Synopsis:
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee—whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not—stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden—a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
Review:
I actually had this book read to me by the great Humphrey Bower on Audible. It's easy to say I automatically fell in love with the book and Bowers narration. Whilst reviewing this book I'm going to try to keep spoilers to a minimum in case anyone out there hasn't read this masterpiece yet.
The story follows Todd Hewitt who is on the verge of 'manhood' and he lives in Prentisstown, a world without women and where the thoughts of men and “creachers” (his pet dog Manchee included) can be heard. Todd’s father died of illness and his mother was the “last of the women”, according to Ben who is one of two men who are raising him. Amongst the chaos of haring the 'noise' Todd likes to pick apples in the orchard where he can get a break from all of the men's thoughts, memories and secrets.
Whilst out on a walk with his dog, Manchee, Todd encounters a break in the Noise, a pocket of pure silence and when Todd and Manchee return home, their Noise reveals (with no lack in trying to keep it quiet) reveals what happened in the swamp, and Todd, with Manchee at his heels, a packed bag, Ben’s big hunting knife, and his mom’s journal, is sent away from the only home he’s ever known.
When Todd encounters a girl on his travels, and comes across towns filled with men and women, everything he has ever known about the world is changed in an instant. The men of Prentisstown are harboring a terrible secret and will stop at absolutely nothing to get Todd back.
The Knife if Never Letting Go is a fast paced read, gripping and intense. Action packed, without a single boring chapter. There is so much to say about this book, its a tale of many things, its not for the faint hearted to, containing scenes of murder and other adult like themes. As you can also expect, this isn't the only book as it does indeed belong to a series called Chaos Walking which also includes The Ask and The Answer and Monsters of Men which are the following 2 majors books to the series but Chaos also includes 3 mini books as I like to call them which add more detail to the adventure. I personally can not wait to get my hands on all of the other books as I loved this one just soooo much. I cant score it any less than a 5/5 after saying that anyway so it does indeed get a 5/5 from me.