simmering under my skin, ready to explode every twentieth time Todd or Viola would say in the most dramatic and emotive way possible, the other person's name! I am so happy I don't know anyone with either name, because I would not be able to handle it if I hear those names ever again😈! But I digress...
So, the third and last book in the series began exactly where the previous one ended. The President is in control of the city and even more so of all the men around him. Somehow the crazy maniac, who has been working on controlling his noise (thoughts the Human men and all native to the planet creatures radiate spontaneously) for a while now, has figured out how to mind-control others who also have "the noise"... So this despicable human being has been obsessed with this teenager Todd, whom he likes better than his son, because he is showing similar to his mental abilities. That obsession by itself was creepy, should have been enough for Tod to distrust the fucker and stay away from him. But it wasn't only that! The President had tried to kill him, his girlfriend, his fathers, all women (after torturing them for pleasure, raping them, drowning them, and branding them like cattle, allowing his men to do the same), and enslaved and tried to annihilate the native peoples of the Land... You would think all of that would be enough for Tod to stay as far away from Prentice as is possible, but no. Todd becomes his besty, with delusions that by staying with him he will rub off some of his good will and hopes for peaceful and happy future and unity between the human fractions and the local Spekle, somehow changing President Prentice and redeeming him. At best this was naive, at worst completely stupid! At least Viola never forgot how truly irredeemable he is. But again, she didn't have the noise and she was not as susceptible to the insidiously damaging mental influence of the megalomaniac asshole!
"...“War makes monsters of men, you once said to me Todd. Well, so does too much knowledge. Too much knowledge of your fellow man, too much knowledge of his weakness, his pathetic greed and vanity, and how laughably easy it is to control him.” ..."
However, Viola showed her immaturity from beginning to end. She was ready to start a war which would kill thousands in order to keep her boyfriend safe, but with time you would think she has learned the importance of not making war personal and think of the big picture. Hell nooooo, that would be to much to ask! Even when the faith of the World was in her hands, she was still ready to choose her fillings for Todd above all else😈. I know some might find this Romantic, but I find it demeaning to all young people, assuming that they would be this selfish and indifferent to all but their first love, to the point of destroying humanity and themselves as a result... At least I hope that this is not a likely emotional response, because otherwise we are living in a world doomed to self-destruction by ignorance...😧.
"...“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts.”..."
In the whole book I loved the Land, the local native population name for themselves, the most. They are part of the ecological system on a planet where all creatures communicate through their noise, creating its collective consciousness and balance... They refer to the Humans as The Clearing, an empty space, like a scar on the Land, and they have brought only pain and destruction ... 1017, one of the enslaved Land who ran away when the President killed all of his brethren in the settlement, has Returned to the Land and the leader of his people, The Sky, decides that the lives of those Spekle/Land killed need to be avenged. We see the pain 1017 feels for the brutal treatment and loss of loved ones, the anger, loneliness, rage, need for reparations, desire to see his enemies die, as well as fear of the future, all so similar to the feelings of the likely oppressed women and controlled men under the President's regime... Yet, he is different from his kind, having lived all of his life among Humans as a slave, adopting many of their ways, becoming more separate because of it... His noise is not in harmony as the rest and he grieves for this closeness being taken away from him...
Apart from the looming conflict between the two cultures, there is the well armed military who are under Prentice's control and Todd on one side, and they are violently opposed by a group of rebels, lead by an ambitious and strong willed woman and Viola on the other. There are also five space ships full of new Human settlers circling in orbit, who most probably bring with them an arsenal of weapons. Will the fractured Humans put their differences aside in order to meet the challenge of the natives. Could they solve things peacefully, or are they setting themselves up for mutual extermination?
"...“What a sad thing men are. Can’t do nothing good without being so weak we have to mess it up. Can’t build something up without tearing it down.”..."
I am not going to deny that I wanted to know how the story ended and this curiosity is what kept me reading when I wanted to throw my Kindle in disgust with all the terrible choices everyone was making all of the time! I choose to believe that this is Fantasy and only in a fictional life could people be this ignorant and annoying. I was pleased with the message of unity, understanding and need for hard choices in order to have a peaceful and prosperous existence. However, even in my most open-minded state I have a difficult time believing that a person like the President would waste his time, which is full of doing horrifying things in order to subjugate all beings on the planet, with an illiterate, petulant and whiny kid, who can't think of anything else but his Viola. Or that any of those hardened settlers would take the two 14 year olds seriously as leaders in time of war no matter what anyone says. Again, I tried to suspend belief and roll with it, but the characters and immaturity of the two of them didn't engender even a spark of respect in me as individuals, so I could not take it seriously. Thus, the final result for me was just anger, dissatisfied unfulfillment, and the desire never again to read/hear "TOdD!", "VIOLA!!", "TOOOOOdddD", "VIOoooLAAAAA!!!", and so on to infinity... It could have been a great story if only we had some main characters we could have some respect for...
I am not sure if I could recommend this series to anyone, mostly because I am not sure who the intended audience is and because it is an acquired taste. And the ending... Gahhh!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!
March 31, 2012
What a book, and what an ending! I couldn't have asked for more. Exceeded my expectations!
Initial Thoughts:
1. Love Todd. Definitely one of my favourite literary characters. His character development throughout this series is INSANE. A genuinely sweet, well intentioned character, you can't help but fall in love and root for Todd.
2. All of the characters are amazing. From the antagonists, and side characters, each had a unique purpose, and perspective in the book. Each character complemented each other.
3. Very quick read. The pacing is excellent. If we're not in the middle of an action scene, we see our characters grow and develop. The segues and continuity between the different perspectives is on point.
4. Deeper themes of war, hope, communication, love, humanity, and trust is handled beautifully. Made the plot, and the purpose of these characters more meaningful.
5. Closure is given to the main story arc. And the ending? OMG. I loved it. An outstanding way to leave the story open-ended. :)
The Chaos Walking trilogy is definitely my favourite series. The characters, plot, and theme is well rounded. AMAZING.
Click to check out my video review here!
Initial Thoughts:
1. Love Todd. Definitely one of my favourite literary characters. His character development throughout this series is INSANE. A genuinely sweet, well intentioned character, you can't help but fall in love and root for Todd.
2. All of the characters are amazing. From the antagonists, and side characters, each had a unique purpose, and perspective in the book. Each character complemented each other.
3. Very quick read. The pacing is excellent. If we're not in the middle of an action scene, we see our characters grow and develop. The segues and continuity between the different perspectives is on point.
4. Deeper themes of war, hope, communication, love, humanity, and trust is handled beautifully. Made the plot, and the purpose of these characters more meaningful.
5. Closure is given to the main story arc. And the ending? OMG. I loved it. An outstanding way to leave the story open-ended. :)
The Chaos Walking trilogy is definitely my favourite series. The characters, plot, and theme is well rounded. AMAZING.
Click to check out my video review here!
October 10, 2016
How do I begin to describe the awesomeness of this book? When I read The Knife of Never Letting Go, I liked it A LOT... but I never imagined that book would lead us to this masterpiece.
I really don't have words.
Just... wow.
I really don't have words.
Just... wow.
July 22, 2019
Attention. This review will contain spoilers, especially if you haven't read the first two books!
“It's not how we fall. It's how we get back up again.”
After finishing Ask and Answer I was a teeny tiny bit dissappinted in the series. More explanation: Yes, I still did like it, but did I like it more than The Knife of Never Letting Go? No way! The first book was very unique and original and amazing in every possible way. However, that doesn't mean I didn't live through pain and agony in the second book, but mostly at the end.
The difference with the first two books were that the first one was more fun and intriguing to read though the second one was more stressful yet more bland?
Moving on the third and last installement: I thought it would leave me with a slight disappointement like it did in the second book but Patrick Ness proved me wrong and I was happy for that, it was just what I needed. Action, angst, lots of adventure and of course the never ending agony that I felt throughout the entire book.
One of the things that I found weird and interesting in the first book was everytime I saw words which were written incorrectly I used to think that it was a typo or an editing problem but it wasn't. (Because the boys never learned how to read nor write in Prentisstown.) It’s kind of funny that the author kept that whole thing going through the trilogy, because it shows the uniqueness of the writing and we as in readers can experience how Todd thinks that the words should be written.
I still can't wrap my mind around Todd and Viola's ages. I mean they're only 13/14 and their stratigies were way better than the older people who had way more eperience than them. But, I also have a positive and negative thing to say about their friendship/relationship:
I loved how close they become in the series, how they trusted and relied on each other. It was too pure and sweet.
Unpopular opinion:
Although them being only in their early teens they loved each other truly, madly, deeply and most importantly romantically. That kind of threw me off a bit. Like, they're just children, they're not even 16 or so. Anyway, I didn't let that minor part ruin the trilogy for me.
Also, Viola gets irritated whenever she can't hear Todd's noise. She was being selfish about that, because both of them together and as apart from each other have been through so much yet there was lack of trust from Violet's side towards Todd.
Oh and the mayor? He just made the number 1 on my list of fictional book villains who are psychopaths on extreme level. Here's why:
The entire relationship with Todd and the mayor in Monster of Men was creepy, weird, manipulative and very unsettling. The mayor killed his own son without thinking about it for a second and replaced him with Todd just like that. I mean if that doesn’t scream psychopath I don’t know what else. I guess, he saw more “potential of a son” in Todd and then tried to have the impact of a father figure on him.
What I find confusing at first was the 3rd pov but after a couple of chapters of that it became normal. Before the Chaos Trilogy, I have read PoVs like that in Starbound series by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, and that also was very confusing at first but the more I read those chapters the more intriguing they have become, thus it wasn't a first time experience for me.
This entire trilogy was a solid 4 stars for me, and in my opinion that's a pretty reasonable rating. There were scenes, characters and incidents that I found unnecessary or wasn't fan of them, but that didn't stop me from not loving the series.
If u like sci-fi/dystopian, action-packed adventures and strong characters then I highly recommend this trilogy.
“It's not how we fall. It's how we get back up again.”
After finishing Ask and Answer I was a teeny tiny bit dissappinted in the series. More explanation: Yes, I still did like it, but did I like it more than The Knife of Never Letting Go? No way! The first book was very unique and original and amazing in every possible way. However, that doesn't mean I didn't live through pain and agony in the second book, but mostly at the end.
The difference with the first two books were that the first one was more fun and intriguing to read though the second one was more stressful yet more bland?
Moving on the third and last installement: I thought it would leave me with a slight disappointement like it did in the second book but Patrick Ness proved me wrong and I was happy for that, it was just what I needed. Action, angst, lots of adventure and of course the never ending agony that I felt throughout the entire book.
One of the things that I found weird and interesting in the first book was everytime I saw words which were written incorrectly I used to think that it was a typo or an editing problem but it wasn't. (Because the boys never learned how to read nor write in Prentisstown.) It’s kind of funny that the author kept that whole thing going through the trilogy, because it shows the uniqueness of the writing and we as in readers can experience how Todd thinks that the words should be written.
I still can't wrap my mind around Todd and Viola's ages. I mean they're only 13/14 and their stratigies were way better than the older people who had way more eperience than them. But, I also have a positive and negative thing to say about their friendship/relationship:
I loved how close they become in the series, how they trusted and relied on each other. It was too pure and sweet.
Unpopular opinion:
Although them being only in their early teens they loved each other truly, madly, deeply and most importantly romantically. That kind of threw me off a bit. Like, they're just children, they're not even 16 or so. Anyway, I didn't let that minor part ruin the trilogy for me.
Also, Viola gets irritated whenever she can't hear Todd's noise. She was being selfish about that, because both of them together and as apart from each other have been through so much yet there was lack of trust from Violet's side towards Todd.
Oh and the mayor? He just made the number 1 on my list of fictional book villains who are psychopaths on extreme level. Here's why:
The entire relationship with Todd and the mayor in Monster of Men was creepy, weird, manipulative and very unsettling. The mayor killed his own son without thinking about it for a second and replaced him with Todd just like that. I mean if that doesn’t scream psychopath I don’t know what else. I guess, he saw more “potential of a son” in Todd and then tried to have the impact of a father figure on him.
What I find confusing at first was the 3rd pov but after a couple of chapters of that it became normal. Before the Chaos Trilogy, I have read PoVs like that in Starbound series by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, and that also was very confusing at first but the more I read those chapters the more intriguing they have become, thus it wasn't a first time experience for me.
This entire trilogy was a solid 4 stars for me, and in my opinion that's a pretty reasonable rating. There were scenes, characters and incidents that I found unnecessary or wasn't fan of them, but that didn't stop me from not loving the series.
If u like sci-fi/dystopian, action-packed adventures and strong characters then I highly recommend this trilogy.
February 18, 2015
The trilogy progressively got worse, and this final installment was just plain tedious. The one star was more an award to myself for getting through it.
The dialogue is extremely repetitive. The length of the novel basically consists of "Viola" "Todd" "Viola?" "Todd!" "Viola!" "Todd?"
"VIOLA!!!"
All of which is emphasised in a variety of fonts, italics and bolded? text. I wager the book could've been halved in size if they'd omitted the constant declarations of each other's name.
Secondly, in the previous installment, The Ask and The Answer, Todd was the only character I'd grown wary of. This book however endeavours to make every single character insufferable - to the point where death is wished upon each and every one of them. Todd -I still don't understand why he was supposed to be so important, all he could do was projectile the words (direct quote) "VIOLA!!!!!!!!!!!" at people and mind control them into fetching his horse more water whilst feeling vaguely (but not really) guilty about it. He was also excruciatingly insistent on threatening people's lives if they dared hurt Viola which everyone knew he was incapable of carrying through with anyway "boy who couldn't kill" and all, so the effect was just repetitive and unnecessary. This phrase also had a regular appearance "if you ever hurt her, if you even touch her, I'LL KILL YOU" (hmmmmm, sure). And where was the retribution for branding all the women and spackle? The lil twerp got no more than a tap on the wrist for his lapse of judgement; meanwhile the women are off losing limbs on a hilltop.
Thirdly, the plot just came across as lazy and so many alternative outcomes that I'd guessed to possible twists were (in my opinion) a lot better than what actually happened. For example, the Mayor should have ended on a high in all his evil mass manipulator glory instead of turning out to be this sniveling wannabe dad - when reading to Todd his "ma's book" he could've completely manipulated the entire situation and read it wording it to his own advantage. Later "VIOLA!!!!!" could have read it and realised this act of evil genius - discovering his true agenda (although the true nature of his character was never really in question except to Todd whom, lets be honest, was beyond thick). Similarly, Mistress Coyle, who'd been mistreated from the get go, should have been given anything but the lousy conclusion that she got and, despite the dramatics of her actions, about three pages later, everyone and their goldfish memory spans seemed to have forgotten she'd existed anyway! Bizarre.
My final qualm with the novel was the dumb ending. Ambiguity was unnecessary - I was quite content with Todd's death. However, after slogging through 600-odd pages, we didn't even get to see a glimpse of the world the convoy would be settling into - instead it was left with everyone wondering whether the war was still rampant (on various hilltops and what have you).
So, all in all I would not, asides from the first book, recommend this trilogy to anyone. It was a dismal execution of what could've been a good idea.
The dialogue is extremely repetitive. The length of the novel basically consists of "Viola" "Todd" "Viola?" "Todd!" "Viola!" "Todd?"
"VIOLA!!!"
All of which is emphasised in a variety of fonts, italics and bolded? text. I wager the book could've been halved in size if they'd omitted the constant declarations of each other's name.
Secondly, in the previous installment, The Ask and The Answer, Todd was the only character I'd grown wary of. This book however endeavours to make every single character insufferable - to the point where death is wished upon each and every one of them. Todd -I still don't understand why he was supposed to be so important, all he could do was projectile the words (direct quote) "VIOLA!!!!!!!!!!!" at people and mind control them into fetching his horse more water whilst feeling vaguely (but not really) guilty about it. He was also excruciatingly insistent on threatening people's lives if they dared hurt Viola which everyone knew he was incapable of carrying through with anyway "boy who couldn't kill" and all, so the effect was just repetitive and unnecessary. This phrase also had a regular appearance "if you ever hurt her, if you even touch her, I'LL KILL YOU" (hmmmmm, sure). And where was the retribution for branding all the women and spackle? The lil twerp got no more than a tap on the wrist for his lapse of judgement; meanwhile the women are off losing limbs on a hilltop.
Thirdly, the plot just came across as lazy and so many alternative outcomes that I'd guessed to possible twists were (in my opinion) a lot better than what actually happened. For example, the Mayor should have ended on a high in all his evil mass manipulator glory instead of turning out to be this sniveling wannabe dad - when reading to Todd his "ma's book" he could've completely manipulated the entire situation and read it wording it to his own advantage. Later "VIOLA!!!!!" could have read it and realised this act of evil genius - discovering his true agenda (although the true nature of his character was never really in question except to Todd whom, lets be honest, was beyond thick). Similarly, Mistress Coyle, who'd been mistreated from the get go, should have been given anything but the lousy conclusion that she got and, despite the dramatics of her actions, about three pages later, everyone and their goldfish memory spans seemed to have forgotten she'd existed anyway! Bizarre.
My final qualm with the novel was the dumb ending. Ambiguity was unnecessary - I was quite content with Todd's death. However, after slogging through 600-odd pages, we didn't even get to see a glimpse of the world the convoy would be settling into - instead it was left with everyone wondering whether the war was still rampant (on various hilltops and what have you).
So, all in all I would not, asides from the first book, recommend this trilogy to anyone. It was a dismal execution of what could've been a good idea.
May 1, 2010
Reading Monsters of Men is like being on a roller coaster. At first it feels fairly slow, with tension building and building, and then you're hurtling down and hanging on for dear life. It took me several days to get through the first 200 pages or so, and then the last 400 I polished off in several hours.
The moral ambiguity of The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer (can Patrick Ness title a book or what?) continues as Todd and Viola attempt to negotiate peace among two human factions and the natives of the planet where the humans have settled. One of the things that intrigues me about this series as children's/YA reading is that Todd does some really, really terrible things, to the point where you wonder how he can possibly come back from them. Hence the title, which comes from the statement that "war makes monsters of men." Redemption is a major theme, along with the difficulty of putting aside blame and revenge for the greater good.
I always have a tough time when I've fallen for characters who then get put through hell, and Todd and Viola had me pretty early on, so I spent a good part of the book feeling anxious for them. The author keeps the reader hanging right up until the last page. Monsters of Men, like the first two books, is not a warm and fuzzy read, but it is a satisfying end to the trilogy, and I look forward to more books by Patrick Ness.
The moral ambiguity of The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer (can Patrick Ness title a book or what?) continues as Todd and Viola attempt to negotiate peace among two human factions and the natives of the planet where the humans have settled. One of the things that intrigues me about this series as children's/YA reading is that Todd does some really, really terrible things, to the point where you wonder how he can possibly come back from them. Hence the title, which comes from the statement that "war makes monsters of men." Redemption is a major theme, along with the difficulty of putting aside blame and revenge for the greater good.
I always have a tough time when I've fallen for characters who then get put through hell, and Todd and Viola had me pretty early on, so I spent a good part of the book feeling anxious for them. The author keeps the reader hanging right up until the last page. Monsters of Men, like the first two books, is not a warm and fuzzy read, but it is a satisfying end to the trilogy, and I look forward to more books by Patrick Ness.
March 9, 2021
Patrick Ness’ modus operandi for Monsters of Men seems to be: take your absolute worst nightmare, multiply it by infinity, set it on fire, poke it and make it angry , and then blindfold yourself so that it has the advantage over you in a fight. Everything that could go wrong, goes wrong at the worst possible time. Neither you nor the characters will catch a break as Ness takes our protagonists, Todd and Viola, on a perilous journey that rivals Samwise and Frodo’s quest to destroy the One Ring. It’s wildly entertaining with a mix of suspense, political intrigue, and philosophical musings. Take a deep breath and preemptively cancel all your plans before you start this trilogy.
Buddy read with the lovely Katie. Thank you for putting up with the walls of text.
Buddy read with the lovely Katie. Thank you for putting up with the walls of text.
April 12, 2015
5 effing Stars for Monsters of Men and 4.9 Stars for the entire series.
WOW....just Wow. This is one of those books or actually it is an entire series that I will have the most difficult time putting into words how fantastic it is.
There are so many great moments and beautiful writing that I'm amazed by it all.
The thing about war is there is never a winner. Both sides lose; the winner is the one that loses the least. Ness did a fantastic job of showing the lengths that people go to for what they determine to be right. There is always a justification, a reason or a sense of logic for what must be done. Ness shows how that applies to all sides and he does it in a way that you can empathize with all sides and then at the same time be angry with them. Every side has good and bad people and Todd and Viola are small cogs in a machine just trying to make all the parts work together to be better. They are striving for peace against those who want to use war to get it.
“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts.”
In the Knife of Letting go everything was from Todd’s perspective, in the Ask and the Answer it was Todd and Viola, in Monsters of Men it is Todd, Viola and 1017. The complexity of the plot always growing with each new book. The perspective from the Spackle side of the war took a little time to get used to because the language of it was so different from the other perspectives. That was the genius of it though because they are foreign and it should be that different. By the end I actually loved that PoV the most because it really showed what noise could be if you had evolved with it.
Todd and Viola solidify a place in my top five YA couples. In three books there is barely any physical contact or declarations of love between them but it is undeniable the love they share for each other. The bond and connection they have it is what real love is and not the infatuations or lust of other YA novels presented to the reader as love.
“You're the thing that matters to me, Todd. Out of this whole planet, you're the only thing that matters.”
“Sizewise, she's always been just smaller than me.
But I think of her and I feel like she's as big as the world.”
The Mayor is such a complex villain, manipulative and cunning to the point you almost think maybe he can be redeemed at times. The interactions between him and Todd were filled with worry as I wasn’t sure who was affecting who more. Both Todd and the Mayor changed each other. Mistress Coyle also plays a great antagonist. She has so many redeeming qualities but at the same time she is the worst kind of person as well twisting those same qualities in others for her purposes to win.
“even when peaceful cooperation is the obvious thing, the only thing that will keep any of us alive- There are still people who won't make that choice”
The entire series ended fantastically and I went through an emotional ringer by the time it was all said and done. This is a series that doesn’t leave you right away. There are things that will probably stick with me for life and it changed a few of the ways I think about the world and war and just different cultures in general. No culture is all good or bad and sometimes it is only a few people driving the many, but that doesn’t mean they are taking them where they want to go.
Psst : You should read Snowscape like directly after this….The last line in the story made me smile for a long time.
WOW....just Wow. This is one of those books or actually it is an entire series that I will have the most difficult time putting into words how fantastic it is.
There are so many great moments and beautiful writing that I'm amazed by it all.
The thing about war is there is never a winner. Both sides lose; the winner is the one that loses the least. Ness did a fantastic job of showing the lengths that people go to for what they determine to be right. There is always a justification, a reason or a sense of logic for what must be done. Ness shows how that applies to all sides and he does it in a way that you can empathize with all sides and then at the same time be angry with them. Every side has good and bad people and Todd and Viola are small cogs in a machine just trying to make all the parts work together to be better. They are striving for peace against those who want to use war to get it.
“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts.”
In the Knife of Letting go everything was from Todd’s perspective, in the Ask and the Answer it was Todd and Viola, in Monsters of Men it is Todd, Viola and 1017. The complexity of the plot always growing with each new book. The perspective from the Spackle side of the war took a little time to get used to because the language of it was so different from the other perspectives. That was the genius of it though because they are foreign and it should be that different. By the end I actually loved that PoV the most because it really showed what noise could be if you had evolved with it.
Todd and Viola solidify a place in my top five YA couples. In three books there is barely any physical contact or declarations of love between them but it is undeniable the love they share for each other. The bond and connection they have it is what real love is and not the infatuations or lust of other YA novels presented to the reader as love.
“You're the thing that matters to me, Todd. Out of this whole planet, you're the only thing that matters.”
“Sizewise, she's always been just smaller than me.
But I think of her and I feel like she's as big as the world.”
The Mayor is such a complex villain, manipulative and cunning to the point you almost think maybe he can be redeemed at times. The interactions between him and Todd were filled with worry as I wasn’t sure who was affecting who more. Both Todd and the Mayor changed each other. Mistress Coyle also plays a great antagonist. She has so many redeeming qualities but at the same time she is the worst kind of person as well twisting those same qualities in others for her purposes to win.
“even when peaceful cooperation is the obvious thing, the only thing that will keep any of us alive- There are still people who won't make that choice”
The entire series ended fantastically and I went through an emotional ringer by the time it was all said and done. This is a series that doesn’t leave you right away. There are things that will probably stick with me for life and it changed a few of the ways I think about the world and war and just different cultures in general. No culture is all good or bad and sometimes it is only a few people driving the many, but that doesn’t mean they are taking them where they want to go.
Psst : You should read Snowscape like directly after this….The last line in the story made me smile for a long time.
June 30, 2016
ya harika harika harika harika harika
March 1, 2012
This one time, Monsters of Men punched me in the face.
It was awesome.
Proper review to come (eventually).
[Note: By "proper" I mean probably full of italics, caps, uncontrolled flailing about, and the literary equivalent of high pitched screeching].
Start making my t-shirt, Jo!
It was awesome.
Proper review to come (eventually).
[Note: By "proper" I mean probably full of italics, caps, uncontrolled flailing about, and the literary equivalent of high pitched screeching].
Start making my t-shirt, Jo!
September 23, 2016
After really enjoying the first two books in this series, I'm left with nothing but disappointment from the final book in the series. The whole way through I felt like I was reading something I had read before, the whole book was quite repetitive. The same issues just kept coming up over and over with nothing new to add and just going around in circles constantly. The only redeeming quality of this book was the addition of narration from 1017's point of view. It was interesting to learn more about the Spackle and their language. Despite this interesting addition, I'm still left with a bad taste in my mouth after finishing this book. And don't get me started on the ending. I suffered through 603 pages for it to end like that? Really?
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