Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - THEN USE IT


Pros: Creative world, ideas, and hot dang if Ness didn't fail to kill his darlings.
Cons: It made me angry, angry angry and JUST KILL THAT PERSON ALREADY.

The Bottom Line: Viola is my frigging hero.

First of all, let me say that rating this book at Epinions was very hard for me to do. There were so many different elements of this book that did different things and made me feel various ways that choosing a final star rating was tricky. Obviously, I managed it and I managed a four, but for a while it was a three. I'll explain.

But first, a quick book sum up:

Todd is just like anyone else in Prentisstown. He can hear everyone's Noise - all their thoughts jumbled together. Animals can talk too. So it's all Noise, all the time. No room for privacy, for secrets, and definitely no possibility of quiet. Until one day Todd notices a hole in the Noise. A silence all its own. That's when it all goes downhill. Todd has to flee and it seems like everyone in the town is after him. He doesn't understand why, though he's quickly discovering that everything he knew is a lie.

Most of the time while reading this, I was angry. Angry at a lot of things. Angry at Todd for making certain (astoundingly stupid) decisions. Angry at other characters (and at the same time, the author) for holding off on not telling Todd the truth about, well, anything. Angry at the author for holding off on that truth for so long because by then a lot of people (myself included) had guessed it. Angry at one particular death that did, in fact, make me cry, and angry because one character who should have died very early on, did not (and the fact that said character didn't defies all logic, hence making it look stupid as well).

I do give props to Patrick Ness for creating a story that evoked emotions from me, yet at the same time, I don't think you want your reader sitting there angry for most of the book. It's becoming a particular pet peeve of mine when a character fails to tell another character something important when they have time even for a short version. Instead, they spend that time yelling at each other, things like, "You have to run now!" and "But why? What's going on?" and "Don't talk now, get your stuff and go!" etc. when all that needs to happen is for one person to say, "They killed your dad and now they're here to kill you so GET OUT." That is in no way related to this book, by the way. Pure example. Or when other characters think they have all the time in the world despite the main characters telling them they don't and they're clearly not lying. Drives me insane.

I also give Ness props for creating a unique world where everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts. You'll figure out why and where this place is etc. as you read, and it's an interesting story with even more interesting truths that appear later. Knowing that, however, makes it weird when something like squirrels appear. Are they really squirrels, or did the people there just decide to call them that for their similar properties?

And, while a part of me really, really hates to do it, Ness gets credit for having the guts to do away with the one character that made me cry. They say to writers, "Kill your darlings." And actually, it's almost not even so much the death as the way it happened that made me cry because I could totally see the look in the eyes, I could easily picture how it all went down and it just broke my heart. You suck Ness. But my writer side applauds you for your cajones.

However, I must take points away from Ness due to the other character that was like the friggin' Energizer Bunny from hell. For what the character wanted, the person made it a lot more difficult than it needed to be, but whatever. And I just do not, DO NOT believe the person would have escaped the very first time. I don't. Sorry.

I'd also like to say that people who refuse to kill people who intend to kill them are morons. I'm sorry, but if you try to kill me over and over and overoverover again, no, we're done. That is something that also drives me insane. Even more so when something minding it's own business gets killed and yet nope, we can't kill the other people because that makes us bad. NO. Sorry, but my personal philosophy just really gets in the way here and I ended up saying things out loud like, "I swear, if this person doesn't $#@%! die, I am going to be SO mad."

Ironically enough, the ending didn't really bug me because I'd read other reviews mention the, ah, abruptness, so I was easily able to guess how things would play out, abruptness aside. Still, if you want to know how everything plays out, you'll need to get books two and three. Will I? Maybe. It's hard to say. With how I felt about this one, if book two is anything like this, I'd rather not. I don't want to spend another four hours of my life being nothing but frustrated and angry.

So why, if I'm complaining this much, did I give the book four stars at Epinions? (and I apologize for the wild ramble)

Because it really is a good story. It's got a lot of cool ideas and things going on. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, and Ness gets his characters to do things that make you react and he really knows how to make bad guys that you really hope die in painful ways. As a writer, he makes some bold choices that can easily have readers loving him or hating him. The style of the book is in Todd's voice, which includes slang, present tense, and, of course, Noise. It's risky, but he pulls it off. And I'm only one person. Even though I spent most of my time being mad, I know a lot of people will react in different ways, so I like to step back and take a look at it as objectively as I can (also why I didn't write the review the same day I finished the book). In that respect, it is a four star book.

Do give it a try if you like speculative fiction, teen dystopia, or some of Ness's ideas. Whether or not you'll want to move on to the next few books will all depend upon how you feel about this one.

NT

And yes. Viola is my frigging hero in this book. THANK YOU.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Ness did a good job with Todd's dog, Manchee. At first I gave a lot of credit to dogs, thinking that they'd have maybe a bit more to say, but then realized after thinking about my own dog, they very well may not. After all, I've even pictured what my dog thinks when we play with him - his little brain with a ticker tape machine going:

Ball! Ballballballballballballballballballballballballballballballballball...

Originally posted on Epinions.com

Notes from the playlist: "Carnival of Rust" by Poets of the Fall

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Recommended for Libyrinthians and More

The Boy From Ilysies by Pearl North

The second book to Libyrinth, this one is even wilder with all sorts of twists and turns going on, from cultural clashes to scheming queens, technologically advanced/magic pens and what it means to change. This is a teen book that has a lot going on and takes all your attention. You'll keep reading it even when you figure you should probably go to bed since you have to get up early the next day, but hey, it's worth it. It picks up right where Libyrinth left off, with a boy named Po who has to figure out how he fits into the new world they've made and how he can help save the entire Libyrinth. No pressure, right?

Read the Epinions review here!


Notes from the playlist: "Streets of Gold" by 3OH!3

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Recommended for Collectors and Shakespearians

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Yes. I'm one of those people who decided to buy the entire works of William Shakespeare, sonnets, plays, and all. But why not? I love some of his plays - Julius Caesar is a personal favorite. And there are several I never had the chance to read and some English classes I took buchered them (I'd looked forward to reading MacBeth for the longest time, only to have it ruined). So I wanted the chance to read them and enjoy them on my own. Barnes & Noble offers this sweet leatherbound version for only $20 that I snatched up during a shopping spree one year. It's not abridged or otherwise messed with, but if you want footnotes and translations, you'll have to turn elsewhere. After all, this is all of Shakespeare's work - there's no room for anything extra.

It's also a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a bunch of single books - especially if you're in college (the only snag is those professors with their "preferred" books).


Notes from the playlist: "Like the Sun" by RyanDan

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Recommended for Readers of the Future

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Unlike most books that catch my fancy, this one actually had to work at it. But it was in a dump (re: cardboard display) near the front and so I always saw it. The cover really is nice, and eventually I snuck a few peeks. Eventually I discovered that after all the rationalizing in my head I'd done about why I didn't want to read this book, I really ought to read this book. So I did. And I enjoyed. Very much. Amy is set to be cryogenically frozen for 300 years, but is awoken 50 years too early - and not by accident. Someone is killing the other frozens, and the only one that can help her is Elder, a boy set to take control of the ship. But everything on the ship seems to be fashioned from lies. Amy knows she can't trust anything - maybe not even Elder. There's a lot to be enjoyed here, so if you haven't visited a spaceship in a while, now is the time to do it.

Read the Epinions review here!


Notes from the playlist: "Major Tom" by Shiny Toy Guns

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Whoops! I completely forgot to mention this. Last month I reviewed Stephanie Garber's amazing book Caraval for the web blog I curre...