Title: Monsters Of MenAuthor: Patrick Ness
First Published: May 3rd 2010
Series: Chaos Walking #3
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia
Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook
Pages: 603
My Copy: Physical copy
My Rating: 8/10
Goodreads Summary
Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await?
This is the final book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I enjoyed it quite a lot, though there were some parts where I was about to fall asleep. If I could sum up the whole plot in the least amount of words, it would be: "TODD! VIOLA!"
That's it. It's literally the two of them yelling each other's names for 80% of the book. Todd and Viola have matured a lot, with the two of them stuck on opposing sides of the war. In a nutshell, it's women vs. men vs. Spackle. To Viola's dismay, Todd has decided to team up with the Mayor/President to defeat the Spackle, their common enemy. By this book, I feel that Mayor Prentiss isn't really as bad as a protagonist the first two books makes him out to be, because you can really tell that he wants humans to survive this war and he's willing to sacrifice many things for that to happen. Of course, there are moments when you feel pure loathing for him (like when Todd finds out the Mayor sent his son Davy to war with an empty gun). But there is a more human side to the Mayor, which you can se when he is with Todd. It's obvious that the Mayor cares for Todd, more than he ever did with Davy.
Todd is so different! He's strong, composed and knows what he is doing. I think being in a world like that really changed him. As they would put it, he is officially a "man". Also, his control over his Noise is getting stronger; his ability almost on par with the Mayor himself! It's pretty cool how the Noise isn't just a nuisance, but so much more can be done with it.
Viola is quite different too. She's still resourceful and intuitive, but she lets her emotions cloud her judgement too easily. Emotions for Todd, that is. It's hinted that they have began to fall in love with each other, but the chemistry is weak (at least, to me it is). Viola is always hesitant to do things, especially when it comes to huge decisions that will affect the lives of everyone. Okay, I can't blame her for it, since when can anyone make those kind of decisions with determination?
Like I said in my review of The Ask and the Answer, the lines between good and bad are blurred beyond recognition in this trilogy. You think Mayor Prentiss is the worst one, but then you realise that Mistress Coyle may be just as bad - or even worse. Both are willing to exploit either Todd or Viola to get what they want, and they sure don't care how many people die in the process. Viola's dilemma about whether or not to help Mistress Coyle is emphasised so much through the book that at a point, it becomes almost annoying. Okay Viola - we get you want to save Todd, but would you rather save one person and condemn thousands, or condemn one and save thousands?
I really liked the introduction of Spackle 1017's POV in this book. It really gave me insight on how the Spackle were seeing the war. They have pretty confusing vocabulary, and it took me a while to understand what they were referring to. Anyways, the Spackle seem to be a peaceful bunch, except 1017, but can you blame him? He was enslaved by men for so long - he's bound to want revenge. The hatred is so strong through the pages that you feel so sorry for him.
The ending was torture! *Spoiler alert* It was so ambiguous! We never know for sure if Todd ever wakes up, though there is a pretty big chance that he will. When 1017/the Sky shot him and he lay dying, Viola's reaction was pretty heart-breaking. I hope Todd does wake up because those two really need to sort out their relationship >:D *Spoiler over*
Overall, this was a pretty good conclusion to the trilogy and it was definitely worth the read. Like all Patrick Ness' books, it was really enjoyable and it felt more than a story. I really like his writing and I hope to read more of his books in the future!
That's it. It's literally the two of them yelling each other's names for 80% of the book. Todd and Viola have matured a lot, with the two of them stuck on opposing sides of the war. In a nutshell, it's women vs. men vs. Spackle. To Viola's dismay, Todd has decided to team up with the Mayor/President to defeat the Spackle, their common enemy. By this book, I feel that Mayor Prentiss isn't really as bad as a protagonist the first two books makes him out to be, because you can really tell that he wants humans to survive this war and he's willing to sacrifice many things for that to happen. Of course, there are moments when you feel pure loathing for him (like when Todd finds out the Mayor sent his son Davy to war with an empty gun). But there is a more human side to the Mayor, which you can se when he is with Todd. It's obvious that the Mayor cares for Todd, more than he ever did with Davy.
Todd is so different! He's strong, composed and knows what he is doing. I think being in a world like that really changed him. As they would put it, he is officially a "man". Also, his control over his Noise is getting stronger; his ability almost on par with the Mayor himself! It's pretty cool how the Noise isn't just a nuisance, but so much more can be done with it.
Viola is quite different too. She's still resourceful and intuitive, but she lets her emotions cloud her judgement too easily. Emotions for Todd, that is. It's hinted that they have began to fall in love with each other, but the chemistry is weak (at least, to me it is). Viola is always hesitant to do things, especially when it comes to huge decisions that will affect the lives of everyone. Okay, I can't blame her for it, since when can anyone make those kind of decisions with determination?
Like I said in my review of The Ask and the Answer, the lines between good and bad are blurred beyond recognition in this trilogy. You think Mayor Prentiss is the worst one, but then you realise that Mistress Coyle may be just as bad - or even worse. Both are willing to exploit either Todd or Viola to get what they want, and they sure don't care how many people die in the process. Viola's dilemma about whether or not to help Mistress Coyle is emphasised so much through the book that at a point, it becomes almost annoying. Okay Viola - we get you want to save Todd, but would you rather save one person and condemn thousands, or condemn one and save thousands?
I really liked the introduction of Spackle 1017's POV in this book. It really gave me insight on how the Spackle were seeing the war. They have pretty confusing vocabulary, and it took me a while to understand what they were referring to. Anyways, the Spackle seem to be a peaceful bunch, except 1017, but can you blame him? He was enslaved by men for so long - he's bound to want revenge. The hatred is so strong through the pages that you feel so sorry for him.
The ending was torture! *Spoiler alert* It was so ambiguous! We never know for sure if Todd ever wakes up, though there is a pretty big chance that he will. When 1017/the Sky shot him and he lay dying, Viola's reaction was pretty heart-breaking. I hope Todd does wake up because those two really need to sort out their relationship >:D *Spoiler over*
Overall, this was a pretty good conclusion to the trilogy and it was definitely worth the read. Like all Patrick Ness' books, it was really enjoyable and it felt more than a story. I really like his writing and I hope to read more of his books in the future!
My Chosen Quote
“To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.”
Haha, I loved your two word summary you gave at the beginning of the review! It sounds like both Todd and Viola went through quite the transformation throughout the series. That's definitely a good sign, for them! I really like the idea of blurring the lines between good and evil, so I'm definitely going to get to the first book as soon as I can!
ReplyDeleteThe size of the book really threw me off in the beginning, but I'm glad I actually decided to sit down and read it. It definitely doesn't disappoint!
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