The Chaos Walking Trilogy review

 

It's been almost a year since I reviewed a book trilogy with my first time read of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy now soon to be released as a tv show streaming on Netflix soon and now, I have finally finished reading the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, a few weeks after the movie released. I have never seen the movie yet due to it not playing in theatres in Malaysia and not playing in streaming services anywhere till further notice. 

Fortunately, this was good because I wouldn't have forced myself to finish it before the movie ever came out. The trilogy itself is quite similar to most of the young adult books which were about post apocalyptic futures that evidently had to be saved by a bunch of 16 to 18 year olds. The Chaos Walking trilogy is set in the future where settlers live in an all new world. The main character throughout is Todd Hewitt, the last child to become a man as there are no women left due to them almost being extinct. 

With mostly men, thoughts are exposed when they surrounded with noise. Everyone can hear what you are thinking with this 'Noise', leaving everyone with no privacy whatsoever. Todd meets a Viola, a girl crash landed nearby and the two journey to find paradise, an adventure so stressful and painful, it deems their absolute willpower to constantly move forward. 

1. Knife of Never Letting Go. 

The first book introduces our hero, Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade with ease and no rush whatsoever. What was so different reading the first book was how Patrick Ness portrayed illiteracy through the words we were reading. Todd did not how to read which was a constant struggle you see him go through in all three books and the way it was done should be considered absolutely marvelous, for making me invested in his character no matter how close I was to feeling annoyed with his character from time to time.... in the first book.  

The emotional part of the first book is, of course, the loss of a beloved character who sadly isn't one that talks much. For those who know of whom I speak of, you definitely feel the same way as I do when it happened. Our hearts broke in two. Unfortunately, there would be deaths to come in the books after. 

Without completely spoiling, the first book started a journey that I knew could not end there. I love the introductions of the characters, the world-building and it's just perfect. After reading this book, I finally consider myself a proper fan of Patrick Ness and can't wait to get and read more of his books. 

2. The Ask and The Answer

The sequel starts immediately as soon as the first one ends. Todd and Viola are now in a new settlement led by the Mayor Prentiss and looms the threat of another settlement that is against Prentiss and his ways. The two separate into the two settlements changing their lives forever. The fact that the two were barely together throughout this entire book annoyed me, making me love the duo even more. The character development for Mayor Prentiss and his son was surprising because brought a less-expected-cliche movement to the post apocalyptic genre. 

The introductions of the new characters didn't over shadow the main two which was cleverly done by Ness when he decided to add the point of view of Viola to the book giving enough time to fully flesh out the newbies before bringing them altogether in the eventual future. The ending, of course, baffled me, shocked me and annoyed the hell out of me. 

Finally, we get to know the aliens that cohabitates the planet with the humans introducing the character 1017, a tortured spackle under the clutches of Prentiss' son. The brew between the spackle and Todd sets itself up so perfectly that it pays off by the end of the third book. The Ask and The Answer, like all first sequels in stories like this, always is the one that starts to build up the oomph in the stories with the big storylines and large cliffhangers. This sequel definitely hits the right spots in those particular expectations which made me so happy as a reader. 

3. Monster of Men 

Again, starts immediately where the sequel left off, dives into the action and it does not stop there. The third book is marathon of fights, explosions, shock value and everything else nobody expected. Viola and Todd further prove that they are now one of my favorite duos in a book like these. And SPOILER ALERT!! They finally end up together in this one which made my heart leap so high when it happened. 

The political message in this these three books is largely shown in this book more so, than the predecessor. The all new point of view is by far the best POV's I have ever read with 1017's character development heavily shown as well as his relationship with the Sky, leader of the Spackle. So many deaths this time around, some shocking and some necessary. The end is nostalgic and really leaves you remembering the experience in a bittersweet way. 

It took me a month to read the final book unfortunately but what made this book so good is that no matter how much time I spent on pause reading, the minute I start again does leave me needing me to read the previous pages to recap what happened the story is freshly still in my head, remembering what happened. This detail itself made me wonder how much of an impact this book has made on myself. It is that good. 

The movie may be out right now but I seriously have a definite feeling that the film is not going to be as great as the books. Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland look like the perfect actors to play these characters but I am not sure about everything else. I am a fan of Doug Liman who directed the movie. He made Edge of Tomorrow and a few others that I have watched before which were good movies. Patrick Ness and some other guy apparently co-wrote the script which led me to believe it will be following the book but still, not going to be convinced until I finally watched it. Until then, the books are a masterpiece and a definite recommendation for a must-read list that I am currently working on.