Patrick Ness
Author of The Knife of Never Letting Go
About the Author
Patrick Ness was born on October 17, 1971 near Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He studied English Literature and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He was a corporate writer before moving to London in 1999. He taught creative writing at Oxford University and is a literary critic and show more reviewer for the Guardian and other major newspapers. He is the author of eight novels including The Rest of Us Just Live Here and a short story collection entitled Topics About Which I Know Nothing. His young adult novels include the Chaos Walking trilogy, More Than This, and Monsters of Men, which won the Carnegie Medal. A Monster Calls won the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration, the Carnegie Medal, and was made into a movie and released in October 2016. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Patrick Ness at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater on December 7, 2016 in New York City
Series
Works by Patrick Ness
The Knife of Never Letting Go / The Ask and the Answer / Monsters of Men (2010) 181 copies, 2 reviews
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1971-10-17
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Southern California (BA, English Literature)
- Occupations
- lecturer (Creative Writing)
journalist
young adult writer
screenwriter - Organizations
- Booktrust (Writer in Residence)
University of Oxford - Agent
- Michelle Kass
- Nationality
- USA (birth)
UK (passport) - Birthplace
- Fort Belvoir, Virginia, USA
- Places of residence
- Fort Belvoir, Virginia, USA
Hawaii, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
London, Middlesex, England, UK
Washington, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
Group Read: The Knife of Never Letting Go ( in Read YA Lit (February 2012)
Reviews
Burn by Patrick Ness
Alternate history/fantasy at the highest level.
Our setting is rural Washington in a 1957 very much like our own, where high-schooler Sarah Dewhurst is waiting with her father in a parking lot to meet the laborer he is hiring to clear some fields -- a dragon.
And that's the big "not our world" difference. Dragons and humanity co-exist, and they've been at peace for 200 years or so. It's a somewhat uneasy peace, and neither species much trusts the other, but there's not a recorded case of a show more dragon killing a human in centuries. (For a human to kill a dragon would require so precise a blow that it's not thought of as a practical possibility.)
Ness quickly sets up multiple plotlines, hopping from one POV character to another. Sarah's father warns her to stay away from the dragon, who he says cannot be trusted. At school and in their small village, she's dealing with racism -- her late mother was African-American, and her best friend is a Japanese-American boy who spent his early childhood in an internment camp -- especially from a viciously bigoted deputy sheriff.
Meanwhile, north of the Canadian border, a teenaged assassin is making his way to Sarah's town. He's being sent by the Believers, a dragon-worshipping cult; they believe that a great war is about to begin. It's not quite clear who Malcolm is meant to kill, or whether he thinks that killing will start the war or prevent it. He's being pursued by American Federal agents, one of them a former Believer, who are working in Canada without the knowledge of permission of the Canadian government.
The story takes a sharp detour midway through, adding even more characters and dialing the already apocalyptic stakes up a few notches. It's a wild narrative choice, and I spent most of the second half of the novel frantically turning the pages while thinking "how on earth is he making this work?"
Because he does make this work. The story is clever and thrilling, the characters are vivid and well-rounded (*), the mythology and backstory he creates for his dragons feels plausible, and it's all just great fun to read. Ness is realistic about the bigotry his diverse cast would face -- if anything, he's maybe downplaying it -- without turning the novel into OppressionFest '57.
(* -- The biggest exception in this regard is that deputy sheriff, who never quite rises above the level of cartoon bigot. He's a third-tier supporting player, so it's not a major problem, but he is noticably the weakest character in the book.)
Dragon fantasy is very much not my thing, so I went into this one with muted expectations, even though Ness is one of my favorite authors. I needn't have worried; this is some of his best work. Like most of Ness's novels, this is written for a YA audience, but there is enough depth and complexity to the story to keep adult readers entertained.
Ooh, I loved this book. show less
Our setting is rural Washington in a 1957 very much like our own, where high-schooler Sarah Dewhurst is waiting with her father in a parking lot to meet the laborer he is hiring to clear some fields -- a dragon.
And that's the big "not our world" difference. Dragons and humanity co-exist, and they've been at peace for 200 years or so. It's a somewhat uneasy peace, and neither species much trusts the other, but there's not a recorded case of a show more dragon killing a human in centuries. (For a human to kill a dragon would require so precise a blow that it's not thought of as a practical possibility.)
Ness quickly sets up multiple plotlines, hopping from one POV character to another. Sarah's father warns her to stay away from the dragon, who he says cannot be trusted. At school and in their small village, she's dealing with racism -- her late mother was African-American, and her best friend is a Japanese-American boy who spent his early childhood in an internment camp -- especially from a viciously bigoted deputy sheriff.
Meanwhile, north of the Canadian border, a teenaged assassin is making his way to Sarah's town. He's being sent by the Believers, a dragon-worshipping cult; they believe that a great war is about to begin. It's not quite clear who Malcolm is meant to kill, or whether he thinks that killing will start the war or prevent it. He's being pursued by American Federal agents, one of them a former Believer, who are working in Canada without the knowledge of permission of the Canadian government.
The story takes a sharp detour midway through, adding even more characters and dialing the already apocalyptic stakes up a few notches. It's a wild narrative choice, and I spent most of the second half of the novel frantically turning the pages while thinking "how on earth is he making this work?"
Because he does make this work. The story is clever and thrilling, the characters are vivid and well-rounded (*), the mythology and backstory he creates for his dragons feels plausible, and it's all just great fun to read. Ness is realistic about the bigotry his diverse cast would face -- if anything, he's maybe downplaying it -- without turning the novel into OppressionFest '57.
(* -- The biggest exception in this regard is that deputy sheriff, who never quite rises above the level of cartoon bigot. He's a third-tier supporting player, so it's not a major problem, but he is noticably the weakest character in the book.)
Dragon fantasy is very much not my thing, so I went into this one with muted expectations, even though Ness is one of my favorite authors. I needn't have worried; this is some of his best work. Like most of Ness's novels, this is written for a YA audience, but there is enough depth and complexity to the story to keep adult readers entertained.
Ooh, I loved this book. show less
based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd
{stand alone; fantasy, magical realism, young adult, grief, dealing with illness, family}
Siobhan Dowd was an award winning children's author who died from breast cancer in 2007. She had the idea for this book, of a young boy with a mother very ill with cancer but did not get to write it before she died. Ness was asked to write the book, based on her idea. Reading it felt especially poignant knowing this background.
This book was heart-wrenching and so well show more written, but I don't know if I could read it again. It is told (in the third person) from the point of view of thirteen year old Connor O'Malley - an ordinary, decent boy, easy to identify with - whose mother is very sick. She has been through a few rounds of treatment, obviously for cancer, but the current round doesn't seem to be helping as well as it should. Connor's dad is out of the picture, having remarried and moved to America and his mum's mum is a no-nonsense sort of person whom Connor doesn't get on with at all (though we can see she does care about him). Meanwhile, Connor feels ostracised at school because everyone found out that his mum is sick and they walk on eggshells around him - except for Harry and his followers who constantly bully Connor.
But that's not the worst of it. Connor has a recurring nightmare, of darkness and hands slipping from his grasp which has him waking screaming in terror. So when the yew tree at the top of the hill that his mother always gazes at turns into a monster and breaks into his room, Connor isn't scared (which bewilders the monster a bit).
The monster will tell Connor three stories and the fourth, well the fourth one will have to come from Connor and will be the story of his nightmare. And so we live Connor's life with him, at home, with his mum, at school, at night with the yew tree monster and even at the hospital.
Short and bitter-sweet. Beautifully written. I'm still dabbing at tears as I write this (and I never cry, I'll have you know).
Wikipedia tells me this was turned into a film in 2016 and later adapted into an award winning play. I see from other reviewers here that their versions had illustrations but, sadly, my e-book did not.
Recommended. When you're ready.
(May 2024)
5 stars show less
{stand alone; fantasy, magical realism, young adult, grief, dealing with illness, family}
Siobhan Dowd was an award winning children's author who died from breast cancer in 2007. She had the idea for this book, of a young boy with a mother very ill with cancer but did not get to write it before she died. Ness was asked to write the book, based on her idea. Reading it felt especially poignant knowing this background.
This book was heart-wrenching and so well show more written, but I don't know if I could read it again. It is told (in the third person) from the point of view of thirteen year old Connor O'Malley - an ordinary, decent boy, easy to identify with - whose mother is very sick. She has been through a few rounds of treatment, obviously for cancer, but the current round doesn't seem to be helping as well as it should. Connor's dad is out of the picture, having remarried and moved to America and his mum's mum is a no-nonsense sort of person whom Connor doesn't get on with at all (though we can see she does care about him). Meanwhile, Connor feels ostracised at school because everyone found out that his mum is sick and they walk on eggshells around him - except for Harry and his followers who constantly bully Connor.
But that's not the worst of it. Connor has a recurring nightmare, of darkness and hands slipping from his grasp which has him waking screaming in terror. So when the yew tree at the top of the hill that his mother always gazes at turns into a monster and breaks into his room, Connor isn't scared (which bewilders the monster a bit).
The monster's eyes widened. Who am I? it said, its voice getting louder. Who am I?When is a monster not a monster?
The monster seemed to grow before Conor's eyes, getting taller and broader. A sudden, hard wind swirled up around them, and the monster spread its arms out wide, so wide they seemed to reach to opposite horizons, so wide they seemed big enough to encompass the world.
I have had as many names as there are years to time itself! roared the monster. I am Herne the Hunter! I am Cernunnos! I am the eternal Green Man!
A great arm swung down and snatched Conor up in it, lifting him high in the air, the wind whirling around them, making the monster's leafy skin wave angrily.
Who am I? the monster repeated, still roaring. I am the spine that the mountains hang upon! I am the tears that the rivers cry! I am the lungs that breathe the wind! I am the wolf that kills the stag, the hawk that kills the mouse, the spider that kills the fly! I am the stag, the mouse and the fly that are eaten! I am the snake of the world devouring its tail! I am everything untamed and untameable! It brought Conor up close to its eye. I am this wild earth, come for you, Conor O'Malley.
"You look like a tree," Conor said.
The monster squeezed him until he cried out.
I do not often come walking, boy, the monster said, only for matters of life and death. I expect to be listened to.
The monster loosened its grip and Conor could breathe again. "So what do you want with me?" Conor asked.
The monster gave an evil grin. The wind died down and a quiet fell. At last , said the monster. To the matter at hand. The reason I have come walking.
The monster will tell Connor three stories and the fourth, well the fourth one will have to come from Connor and will be the story of his nightmare. And so we live Connor's life with him, at home, with his mum, at school, at night with the yew tree monster and even at the hospital.
Short and bitter-sweet. Beautifully written. I'm still dabbing at tears as I write this (and I never cry, I'll have you know).
Wikipedia tells me this was turned into a film in 2016 and later adapted into an award winning play. I see from other reviewers here that their versions had illustrations but, sadly, my e-book did not.
Recommended. When you're ready.
(May 2024)
5 stars show less
When I saw that Patrick Ness was releasing a new novel set in the world of THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, I rushed to finish the series in anticipation. I'm glad I did because while PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK stands on its own merit, knowing the events of the previous series adds a little something special. Having all that occurred to Todd and Viola fresh in my mind made my reading experience even better.
PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK begins twenty years after the events of MONSTERS OF MEN. show more While Todd and Viola are still in the picture, they are no longer the narrators of our story. Rather, we see the action through Ben and Max, children of that generation who fought against the Mayor and befriended the Land. Both characters are fantastic, self-deprecating as teenagers are wont to do, yet surprisingly mature as well. As young as they are, they have been through some stuff that forced them to grow wiser than their years, and it shows in their thoughts and actions.
Through both boys, we learn that the relationship between the Land and the human survivors is tenuous at best. Making things even more fragile is a new threat that even the Land doesn't know or understand. The struggle for survival, as well as ongoing bigotry and discrimination, creates a tense, action-packed story that builds on what Mr. Ness created so many years ago.
There has never been a Patrick Ness novel I did not love, and that includes PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK. Mr. Ness is so good at inserting modern-day issues while not being obvious about it. His inclusivity is natural, showing how easy it can be to accept someone's identity without fuss. Yet he is always careful to show that nothing is without consequences; for every decision his characters make, we also see the impact of those decisions in the story's greater world. It is a clever bit of storytelling, as he weaves his lessons so intricately into the narrative that you barely notice them. With a stunning reveal and cliffhanger ending, PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK is yet another example of what Mr. Ness does so well. show less
PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK begins twenty years after the events of MONSTERS OF MEN. show more While Todd and Viola are still in the picture, they are no longer the narrators of our story. Rather, we see the action through Ben and Max, children of that generation who fought against the Mayor and befriended the Land. Both characters are fantastic, self-deprecating as teenagers are wont to do, yet surprisingly mature as well. As young as they are, they have been through some stuff that forced them to grow wiser than their years, and it shows in their thoughts and actions.
Through both boys, we learn that the relationship between the Land and the human survivors is tenuous at best. Making things even more fragile is a new threat that even the Land doesn't know or understand. The struggle for survival, as well as ongoing bigotry and discrimination, creates a tense, action-packed story that builds on what Mr. Ness created so many years ago.
There has never been a Patrick Ness novel I did not love, and that includes PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK. Mr. Ness is so good at inserting modern-day issues while not being obvious about it. His inclusivity is natural, showing how easy it can be to accept someone's identity without fuss. Yet he is always careful to show that nothing is without consequences; for every decision his characters make, we also see the impact of those decisions in the story's greater world. It is a clever bit of storytelling, as he weaves his lessons so intricately into the narrative that you barely notice them. With a stunning reveal and cliffhanger ending, PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK is yet another example of what Mr. Ness does so well. show less
This is no ordinary book. The really cool cover that has a tiny door in it led me to hope that might be the case, and then my dreams came true. As the book opens, the main character Seth drowns. Then he wakes up, in what seems to be his childhood home in England, but the whole neighborhood is deserted. Or is it? You can’t take anything at face value in this book. If you look back at my review (in Best of 2013: Fiction) of The Arrivals by Melissa Marr that has a somewhat similar plot, show more you’ll see that I questioned whether whether true conceptual originality is even possible. Well, this novel shows that it is, perversely because it plays with the tropes that we’re all so accustomed to. Is any of the stuff that happens to Seth even really happening? If that sounds annoying, well, it is. When I finished the book, I felt frustrated, because even though the story was delivering the true nature of reality (as follows: you have no idea what’s real), I expect a book to have a certain novelistic sense of closure and explanation because it’s not real life, it’s a book. But then I kept on thinking about this book for a long time so I decided that it was a very profound reading experience where a little bit of frustration was okay. Similar to the experience I had with The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann except that this book is quick and fun and easy to read and has a lot of action and also queer content. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 44
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 29,618
- Popularity
- #678
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 1,666
- ISBNs
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