The Knife of Never Letting Go

Chaos Walking, Book 1

By: Patrick Ness

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a major motion picture, the first novel in the riveting Chaos Walking trilogy by two-time Carnegie Medalist Patrick Ness.

“Narrated with crack dramatic and comic timing.... The cliffhanger ending is as effective as a shot to the gut.” --Booklist (starred review)

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him - something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

©2008 Patrick Ness (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Furiously paced, terrifying, exhilarating, and heartbreaking, The Knife of Never Letting Go is a book that haunts your imagination." ( Sunday Telegraph, UK)

"A penetrating look at...what it takes to be a man in a society gone horribly wrong." ( Booklist)

"A series opener as promising as it is provocative." ( The Horn Book)

Loved it. “Knowing isn’t always the truth.”

Main character comes to grips with the knowledge that he’s been fed a bunch of lies. Like the child of a racist realizing their parents are wrong, this character has to change every thought in his mind about everything he’s ever been taught. Good book. Metaphors galore.

An Enjoyable YA - Contains Mild Spoilers

I picked this one up after a YouTuber reviewed the movie and recommended it if and only if "you weren't burned out on YA dystopia." That would be a perfect description for the types of people that I would recommend this book to. If YA dystopia is your thing and you aren't tired of the the Hunger Games, Divergent, Giver overload of the past eight to ten years, then I would highly recommend this story.

The world that Ness has created is a living nightmare, but in the best possible way. It's not a world that I would have any desire to ever live in as there would literally never be a moment of peace and quiet anywhere. That just seems miserable. That being said, as a story concept, it is really, really interesting. The fact that keeping secrets is near impossible and the impact that has on the characters in both major and minor ways... Although it does raise a few clinical questions of how one secret in particular was kept quiet for so long.

Todd and Voila are both very strong characters in their own ways, and they both feel like they have equal levels of usefulness to the story. Neither felt like they were more integral than the other, and each served really important roles to the plot. Manchie was an adorable addition as well, and unbelievably helpful over the course of the story. However, authors: please stop killing dogs. The last few books I've read have all killed the pets and it's getting a little old at this point.

Aaron was a little annoying. I saw a GoodReads reviewer compare him to the Energizer Bunny and I could not agree more. He was almost inhuman with the things that he was managing to do and how quickly he was able to track them down. I was not very interested in his ideals or what he was presenting to the overall narrative. The villain that was actually keeping me engaged is one that I don't think we actually see until the end of the book. Just the threat of the mayor and the things he has done in the past, the things he is willing to do now, was enough to keep me hooked into Todd and Voila's journey and the world at large

Not what I expected!

It waz heart wrenching in very intriguing on the aspect of men and animals minds.

Beautifully written characters

This story and it's characters resonate with you for a long time after you finish the book. I've read the trilogy twice and it's become one of my favorite series. I look forward to reading more from Patrick Ness.

I can't listen to anymore. Spoiler alert!⚠️

Okay, so first I want to start off with this storyline was good to a point. I did not like how much he said, "GD." it was like 50 times, and this is just book one. I attempted to push past that & still give it a try. I was even planning on watching the movie. But here is the spoiler alert ⚠️ after Manchi is killed, and he passes out I could not take it anymore. It was bad enough with the language, but then the dog. My heart could not take it. I don't see myself finishing this book unless I find that the dog lives, which I am not holding my breath for that. Sorry, but I can't take this book, and I was really wanting to like it.

Good book

I thought this book was a wonderful start to the series. It wasn’t anything I was expecting it to be, it was better. I thought the performance was done spectacularly! Definitely a must read!

A Favorite From Teenagerdom

I read this book as a 15-16 year old and fell in love with the world. Listening to it now with a better understanding of philosophy and psychology it makes it that much better. A very thought provoking read and id recommend buying the physical book for anyone who enjoyed it just to see the way the noise is represented on the pages and the way misspelled words are used to highlight Todd's way of speaking. A brilliant use of the narrator being heard and using words themselves to tell a narrative. This book will always get a 10/10 from me.

Interesting but very turgid and repetitive.

This book is written in 1st person stream of consciousness. The hard won achievements of the good guys always seem to be wiped out more or less effortlessly by the bad guys. It's a difficult read, because events seem to leap out at the reader with no rhyme or reason. The loose threads of the plot may get bound up or just left dangling.

Mark Twain meets the Twilight zone!

This is a great book, and very well narrated. It sucked me in to downloading the series.

Here

Here I am
Here we are
Here we go
Here is all that matters.
I am here
We are