The Knife of Never Letting Go Audiobook By Patrick Ness cover art

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Chaos Walking, Book 1

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The Knife of Never Letting Go

By: Patrick Ness
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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About this listen

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.
Action & Adventure Dystopian Fantasy Violence Young Adult Fiction Suspenseful
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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)

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What listeners say about The Knife of Never Letting Go

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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’”.

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33 people found this helpful

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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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

"Here's the truth... oh look, an interruption!"

Excellent narrator. Unfortunately the author artificially blocks every reveal. Painfully obvious plot holes. I really wanted to like it, but I can't.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I loved this book! "Todd, poo Todd!!!"

All I'm going to say is this book is well worth the credit, its an amazing story, written very well and Nick Podehl brings the characters to life in a way that no one else could. Go, spend your credit and buy this book, you won't regret it!!!!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Started slow, unappealing diction

The book started slow and very boring. However, a few chapters in, it really picked up.

The farmer boy diction wasn't very appealing. It fit in with the theme, but hearing that doesn't make it much more acceptable. Hearing the word ain't so many times started making me cringe later on in the book when it really picked up and made me binge listen.

Other than these few negative remarks, the book was quite impressive. It really drags you in and is exciting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

dying inside

I only changed my answer from 5 stars to 4 stars for "story" because this book ripped my heart out, threw it on the ground, stomped on it and set it on fire in a single page.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Makes more sense than the movie

I got curious as the movie presented an interesting story, but too many holes. So I read the entire series. The story is ok, but falls into the teen angst a little too much for me. The rest of the series doesn’t do that much more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not something I would have picked

In learning how to use the app, so.ehow this book showed up in my library. I figured I would give it a try and now I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series!

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