We were in the square, in
the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to
stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could
save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was
just him and his men...Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...
"The Ask and the Answer" is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure. This is the second title in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.
"War," says the Mayor.
"At last."
Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on
destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no
chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the
fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly
outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices
await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on
revenge - the electrifying finale to the award-winning "Chaos Walking"
trilogy, Monsters of Men is a heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war.
It’s been ages since I read the
first book in this intense, unique dystopian series, but when I started reading
The Ask and the Answer, it
immediately came back. The Knife of Never
Letting Go is the kind of book that lingers with you long after you finish,
and I honestly don’t know how I waited so long to find out what happened next!
The second book picks up where the
first left off, with Todd in the hands of the enemy, Mayor Prentiss, and Viola
taken away, close to death. Now the mayor – now President – has taken over the
town of Haven, Todd is forced to work for him alongside his son, the man who
shot Viola. Viola herself, meanwhile, is drawn into the vigilante group known
as the Answer, who are fighting against the town’s new leadership.
This time we get both characters’
POV’s, and the author does a great job distinguishing the two voices so it
doesn’t become confusing. I was completely
drawn into Todd and Viola’s journey. They have to make so many difficult
choices and the morally right thing to do is never clear. While Todd is forced
to manage the native Spackle, who are now slaves, Viola has to face some harsh
truths when bombs start exploding and no one knows who’s responsible. The
characters are all three-dimensional and flawed, and Mayor/President Prentiss
is a seriously scary villain.
After the killer cliffhanger at the
end of The Ask and the Answer, I was
glad I had the final book at the ready! And wow, the ending of this trilogy
most definitely did not disappoint. Jumping right into the action, we’re pulled
into the heart of the war that erupted at the end of the second book. The plot
moves at a breakneck pace towards an explosive finale, and I felt for the
characters at every horrific twist and turn.
I don’t want to spoil the ending, so
let me just say that it’s perfection. This is nothing like any other dystopian
books I’ve read, and to be honest, it blows most of them out of the water. Hard-hitting,
uncompromising and utterly unputdownable – I’d recommend this to everyone,
whether you like dystopia or not.
Rating: *****
This trilogy is way up there in my all time favourites. You're right, it is hard to talk about without spoiling it, but it is so unique and so powerful.
ReplyDeleteLet us know when you read the last one...