Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

[Genius]

Has anyone read these books, the first of which is The Knife of Never Letting Go, followed by The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men?  I've read mixed reviews and I was hoping for a recommendation.  There's a free short-story prequel, The New World, at Amazon.  I was considering sampling it, but as it's written post-series I wouldn't want any spoilers.  Anyone have any info on whether or not the series is worth it?

[Carrie Ann]

I read the whole thing, and ultimately found them really engaging. But I will warn you that I found the writing style incredibly off-putting to start with, so it took awhile for me to get used to it. I still find it annoying, to be honest, but it becomes less of an issue as the series progresses. If you can get past that, I think you'll enjoy them if you generally like YA sci-fi stuff.

[radishcake]

I read them all too and really liked them. Like Carrie Ann it took me a while to get into the writing style but once I was there I really enjoyed them. Though enjoy is not a great term, I thought the books were wonderful but the story is definitely sad and has some tough elements. If you like other dystopian sci-fi you'll probably enjoy it. :) Come back after you read it! I'd love to chat about it. 

[Genius]

I'm generally pro-YA dystopia, but since this had a male point of view, I was interested in reading this different take.  And I can take somber, I don't mind that.  My only reticence is the writing style you speak of.  I think I'll take the plunge anyway.  Thanks for the replies!

[swimmyfish]

I just want to mention that it might be a good idea to read these books in the paperback form, rather than on an e-reader. There are several different typefaces used throughout the novels, and I found they did not reliably show up on the copy of the 3rd book I read on my tablet. Of course, this could have been a specific issue to my rather old tablet; but, the fonts do contribute to the unique writing style in these novels, so it's worth making sure you can seem them as the author intended.

 

Also, I just want to chime in that this series is a worthwhile read. Let us know what you think!

[radishcake]

And now I'm rereading. Dang it you guys, I have a to be read pile that is so high! :D

[radishcake]

Just a note on my re-read. I am less distracted by the "voice" of the main character/writing style than I was last time, maybe because I expected it. The ebook edition I have has taken pains to recreate some of the fonts/styling of the original paper book so I don't feel like I'm missing those. I'm reading the electronic combined trilogy edition that has all three books together.

It's still really REALLY good.

[wanderingstar]

I read this series 2 years ago, and really loved it. It's definitely more stark and somber than other YA sci-fi series.

 

Curious to see what you think of it, Genius.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Gillian Rosh

[purplemouth]

I really liked this series too and always thought it would make a great movie (but just one please, enough with the long drawn out adaptations!)

[wanderingstar]

The only question I have about making this into a movie is, how would they portray the Noise that the men hear?

[radishcake]

The only question I have about making this into a movie is, how would they portray the Noise that the men hear?

So much of this movie is internal I'd wonder how they could ever film it? You'd have to have so much explicit exposition that I think it would ruin the idea. It would be really cool if they did it mostly silent with visuals representing speech. It would be tough to film.