The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking, Book 1
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The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,172 ratings
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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.

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  1. Listening Length
    11 hours and 54 minutes
  2. Author
    Patrick Ness
  3. Narrator
    Nick Podehl
  4. Audible release date
    September 28, 2010
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Candlewick on Brilliance Audio
  7. ASIN
    B0044X7444
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 11 hours and 54 minutes
Author Patrick Ness
Narrator Nick Podehl
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 28, 2010
Publisher Candlewick on Brilliance Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0044X7444
Best Sellers Rank #24,703 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#555 in Fantasy for Teens
#2,182 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
6,172 global ratings
Review of the book
5 Stars
Review of the book
The book is really good to read. It’s just very thick and had lots of chapters. It was in good condition and it’s brand new.
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Top reviews from the United States

Girl in a RedHat
5.0 out of 5 stars Grab this one and don't Let Go!
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2010
Verified Purchase
Honestly, this book was a breathtaking experience to read. It is so engaging that you feel the highs and lows the narrator feels. This book is in ways comparable to the very popular HUNGER GAMES trilogy out now (which I greatly enjoyed as well). Both exhibit phenomenally good writing style, narrators with strong hearts and voices, impossible odds, relentless action, and a well-developed dystopian world. These are books among YA fantasy that really stand out from the pack for being turly original and high-quality writing. That said, I liked THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO in some ways more than THE HUNGER GAMES. The action was very engaging and the mystery of what's really going on kept me enthralled. THE HUNGER GAMES is a little more subtle. I am suprised the CHAOS WALKING trilogy isn't as popular and I think it deserves a wider audience, including adults.

The story is told from the mouth of semi-literate Todd Hewitt, the last boy left in Prentisstown who has not yet reached manhood. No more children can be born because the women were all killed by a virus that also caused men to hear the thoughts of every man and creature on the planet they attempted to colonized, the constant Noise that Todd can never hide from or turn off. When he one day finds something that is impossible, a hole in the Noise, he has stumbled upon a dangerous secret that sends him running for his life. And not all is ever as it seems as Todd may have to grow up much faster than he anticipated...

The Noise is an interesting invention which Ness explores from many angles. The Noise is rendered really well visually in the book, which uses multiple typefaces to bring it out on the page. While reading, you can't help but feel almost like Todd does: you are completely inundated by raw emotion and ideas and images that pop to life. Not all the emotion brought out is positive, either. It's an involving experience to read, one you won't forget, and you FEEL it from start to finish.

The voice of Todd is highly idiosyncristic and amusing to read, abandoning many grammar and spelling rules but not too much so that it becomes confusing to follow. It is very reminiscent of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. You will even laugh. Patrick Ness is a gifted author who brings Todd (and the secondary charaters) vividly to life. Todd is both a character to cheer for and a very human character with shortcomings we may be frustrated with. He's very well-rounded and original, and becomes even more rich and complex in the second book, THE ASK AND THE ANSWER.

At times, important information is aggravatingly witheld when Todd sees something or hears something in his head that challenges his beliefs and he will hide it from the reader by saying "I didn't want to think about it." It can seem like Ness is toying with the limits our patience, but the payoff at the end is worth the while. It can also seem like Ness overdoes the foreshadowing a bit, and clever readers can probably guess at the truth before Todd discovers it in whole. But you will never see the ending coming.

Very original and at times dark (although I've read darker stuff) but also very uplifting in moments with some beautiful ideas shining between the darkness. My concern with it isn't so much the grimness (you should expect it; it IS dystopian fiction after all) but the graphic violent content. The situations are life-threatening and Ness doesn't shy away from some rather bloody and disturbing images. Everyone has a different threshold for violence, so just be warned it is there. For me, it wan't overwhelming and added to the suspense and rawness of the book.

Aside from that, I couldn't give stronger reccommendation for THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. It is one of the best reads I've had in a while. And, you will want to buy THE ASK AND THE ANSWER immediately after finishing this for the end is a nail-biting cliffhanger. Some people dispute the cliffhanger end as a way to manipulate you into buying the second book, but I think it works and leaves you on the right note for the sequel. I wouldn't end it anywhere else.
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Suad
4.0 out of 5 stars Patrick Ness is brilliant
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2015
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I seem to be in the minority here, as I found it really tiresome to get through this trilogy. I started reading these books with the promise that I would breeze through them as they are unputdownable and absolutely amazing. I was already in a bit of a reading slump, but this trilogy put me behind big time on my reading and deepened my slump.

You might have noticed though that I've given the book 4 stars and that is because despite the fact that the overall trilogy was tiresome, I actually enjoyed the first book in the series. And no matter how I feel about the books in general, there is no denying the brilliance and genius of Patrick Ness, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, both YA and Adult. He is incredible, his writing is remarkable and his mind is a thing of wonder.

The Knife of Never Letting Go was a very exciting and thrilling read with everything happening very quickly taking us on an eventful ride. It starts out with Todd Hewitt, who is twelve years old and on the brink of manhood (which is when he turns thirteen as is the law in Prentisstown - where he's from), and lives in a town of only men. In fact, as far as he knows, there are no more women existing in his world and there is no world outside of his town. His world is full of "noise", which basically means that every man and animal's thoughts are heard by one and all. We first meet Todd when he stumbles upon an area in which the noise suddenly disappears and he hears something he's never heard before - silence.

Todd's parents are dead, and he lives with Cillian and Ben, brothers who raised him since he was a child. When Todd tells Ben of his discovery, he is suddenly thrown into a whirlwind of mystery, confusion and danger. Ben tells him he needs to leave immediately, never to return. He gives him his mother's journal, and a map, and asks him to get as far away from Prentisstown as possible, using the map as guidance. Todd, who cannot read or write, is unable to read his mother's diary which explains the history of Prentisstown and how the women had all disappeared. Unable to hide his thoughts and his noise, the people of Prentisstown and the mayor, all realize what Todd has discovered and hurry to silence him before he escapes.

Todd, along with his loyal dog Manchee, escape into the forest where they are stopped by an insane preacher, Aaron, who holds particular hatred towards Todd and beats him to a pulp. This is when Todd meets the first female in his life, Viola, and their journey towards self-discovery and a safer world begins. Viola has just lost her parents in a crash, and has no one left in the world, until she meets Todd, who is the strangest boy she's ever met. One whose thoughts she can hear as clearly as her own voice.

It was very entertaining watching the back and forth between Todd and Viola, and witnessing their friendship blossom. I loved how they both had each others' backs and their protectiveness towards one another was admirable.

There were many ideas presented in this book that were quite thought provoking, such as the idea of "lying". Todd doesn't even know what the word means, because of the fact that no one can keep any secrets where he's from due to the "noise". Yet when Viola demonstrates her uncanny ability to imitate anyone's accent and voice, he is taken back and feels like he almost cannot trust her. I found that idea fascinating, in the way that Ness presented it in the context of the book.

That being said, I don't know that this book can be considered Young Adult since it discusses many serious themes and is actually very violent and brutal. I went into this not knowing much about its contents, but was really surprised at the violence and deaths. I quickly learned not to get attached to any of the characters, similarly to how I feel about Game of Thrones.

The idea behind this story is outstanding and very impressive, the execution however was tedious. A very well written, fantastic book. Deserving of 4 stars as a stand alone. Not my favourite series as a whole, however.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Theoneandonly
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
Reviewed in India on March 15, 2024
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Simply Wow
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Theoneandonly
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
Reviewed in India on March 15, 2024
Simply Wow
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Sophie Weston
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant but..I
Reviewed in Spain on March 5, 2023
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I wish I had known this was a trilogy before I started reading it. I felt as though I was running all the way through this book and then got to the cliff hanger end. Arghhhhh! It is a great book.
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Weslley de Souza
5.0 out of 5 stars As always, Ness has the best ideas.
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 16, 2022
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Incredibly weird and fantastic.
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Matega
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente servicio
Reviewed in Mexico on August 1, 2020
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Muy satisfecho con el producto y servicio
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Pamela
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous
Reviewed in Italy on May 16, 2021
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I’ve just finished to read it and I can’t wait for the next one. In the beginning I tought it was the same old fantasy and now I’m craZy for it. 🥰
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