Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness YP FIC NESS

War makes monsters of men. Todd and Viola having finally captured Mayor Prentiss only to discover that an army of Spackle (a race indigenous to the planet humans have colonized) are bearing down on them. Todd must make allies with his most hated foe while Viola is forced to fight alongside Mistress Coyle, who tried to make Viola an unwitting suicide bomber just hours before. With all sides determined to destroy each other utterly and the Spackle being led by one that personally wants to see Todd dead, there seems to be no road for peace possible in this thrilling and complex end to the Chaos Walking Trilogy.

This is the best book I have read all year. The Chaos Walking Trilogy is filled with complicated and fascinating characters that have to make difficult decisions that never have neat answers. The trilogy pushes the main heroes Todd and Viola through amazing suffering and never gives them an easy out for a choice. Their choices always have serious consequences that echo throughout the entire series. And Mayor Prentiss is maybe the best villain in YA literature ever. He is more complex than most heroes and it is great fun to try and guess what he is really up to as he manipulates everything around him. Besides great characters the plot is filled with amazing suspense and loads of huge twists that will completely blow you away. The series as a whole is good at doing this but Ness really brought the best to the last. And if plot and characters being some of the best in YA lit weren’t enough the writing is really great too. We get the perspectives of Todd, Viola, and the Spackle that wants Todd dead called The Return. Ness created a whole culture for the Spackle that makes the war much more tragic because the reader is torn on which side to really want to lose. All in all if you enjoy reading good YA series then you should absolutely read the entire Chaos Walking Trilogy. Start with the Knife of Never Letting Go.

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