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)

Best narration

Loved this book, in general, the story is very well done. The character development is so good. But the narration was the best I’ve heard in any audio book I’ve listened to. Most enjoyable experience because of that!

WOW

I decided to pick up this book after seeing the trailer for the first movie. I didn’t try to read too many extra reviews for the book because that honestly kind of ruined the last book (Artemis) that I read on here, but it seemed to be a well received Trilogy. I’d come so late in the game that they wrote a 50 minute prequel that the reviews said you could before or after the trilogy so I read the preview book thought it was pretty good and then I read this and boy howdy did that not disappoint. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more satisfied with a cliffhanger ending. Not in movies, tv or other books. I’m not simply satisfied because I knew there were two more books to read. Return of the Jedi was out when I watched the original Star Wars trilogy for the first time and I was extremely unsatisfied with the ending of Empire, still am to this day.

Anyways this was one of the best books/best audible narrations I’ve listened to all year. Stop reading reviews and just start it already.

Super excited to read the rest of this trilogy, and hope the movie(s) will do the book justice. I think Tom was a great choice for the lead.

action; suspense; good characters wit bad language

my children and I enjoyed the book, however I was not thrilled with the language. The characters had a lot and had distinct personalities., action and suspense to the last sentence.

CW

Just fantastic. My favorite books ever. If i could make kids read it in school, i would.

Best fiction I've read in a long time.

While carrying a dark undertone, this book has such creative and fascinating concepts from the incredibly believable world he builds to the plot line that it keeps you heavily invested. The writing is phenomenal, Nick Podhel is consistently an excellent narrator and this book is at the top of my favorites list right after Name of the Wind.

wasn't sure what to expect

I've read a couple of Patrick Ness's books (A Monster Calls and More Than This) and as with those two books this one surprised me and kept me going wanting to know what was going on. I definitely enjoyed the characters and the world created, but the story wasn't my favorite and I don't think I was as caught up in it as I have been with the previous books by Ness.

I'll still give the next book a shot, these books came highly recommended and the narration is top notch given the way the book is written.

compelling story (despite using God's name in vain

not for kids(language )but it will keep you in your car after you get home

Wow

Loved it! Had trouble putting it down. Can't wait to read book two. I will recommend it to others.

interesting premise but fell flat

I like the idea. but the reasoning for the chase to move the plot along didn't make much sense once it was revealed.

great story for the genre

I'm not a fan of post apocalyptic sci-fi, and this was a good book. it is the first of a series and ends on a cliffhanger. well written, very well performed. I'm not sure I'll be continuing the series, just because I'm ambivalent about the genre