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!

Intense, well-voiced story, somewhat clumsy plot

“Intense” is a good word for this young adult novel. The setting is some time in the far future, on a colony planet peopled by religious settlers looking to distance themselves from the problems of the old world, including most technology. Except that much has gone wrong since the first landing. There was a war with the planet’s alien inhabitants, who released a “noise germ” that makes everyone able to hear everyone else’s thoughts, including animals. And this germ also killed off women and girls, leaving behind only men and boys. At least, this is the grim reality as understood by the story's protagonist, Todd Hewitt, who is the last boy in the troubled village of Prentisstown. However, as we soon learn, Todd doesn't really know a whole lot.

The setting and Todd’s voice, which are both well-realized, are immediate hooks into the story. Todd, with his often-ignorant view of the world but firm set of adolescent convictions, is a convincing teenager, and it’s hard not to like his dog Manchee, whose canine utterances (via the “noise”) are the comic relief of the book. Todd’s a sort of dystopian, telepathic Huck Finn. And once the story gets going, it keeps going, sending Todd fleeing from some frightening enemies, while not entirely letting the reader in on what the big picture is.

I liked a lot of things about the book. The character voices are well-done, conveying some different attitudes and perspectives. The author also does some interesting things with the “noise” idea, exploring what a world in which some people broadcast their every thought (while others don’t) would be like. I don’t get the impression that Ness was trying to comment directly on things like social networking, but it’s easy to find connections. As the interactions between Todd and another character make clear, a world of constant sharing through some ethereal medium might feel overwhelming and oppressive to some, but its absence strange and unnerving to others. Gender issues, deception, and religious ideas about man's fall from innocence are other themes that are touched on. And scenes with animals are cleverly done.

The audiobook production, by the way, is excellent. The reader’s accents really bring out the characters’ personalities (including Manchee), and the representations of noise are well done, too, with a little bit of sonic distortion as a cue.

I did, however, have a few issues with story logic. For one, the plot over-relies on the old stringing-along device of withholding information from the reader (and Todd), then interrupting any scene where important revelations seem imminent (e.g. "the man who wanted Colonel Mustard dead is... oops, I'd better take this phone call."). That works once or twice, then grows annoying. Also, the bad guys, while thoroughly bad and endowed with a Terminator-like ability to keep reappearing, are so thinly fleshed out as characters that I found their motives unclear. The last sequence with Aaron the crazy preacher, while making a certain thematic sense, didn't feel as convincing as it seemed meant to.

Still, the “noise” idea and character voices are so well-realized and there are enough affecting scenes that I’ll give the Knife of Never Letting Go an overall thumbs-up, despite the clumsier aspects of the plotting. It's a grim novel, however, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for very young readers -- the violence and suggested violence, while not glorified, gets intense in spots. There’s also a fair bit of profanity, though it’s mostly disguised with “effin’”.

Great Narrator

The narrator does an amazing job of immersing you into the story, using a distinct voice for each character. Overall, pretty good book.

Simple yet transporting!

The narrator really made the story come to life. Hard not to feel for the main character! Futuristic back pedal with real pain and love!

Captivating story and interesting plot

I enjoyed the effects given to the noise in the book. It gave an essence that would otherwise be difficult to imagine. Book one left the story hanging at a climax so it immediately draws listeners to the next book. Overall nicely done.