The Ask and the Answer

Man! First Manchee and now Davy. Quit tearing my heart out, Ness! ( )

Pretty enjoyable, though I got tired of the protagonists always being so naive/gullible. Also, the mexican stand-off towards the nd wen o too long and was irritating. ( )

The Ask and the Answer is the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. The Ask and the Answer starts off where the last book left off--with Viola shot and bleeding to death and Todd begging Mayor Prentiss--now self-proclaimed President of the New World and New Prentisstown--to do anything to save her.

The book tracks the mounting tensions between New Prentisstown's soldiers and a small group of dissenters who call themselves the Answer. The Answer operates much like a terrorist group, setting off bombs in town and drawing in new followers who object to the President's methods and new restrictions on the town. Todd and Viola are separated within the two factions and for a long while do not know if the other is alive or dead.

The Ask and the Answer aims to answer some questions that the reader has about the New World, about Noise, and about the Cure, but it also raises more questions to be examined. What is the meaning of war? What happens when the world is no longer black or white, and how does one make sense of the gray area?

Ness has taken his fantastic story and in many ways improved upon it. Providing narration from both Todd and Viola's perspectives this time around, the book seems to move more quickly than its predecessor. While some may find that the middle of the book drags (just like the first in the trilogy), the rising action towards an incredible climax should keep even a skeptical reader engrossed.

The final installment won't be released until September of this year. Readers will have to wait to find out the destinies of Todd, Viola, and the rest of the characters that populate the New World. If the excitement at the end of the second book is any indication, it will be well worth the wait. ( )

Alas I waited too long to write a review. For me it is best to write a review immediately after I've read a book before I start a new one. I don't know why but I forget so easily.

I enjoyed it. Interesting to see how the women reacted. How Todd changed again. Sorry that's all. ( )

I'm glad to hear Viola's voice as well as Todd's in this second volume. This one reminds me of Starhawk's Fifth Sacred Thing in some small part, maybe the exploration of masculinity and violence. I kind of can't believe this series exists. ( )