The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

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The Knife of Never Letting Go

Patrick Ness

(#1 - Chaos Walking)

October 18, 2010 / 497 pages / Fiction

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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. Includes “The New World,” a short story by Patrick Ness.

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Coming of age

Science Fiction

Dystopian

Adventure

Survival

Good vs. Evil

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What happens when you mix some mad ideas and a good narration? A damn good story.

Grade: A / InfinitySpectrum / Sep 3, 2013

There's much to love about the introduction to Todd's world and the telepathic disorder that defines it. Ness crafts a distinct dystopia with an intriguing history and plenty of mystique. But the setting can't save the weaker elements of the book. Todd's narrative style goes from engaging to irritating over time, and the journey Ness puts him on is as bland as it gets. The author also loses points for a bad book title, and his names for characters and towns are not much better.

Grade: C+ / bennett_the_ceo

/ Jul 12, 2015

Suspenseful, captivating, original - highly recommend.

Grade: A / HeathersCorner

/ Apr 5, 2015

For a book that seems to argue the benefit of hope, it goes out of its way time and time again to drag its characters through the mud. It's a quick read, and the writing overall is decent, but the story was a bit too heavy too often to sustain my hope for the characters or their end. Yet, this can be chalked up to my own set of expectations. Those who enjoy the turmoil could easily contest this perspective and happily read on.

Grade: B / bobbybslax

/ Mar 26, 2017

Read this in one sitting yesterday. The first page or two I wasn't sure about it, but very soon I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. Can't wait to start the second in the series. The pacing is very quick and because the narrator doesn't know all of the truth about his own life and situation, we are learning a lot about the world and what is happening just as he is. Great concepts about truth (what we think we "know"), privacy, hope, and disappointment. The ending really took me by surprise

Grade: B / poeticlibrarian / May 31, 2016

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