Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #11)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #11/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 603
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


**This is the third novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. There are spoilers regarding the first two books in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and The Ask and the Answer.

This final book in Patrick Ness's trilogy ties up the journey of Todd and Viola in New World. In the end of the last book, we were left with another cliffhanger as New World's natives, the Spackle, join the war against the already divided humans. This book jumps right into the action as a huge battle breaks out.

The first book was just from Todd's perspective, the second switched between Viola and Todd's thoughts, while this final book adds a new narrator, one of the Spackle. This Spackle is significant because he was the only one left of the Spackle slaves after they were massacred in the war between the humans. He has a tumultuous history with Todd as well. I liked seeing the different perspectives and it was a clever way to keep the reader in the middle of each side of the war. 

Overall, I really loved this trilogy. My only complaint is that this final book was maybe a little too long at 600+ pages. However, there were quite a few surprises and lots of action, so the slower parts weren't very frequent. This was one of the best YA series I have read. It actually relies on plot and suspense over romance. So, if you've been looking for a good dystopian YA that is light on romance and heavy on action, try this series. 

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #10)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #10/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 519
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


**This is the second novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. There are spoilers regarding the first book in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go.


Todd and Viola are separated as Mayor Prentiss (now President Prentiss) overtakes Haven (now known as "New Prentisstown"). Todd is taken prisoner by Mayor/President Prentiss, while Viola is sent off to a healing house due to her gunshot wound from the end of the last novel. The healing house women (and Viola) eventually run off and form The Answer, who are opposed to President Prentiss and his tyranny.


Todd and Viola spend the entire book apart and this time half the book is written from Viola's perspective (the first novel was written just by Todd's). I liked that separating the two allowed us to see both opposing sides of the coming war. They are also each heavily swayed by both sides and the reader is never sure which side they may choose. Like the first book, I was never sure what was going to happen next. 


This book was also more brutal than the first. I thought the first was dark and violent, but this ones takes the cake. First treating the Spackle (the planet natives) like cattle, then the women -- not to mention the torture that was going on to try and get information from the other side of the battle. It was horrifying.


And the ending! Wow...I can definitely say that I never saw that coming. Patrick Ness is an amazing author. He knows how to build up tension and keep you guessing with his characters.  I can't wait to read the next book to figure out what happens next.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #9)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #9/52
Published: 2008
Pages: 496 
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first book in Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy. It's gotten rave reviews, so I decided to check it out. I'm so glad I gave it a chance because I loved it! 


Todd Hewitt lives in a town called Prentisstown in New World. In New World, only men are left after a disease killed all the women and caused everyone to be able to read everyone else's thoughts (or "noise"). Or so Todd is taught. He's the youngest male left in Prentisstown and his mother left him a book with the truth in it. A month before Todd becomes a man (his 13th birthday), his two caretakers send him out of town with a map and his mother's book to learn the truth. 


The plot description really doesn't do this book justice. I've had it on my to-read list for a while, but the blurbs about it just didn't excite me enough to pick it up, despite the good reviews. It's a very intricately woven story that reveals itself better if you don't know much about it. I went in pretty much blind and was really surprised at a lot of what happened. 


Even though the main characters were 12/13 years old, this book is definitely for older teens/adults. There is no romance (it's about time we had a decent YA book without a romance), but there is plenty of violence. 


One suggestion though: Have the second book on hand. This one ends on a HUGE cliffhanger. 

Run by Blake Crouch (CBR-IV #8)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #8/52
Published: 2011
Pages: 284 
Genre: Horror/Thriller


I loved Blake Crouch's collaborative efforts with J.A. Konrath (aka Jack Kilborn) and I've read a few of Konrath/Kilborn's solo works, so when I saw that Run was free on the Kindle for a limited time I decided to pick it up. I love that these two authors independently publish these ebooks, so their books sell for around $2.99 apiece (and frequently show up for free!). It's great marketing on their part and obviously has worked out well for them since they seem to sell a ton of ebooks. They definitely got me hooked and I keep buying more!


Run follows the Colclough family as the country is being swept by an alarming amount of mass murders. The action begins almost immediately as Jack hears his name and address announced on the radio as a soon-to-be victim of the widespread violence. He then gathers his wife, Dee, and his two kids, Naomi and Cole, into their SUV. The rest of the book is non-stop action as the family is on the run from the crazy people who want to kill everyone who hasn't gone crazy. 

I liked the characters. They were well-written and startlingly real. Jack and Dee have a strained marriage, Naomi is dealing with the normal issues of being a young teen as well as the problem of running from people trying to kill her, and Cole is possibly one of them (the crazies). The family has to deal with trying to reconnect while facing possibly the most stressful situation I can imagine. 

Overall, I will definitely be adding more of Crouch's novels to my to-read list. He's great at these suspenseful thrillers and I loved the originality of this book (a end-of-civilization book with no zombies or nuclear bomb wastelands!).