Monsters of Men

Publisher's Summary

The riveting Chaos Walking trilogy by two-time Carnegie Medalist Patrick Ness.

“This is science fiction at its best, and is a singular fusion of brutality and idealism that is, at last, perfectly human.” (Booklist, starred review)

As a world-ending war surges 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.

Listen to more Chaos Walking.

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

Best book in the trilogy

Any additional comments?

This series had me on the edge of my car seat. I would find myself sitting in the parking lot at work just to hear what was going to happen next. These books have made me laugh,cry and yell.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The Power of great writing, and great performances

What did you love best about Monsters of Men?

I have both read and listened to this entire series, so this review is for all three books in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I read a lot of YA fiction (that's where most of the best sci-fi/fantasy literature is being classified, these days), and on the whole, I have not been impressed with the sloppy, bland prose in many of the more popular series. I decided to try this series because of the narrator, Nick Podehl, who did such a fantastic job narrating the first two books of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles (The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear).

While I expected another great performance from Nick, I was not prepared for the power of Patrick Ness's writing. I'm not even sure how to describe the effect it had on me. He so effectively portrays the thoughts and feelings of his characters that it is like you are inside their heads to the point where reading or listening to this series can become physically exhausting or exhilarating or terrifying or desperate or confused or sad or whatever the character is going through, because he writes the way that people think, or at least the way that I think.

Normally, when I start a series that has already been completed, I will go through all of the books back to back, but the overwhelming intensity of the story gave me so much to think about and process that I had to take a few week's break between the books. This is not a happy, lighthearted series. It is about the real, deep evil that can exist in human beings. It is also about the innate goodness that can somehow grow even surrounded by this type of evil. It is about friendship, and sacrifice, and the decisions we make, and having to live with the consequences of our decisions. I guess I'm rambling now, so I'll just summarize by saying, this is powerful, breathtaking, thought provoking, important stuff. This story will get inside you, and stick with you long after you've finished it. I hope Patrick Ness continues to give the world more stories.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing, the writing, the writing! Patrick Ness is absolutely brilliant!

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nick Podehl was great in Name of the Wind, and Wise Man's Fear, as I mentioned. However, his performance in the Chaos Walking trilogy is gaspingly, jaw-droppingly amazing. I was blown away. The Ask and the Answer, and then Monsters of Men, also feature real powerhouse performances by Angela Dawe and McLeod Andrews that were equally stunning. I plan to look for other audiobooks narrated by Angela and McLeod. This was a rare case of the audiobook living up to, and many times surpassing, my expectations having read the books in print form as well. All three narrators deserve whatever equivalent that the audiobook world has of the Academy Awards.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It would be impossible to pick one, without mentioning major spoilers.

Any additional comments?

Read this series, or listen to this series. And then tell your friends to read or listen to this series.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

An Amazing End to an Amazing Trilogy

I have thoroughly enjoyed Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy. It's a brutal, imaginative, and unique series that will stay with me for a long time. And I'm so glad that I chose to listen to the entire trilogy on Audible. They cast incredible voice actors that were able to capture a full cast of characters, even as the POV shifted between three very different characters. An amazing end to an amazing trilogy, though I won't be mad if Patrick Ness decides to continue the trilogy.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing series!

I love the Chaos Walking books and the Audible books make it even better! Best book series there is!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow, wow, WOW!!

A most brilliant, beautiful, breathtaking conclusion to an amazing series. The narration here was as close to perfect as one can get. I was completely immersed in the story. I read the first two books; yet hearing this third and final installment became a seamless transition thanks to how wonderfully it was performed.

I feel grateful for the experience. Listening to the book took me away from at times a not all that pleasant reality.

The story itself deserves a mention, if only to address an issue others may confront when beginning this final chapter in this stunning trilogy. My best friend of nearly three decades, she and I almost always read the same books. Our tastes are that well matched. Given that she had a similar reaction, I’m betting we aren’t the only ones.

The first two books, they are full of hope, and promise. There’s a foreshadowing throughout that just maybe, things will find a way to settle, such that all the groups at the center of the story will ultimately come to a satisfying compromise. This third book, however, from its very beginning, it buries its readers in violence and cruelty, followed by evil beyond what most of us may have come to expect from the series.

Much of the book occurs in a setting that is rife with such wickedness. There is so much of everything that is BAD and WRONG with humanity reflected in here. My best friend abandoned the book less than 15% into the story. Me personally? I struggled with it all. Whereas the first two books only took me a day or two to complete, this one took over a week. It wasn’t until at least 60% in that I began to trust in Ness, and in the series, enough to know that I would not abandon it until I had read the last page.

I am so very thankful that I stayed with it! It was fantastic. Such a rare treat. Especially given that each book in and of itself was a gorgeous wonder. And the series? Absolutely one of the best I’ve ever read.

So speaking to anyone who may have had similar issues with this final book, I urge them to stay with it, to trust that Ness has his reasons ... that our vicarious suffering for the people in this story for whom we have developed a real affinity, that our emotional investment in them, none of it is misplaced. And the reward of having completed this last book, and therefore the series, it feels great.

An awesome conclusion to an exceptional series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

strong end to a fantastic trilogy. really good YA.

nice finish to a really well written YA trilogy. enjoyed all the character development and loved the conclusion of this intense and exciting story of Todd and Viola.

i must admit that i was both emotionally invested in these characters, and pleasantly surprised by all of their outcomes.

my one complaint about the books (all three, but this one in particular) was there could have been some editing to make them a bit more concise. there's a lot of repeated stuff in these books (mostly internal dialogue) that i found could have moved the story on a bit quicker. this was most evident in the beginning of all three books (the first 1/3 of each installment)...seems like it took Ness a bit of time to ramp up into each book, but once he got there it was great.

this is a solid trilogy

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

"War makes Monsters of Men.”

In MONSTERS OF MEN the final book in the Chaos Walking Series author Patrick Ness adds yet another perspective to the mix. Giving the reader insight into the Spackle’s pov through the eyes of #1017 which was a good thing for the story I guess; but I found myself really just looking forward to the bits written from Todd’s point of view, even Viola’s voice didn’t hold my interest like Todd did. I think that might be why I like the first book out of the series the most, because the whole thing is from Todd’s perspective.

Anyway, back to MONSTERS OF MEN… this last installment which is all about War and Peace and which one will prevail. I don’t want to give anything away, but you might be surprised how everything plays out in the end. What I will say, expect death and lots of it; also Viola’s people will make contact with New Word before the book is through. I do think Ness did a standup job finishing off the series and tiding up loose ends, yet leaving just enough open for the reader to imagine the remaining characters as their lives move forward after the conclusion.

Chaos Walking is a good solid series that is unlike anything else I’ve ever read and I applaud Ness for his creativity and originality.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

War, umph! What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, say it again. War makes monsters of men. Be prepared to have that theme over and over, Ness beats you over the head with it. This is the third book and starts right where book 2 left off. You do not want to read this book until you have read the first two.

I give this book four stars, but I give the series five stars and I liked it a lot better then Hunger Games or any of the other YA I have listened to so far.

This book does not get five stars, because the middle part is a sappy teenage romance that was not part of the rest of the series and it lent itself to the whinny teenage bitchiness that hunger games was so popular for. I understand that teenagers are usually whinny and melodramatic, but it does get irritating. Like Hunger Games, adults are the enemy. All adults are evil and selfish. I am not real happy with that.

The book gets four stars because, I like getting to know the spackle, which are really The Land and humans are The Clearing. The ending is very powerful. The power of love is felt and shared with the reader. You hear how, It is not how we fall, but how we get back up again. You hear and feel the strength of Us. What two people in love can accomplish together is powerful.

The narration is excellent and I love using a different narrator for each main character. There are lots of back and forth between characters and it helps to have a different voice for each. The narration for Neal Asher's books would have been so much better with more then one narrator.

12 of 19 people found this review helpful

Amazing

Seriously a fantastic book, read by some amazing narrators. I highly, highly recommend this series.

Great finale to the series...

Great finale to the series. Lotta war. Lotta character movement. Just a really great book. This whole series is great. Worth a read.

Great narrators. Podehl really brought all these books to life.