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The Knife of Never Letting Go

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The Knife of Never Letting Go

By: Patrick Ness
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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About this listen

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. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

©2008 Patrick Ness (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Action & Adventure Difficult Situations Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Survival Stories Dystopian Survival

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Critic reviews

"Furiously paced, terrifying, exhilarating, and heartbreaking, The Knife of Never Letting Go is a book that haunts your imagination." ( Sunday Telegraph)
"A series opener as promising as it is provocative." ( The Horn Book)
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It's a coming-of-age storyline yet its quite complex. The construction and imagery of this new world is subtle and believably alien, the characters true and the events dramatic, graphic and surprising. We journey with Todd as he is forced to leave his home, discover the cause of the quiet within the "noise" and face his many difficulties with Manchee but without vital knowledge. There are satisfyingly horrible "baddies" and events, and very likeable "goodies" in the story. We travel at a good clip with no dull or wasted places and just when we think its going to work out ok for him... we are left teetering.. wait! There's another book in the trilogy. Good!

The concept of a world where the thoughts of men and animals are audible and noisy intrigued me, the sample got me with Humphrey Bower's voicing of Manchee the dog's; "Need a poo Todd", "Poo. Poo Todd." It made me laugh because its just how your dog WOULD say it. He has done an exemplary job of narration and disappears into the characters and story smoothly and perfectly as an ideal narrator should.

There's something of the flavour of the Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness series by Michelle Paver although Patrick Ness's style is different of course, and I believe this book is suitable for the same age-group of early teens up.

I highly recommend both series no matter what your age.

Awesome, can't wait for the next in the series.

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This is a riveting book, but I found the subject matter too sad and unsettling, and do not wish to read the rest of the series. However, the book ends in the middle of a scene, without any form of conclusion, in the aim to force you onto the next book. No thank you. This is clearly a book aimed at teenagers, not adults, but can be enjoyed by adults too. The narrator does an excellent job of portraying the two main characters - Viola and Todd - two children running for their lives. The book is set in a different time on a different planet, where everyone can hear each other's thoughts, including the animals. You care greatly for the characters and their dog. There is much sadness and tears, (as well as suspense) and for this reason I will not let my own children listen to the book despite them being the right ages for it, ,and it is also why I personally would not read the subsequent books. This was a great concept and it written in an engaging way, but it could have been turned into a different story. I prefer my kids to read happy uplifting books, not sad books, and I want my books to have some kind of conclusion as opposed to being left mid-sentence in the middle of an action scene.

No ending, book stops mid-scene. Upsetting scenes.

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I’m not sure who the target audience of this book is. The way it’s written seems to be aimed at children, although it has some more adult themes (but I guess kids are more hardened than they were when I was young!). Anyway, it’s well written and brilliantly read, although I’m not rushing to get the next one in the series.

Really good but not for me

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A terrific story beautifully written and well told. I would recommend this book to young people and adults alike.

A story of growing up, friendship and loyalty

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Really enjoyed this book. Performance was wonderful, the story/the world it's set in really well thought out.
Was both disappointed and happy at the end when I realised it was a series. Disappointed because I wanted to know the end, but then happy when I realised I wasn't ready to leave new world yet.

Engaging

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