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| The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking) | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 6 reviews)
Sales Rank: 10857
Category: Book
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Candlewick
Studio: Candlewick
Manufacturer: Candlewick
Label: Candlewick
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.6
ISBN: 0763639311
EAN: 9780763639310
ASIN: 0763639311
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard ? and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret.
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him ? something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Basically flawed compulsory read November 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is indeed a compulsory read, even for one, like myself, who hates the typographical stuff the book at times indulges in.
However, at the end of the book a major flaw becomes apparent. It turns out that all men in Prentisstown have a terrible secret (I will not reveal what it is). The hero Todd is not aware of this, despite the fact that he hears the thoughts of all men all the time, even when they sleep (the so-called "Noise"). This stretches credulity beyond the breaking point, as far as I'm concerned. A pity.
 Compelling sci fi, with a message November 16, 2008
Male settlers of a distant planet who came with a religious mission brainwash their children to buy into an exceptionalist creed: their village is the only one on the planet, the natives are less than human, all the women in the village were killed by a virus deliberately released by the natives. Through the course of the book, the 13-year-old protagonist, Todd, learns that practically everything he learned from the grownups is false, and that charismatic leadership bent on domination combined with religious fundamentalism is a poisonous brew that can only lead to evil. Some of this doesn't completely add up: the virus that ostensibly killed the women also allows men to hear one another's thoughts, yet Todd in his 13 years never got even a glimpse of the truth? Nevertheless, a compelling first entry in a planned series. The level of violence in the book leads me to recommend this only for 12 and up.
 If it weren't for the ending, I'd rank it higher October 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Todd lives in Prentisstown, a dystopian nightmare where all women are dead and everyone can hear each other's thoughts (known as noise). As the only "boy", the youngest in the restless and violent town, Todd's only real companion is his (talking) dog, Manchee. When he discovers a girl in the swamp one day, his caretakers tell him he's in danger and he has to make a run for it.
As thus begins book one of the Chaos Walking trilogy. It's best to go into the book knowing only as much as Todd knows (which is surprisingly little considering no one's thoughts are private), so I won't go into spoilers here. Suffice to say that leaving Prentisstown considerably expands Todd's worldview and understanding. Todd is an intriguing character, a real innocent, with a voice that matches his lack of education.
The ideas here are very creative, especially in regards to the noise. It's interesting to see what animals have to say (not much of interest actually) and how differently the various settlements Todd encounters on his journey have dealt with the problem of broadcasting their every thought.
I cruised through this thinking the whole time that it's an A-/B+ book - until I hit the ending. The narrative is dark, but the ending is even darker and though it works on an intellectual level, it's an emotional sucker punch - a cliffhanger that makes you think the book must be missing some pages.
darker than Dark October 2, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
If Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials are supposed to be a darker Harry Potter, than Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series is shaping up to be a darker His Dark Materials.
The book starts in Prentisstown, where all men's Noise (thoughts) can be heard by everyone, and there aren't any women. Todd, 30 days away from his 13th birthday, at which point he will become a man, has been told that the Noise came with the same germ from the native inhabitants of the planet that killed all the women. But one day Todd starts finding out that everything he's known about his town and his planet is not what he's been told.
Ness opts to reveal the secrets to the reader as they are revealed to Todd, a technique that can be frustrating, but mostly works well. Most of the secrets are revealed (we think) by the end of this first book in a projected trilogy, but there's still plenty of suspense as to what actually happens to our hero and whether good will triumph over evil.
Wonderful book for children and adults alike September 16, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful novel that should be read by anyone who enjoys fantasy and/or science fiction. The story tells of a village in a world where only men exist. The main character, the youngest boy in the village, sets off on a magnificent and sometimes frightening and hopeless-seeming journey when he discovers a young girl. I read it in less than a day, unable to put down this gripping story. Cannot wait for the next book!
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