To say that Patrick Ness has set a high bar for himself would be a mammoth understatement. His machine gun, stream-of-consciousness writing wowed readers and critics alike when The Knife of Never Letting Go hit shelves in 2008, partly because it was unlike anything else ever seen in its genre. To readers who have learned to expect the unexpected, The Ask and the Answer may elicit a feeling of 'Here we go again', as Todd's narration, which was so radically original a year ago, returns for round two. Ness wastes no time, however, in reminding us why he writes the way he does. For vividness, impact and readability, this prose is nigh on unbeatable. With its terse phrasing and rapid-fire paragraphs, it captures not only visual images, but pace and rhythmic imagery as well. Never before has there been such an effective way to describe a fistfight, or the aftermath of an explosion. As prose goes, it's sheer genius, and readers will wonder why all thrillers aren't written this way.

As if the writing were insufficient to make this book completely engrossing, Ness has packed the plot with the same amount of action and twists and, more importantly, the same thematic depth that captivated readers in the prequel. The Ask and the Answer is a fascinating portrait of society on the brink of chaos, where power is as tenuous as morality, and the greater good is often eclipsed by the means used to achieve it. Ness juggles right and wrong with impressive skill before seeming to throw them out of the window altogether. Ironically, the depth of ethical and political comment produces the novel's only flaw: it seems more than a little incongruous when Ness tries to find that rock of moral constancy in the middle of all the turmoil – because this is a children's book, after all.

Don't be fooled by its bulk; like the Noise of New Prentisstown, this is one page-turner you won't so much read as telepathically absorb. Every bit of Ness' storytelling goes straight to the head and stays there, punching out image after image of his gritty dystopia. I look forward to seeing the tension ratcheted up yet again in the trilogy's finale: Monsters of Men. ( )

This is the second in a trilogy, and in some ways, it feels like that middle bridge book. Interesting things happen, but they are mostly interesting because they build upon things you already care about from the first book, and it seems like some really exciting stuff is going to happen in the next book. More accurately, I would probably give this book three stars, and the series so far overall five stars.

Quickie summary: colonization on another planet, in that colony way where some things are more high-tech, and others are less. The most distinguishing feature of this planet is that its various inhabitants communicate telepathically, and when humans arrive, the men are affected by this while the women are immune. The hook is that it's not just telepathy as we usually see it, but the men's thoughts -- all their thoughts -- become audible. Wait, I guess that's not telepathy because it really is audible, you don't just hear it in your mind, but whatever. Todd, a native of the colony, and Viola, whose ship from Earth crashed on the planet, continue their struggle against a crazy fascist dictator guy who is on the verge of conquering the entire planet in large part because he alone of the men is seemingly able to control the broadcasting of his own thoughts.

This is one of those books where I thought the author was setting us up for some, eh, I guess stereotypical stuff but then didn't go there so I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved, or annoyed at the tease.

One weird peeve, the name of the trilogy is Chaos Walking, and as of yet, that isn't really a phrase that you would particularly associate with the story, other than things are chaotic, and there is walking. I think series should stick with names that relate in some demonstrable way to the content of the books. I blame His Dark Materials, now everyone has to have a title that is brooding, yet doesn't mean a lot when you think about it. Now, The Lord of the Rings on the other hand, there is a series title that gets right to the crux of the thing.

Overall, I recommend this to any YA fans, and I will also note this is a lot more science fiction-y than I will usually read, so if you are not a particular SF fan, don't let that put you off. Definitely to be read in order. ( )

I love science fiction. And this is GREAT science fiction. Ness does it again with the follow-up to his first book in the Chaos Walking series, "The Knife of Never Letting Go." While the first book in the series was full of non-stop action, this one slows down a bit and allows both the world and the characters to develop a bit more deeply.

Viola and Todd are forced to go their separate ways, and each finds a different place for them in the war between "The Ask" (run by the Mayor/President) and "The Answer" (run by women and supported by many).

Ethnic cleansing, torture, and terrorism (played on both sides), give an excellent depiction of the complications within the human psyche. Superb and thought-provoking.

The only reason this will not get nominated for the Printz is because you must read the first book to full enjoy the second. ( )

Summary: After New Prentisstown takes over Haven, both Todd and Viola are separated. Todd is forced to work for Mayor Prentiss and Viola is sent to the Houses of Healing where she meets an insurgent group known as the Answer. When rebellion begins to flare up from the Answer, Viola and Todd find themselves on opposing sides.

Review: It’s just as fast-paced and intense as The Knife of Never Letting Go. Patrick Ness creates tension in the plot that balances on a knife’s edge and he manages to keep it balancing there for the entire book. The man has talent, let’s just put it that way. With talent comes the extremities of emotions he can wring from you, from the high to the low and everything in between. When I say intense, I mean it. This is not a book you want to read before going to bed unless you want to stay up the entire night.

One of the things I like best about the Chaos Walking series is its exploration of power, corruption, and violence. Ness never makes it easy. At first it seems like the Answer are the good guys, but you see the extent to which they are willing to go for their victory and you begin to wonder. Ness’ politics remain painfully real, more so than most other books that you read.

Also, the Spackle! In The Knife of Never Letting Go, I really wanted to see more of the Spackle and to explore the colonial narrative of the series (because come on, a bunch of foreigners settle in a new land and conquer the natives? That couldn't possibly have any parallels with our world). Ness came through. Although you still haven’t met any individual Spackle as characters — except for 1017, but since he never speaks you don’t really get to know him that well — you see the experiences of the Spackle a lot more clearly and tragically.

I liked that Todd and Viola settled down for this book. That is, they stayed in the town rather than wandering through the wilderness. This allowed them to form connections with the community at large, so that there is a wider sweep of characters in The Ask and the Answer than there were in the previous book. The secondary characters like Mistress Coyle, Davy, and Corinne were great. I actually liked them better than Todd and Viola.

In fact, Todd and Viola were the only sore parts of the book for me. They were so doggedly obsessed with each other and finding each other that they were willing to throw other people into the fire. I was seriously turned off by their selfishness. I wanted to reach into the book and smack their stupid little heads. Maybe I would accept it if their relationship was more compelling or organic, but it isn’t. If it was romance or hormones, okay, but instead it seems like Todd and Viola have a Mystic Bond Omg That Transcends Everything. In the last book they spent more time trying to survive than socializing or getting to know each other. Obviously their shared experience is a powerful bond, but I don't know. I guess I was skeptical of just how powerful it would be.

Conclusion: A powerful, intelligent, intense read. The only thing that ruined it a bit was the main characters’ annoying fixation on each other. ( )

This book picked up where the first one left off but also gave you Viola's perspective in multiple chapters. It was great to see things from her side- especially since in this universe, her thoughts are always masked from everyone. There were plenty of new elements added into this book with several twists and surprises thrown in too.

As with the first book, I could see the ties to plenty of events in the world's history- the tyranny, mistreatment of the Spackle, sexism, and plenty mor...more This book picked up where the first one left off but also gave you Viola's perspective in multiple chapters. It was great to see things from her side- especially since in this universe, her thoughts are always masked from everyone. There were plenty of new elements added into this book with several twists and surprises thrown in too.

As with the first book, I could see the ties to plenty of events in the world's history- the tyranny, mistreatment of the Spackle, sexism, and plenty more. The constant use of war for one group to gain what they want is so prevalent through history and in novels but it was done very well in this book.

As a reader, it was hard to decide which side was right and it was even harder to really know what characters to trust. Ness writes in such a way that I fell in love with and pitied a character that I didn't think could gain any kind of positive emotion.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as much as the first one and finished it in just a few days despite work, etc. It is hard to put down and the cliff hanger ending has again left my mind racing with possibilities of where things might go from here. ( )