BOOK REVIEW: Monsters Of Men – by Patrick Ness

Title: Monsters Of Men
(Chaos Walking #3)
Author: Patrick Ness
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
First published: May 3rd 2010
Publisher: Candlewick
Finished reading: August 28th 2017
Pages: 602

“Choices may be unbelievably hard but they’re never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that’s not how a person with integrity acts.”

Warning: unpopular opinion ahead. Dun. Dun. Dun. The unpopular opinion curse has punished me once again… Because behold: I didn’t love the final book of the Chaos Walking trilogy as much as I expected and hoped I would. And trust me, I am still shocked myself I feel this way as well. Despite some minor issues with the slang used in the first two books, I was actually really enjoying this series so far. Like most people who have read at least part of this trilogy, I have really grown attached to both Todd and Viola and I was really looking forward to find out how things would end for both of them. I was expecting to devour Monsters Of Men despite its whopping 600 pages… But that wish didn’t came completely true in the end. Why? First of all, I want to make clear I didn’t hate this story despite the things Patrick Ness does to make my poor heart suffer. I just don’t think it was as good as the first two books. I have been wondering if this has to do with the fact I read A Monster Calls in between and nothing will ever be able to live up to that story… But here’s me trying to explain why I gave Monsters Of Men a lowish rating compared to most. I will not take into account the use of the slang, which I have repeatedly said I didn’t like and since the use is consistent throughout the series won’t affect my relative opinion of Monsters Of Men. It wasn’t the how Patrick Ness decided to end it all or how he made us readers suffer along with the characters either. No, my mean problem with Monsters Of Men is the new POV that is suddenly introduced into the story. A new POV, would you ask? Isn’t this series just about Todd and Viola? Well, the third book is now also about ‘The Return’. This new POV and its chapters left me mostly feeling confused and instead of adding an interesting new angle to the story, I mostly struggled trying to understand what they were talking about or who/what they were referring to. Honestly, I was never able to warm up to those chapters and even confess I started skimreading them at one point. I can’t deny they are beautifully written and Patrick Ness is a pro at creating creative and unique prose, but this POV just wasn’t for me and put a real damper on the rest of the story. I just wish he would have sticked with the Todd/Viola POVs instead… But I guess we can’t have it all. I feel really sad I wasn’t able to like this final book better though.

WARNING: Possible spoilers! Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read the first two books of this trilogy yet. I’ll keep the summary super short but it’s impossible to keep it completely spoiler-free…

Todd and Viola will have to face some very difficult decisions as the situation starts to escalate further. Not only are the indigenous Spackle a threat, but the different human leaders will also do whatever it takes to make sure they reach their goals… Even if this means others will have to suffer for it. They all will defend their own ideas at all costs; endangering the others in the process. Who will win this demostration of power? And what about the convoy of new settlers?

I was so sure I was going to enjoy Monsters Of Men just as much as the previous two books, but I guess my instincts were wrong. It wasn’t the prose. Besides the slang I still find annoying, the writing was just as strong as ever. I still love Todd and Viola just as much as in the first books. And it wasn’t the fact that Patrick Ness is basically an expert at breaking my heart and crushing my feelings either. I had one big problem with Monsters Of Men: ‘The Return’ and his newly introduced POV. This POV is more lyrical and in a way very beautiful, but unfortunately it left me mostly confused and I had a hard time figuring out the who and what of the things mentioned in those chapters. I actually found myself starting to skimread them at some point… Definitely not a good sign. It’s the main reason I had to lower the rating considerably despite my overal positive opinion about the rest of this final book.

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WWW Wednesdays #152 – August 30th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m finally continuing with Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro despite the fact I just couldn’t get into the story the first time around… I’m planning to finish it before the end of the month for a challenge even if I’m still struggling with it. I’m also about to start I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist, one of my last! pending Netgalley ARCs before I can finally fully concentrate on my own books again. It’s a horror story and sounds pretty promising despite the very low Goodreads rating. Fingers crossed!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. The Missing Girls by Carol Wyer (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 
The Missing Girls is a true detective thriller winner for quite a few reasons. Fast-paced, well written, a healthy dose of suspense, one creepy serial killer, plot twists, an interesting character… This third book of the DI Robyn Carter series has all that and more. I really liked the way the social media and cyber bullying theme is incorporated into the story and how it shows the dangers of using those apps. The story definitely ends with a bang though and I will be waiting impatiently to find out what will happen next. Recommended!

2. Little Fire Everywhere by Celeste Ng (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 31/08
Even though I ended up giving Little Fires Everywhere a slightly lower rating than expected, there is no doubt that this was still a very good read. Both the writing, character development and twists were very well done and turn Little Fires Everywhere into an excellent contemporary fiction read with a healthy dose of drama, secrets and lies. The flashbacks to the past are interesting as well as the way as some sensitive themes as abortion are incorporated. And I just loved the photography elements! Fans of the genre will love this book.

3. The Accident by S.D. Monaghan (3/5 stars) REVIEW 01/09
Action-packed, thrilling, suspenseful, crazy, rollercoaster ride… All words that apply to The Accident and its plot. Fans of action thrillers will devour this story and will especially love the final part, which almost reads like one of those popular action movies. That said, I personally did have some problems with the credibility both of the characters, their actions and the plot in general. It felt almost like too many different angles where squeezed into an already eventful plot and it started to have the opposite effect on me. I wasn’t a fan of the characters either, but I can also see how the right person would love this book.

4. Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness (3/5 stars) REVIEW 03/09
I was so sure I was going to enjoy Monsters Of Men just as much as the previous two books, but I guess my instincts were wrong. It wasn’t the prose. Besides the slang I still find annoying, the writing was just as strong as ever. I still love Todd and Viola just as much as in the first books. And it wasn’t the fact that Patrick Ness is basically an expert at breaking my heart and crushing my feelings either. I had one big problem with Monsters Of Men: ‘The Return’ and his newly introduced POV. This POV is more lyrical and in a way very beautiful, but unfortunately it left me mostly confused and I had a hard time figuring out the who and what of the things mentioned in those chapters. I actually found myself starting to skimread them at some point… Definitely not a good sign. It’s the main reason I had to lower the rating considerably despite my overal positive opinion about the rest of this final book.

5. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (4/5 stars)  REVIEW 05/09
I kept the summary supershort since I’m positive just about everyone will already be familiar with this classic in the first place. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is surprisingly easy to read for a classic and quite short as well; I was able to fly through it in a blink of an eye. There isn’t much of a plot to talk about and basically nothing really makes sense, but in the end this story was able to bring a smile to my face and sometimes that is just the most important thing. I do realize now most of the retellings are way more detailed than the original story… Something that has truly surprised me.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

No matter what happens, I’m going to pick up Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab next.  I’ve been suffering for way too long already and it’s been a miracle I haven’t run into spoilers so far in the first place! I also want to read A Different Blue by Amy Harmon soon… I love her books so far and can’t wait to read this one. Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin is also high on my list. My newest TBR jar pick is Flowers For Algéron by Daniel Keyes, a modern classic that I can conveniently use for one of the challenges as well. 😉

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Teaser Tuesdays #154 – August 29th: Monsters Of Men

TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly book meme hosted at The Purple Booker. To participate, just open the book you are currently reading to a random page, and choose two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page. (no spoilers!)

I’m finally reading the final book of the Chaos Walking trilogy (most likely I will finish it today), and I’m having mixed feelings about Monsters Of Men right now. Mostly due to the new POV of ‘The Return‘ which I’m finding rather confusing instead of intriguing, and a little because of the same slang that has been bothering me since the beginning. It’s not that I don’t like it, but I don’t LOVE love it either. Maybe I just have myself to blame for picking up A Monster Calls first and therefore destroying any chance for Patrick Ness‘  other books to live up to it??? 😉

My teaser (26%):

“The Sky left me today, to be alone, as the Sky occasionally does. It is a need of the Sky, of any Sky.

But he returned with new words.

So where did he hear them?”

What are you reading right now?

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WWW Wednesdays #151 – August 23rd

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m finally continuing with The Missing Girls by Carol Wyer… It’s not that I didn’t want to read it (in fact it’s the other way around), but I had some other books I needed to read first and then I was behind with reviews and didn’t want to mix things up in the reviews by reading too many similar books. 😉 I’m also starting Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness as soon as I finish The Missing Girls. I was going to read it last week but ended up reading a different Patrick Ness title instead after seeing the movie first on Netflix (which I never do and had to remedy that by reading the book immediately after). I’ve still posponed Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro until I finish some other reads first because I just can’t get into the story right now.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Girl In Snow by Danya Kukafka (2,5/5 stars) REVIEW 
I really wanted to enjoy this story, but unfortunately I did stumble upon a few problems that made it harder for me to actually enjoy the reading experience. I’m not saying the writing is bad at all, but I do think it is something that either works for you or it doesn’t. Once I got used to it, Girl In Snow did turn out to be quite a fast read and there were some aspects and themes I really liked. Cameron is quite an interesting character both because of his memory loss and mental health issues. I can’t say I actually liked the characters and I wasn’t sure if some aspects of the plot and connections were completely credible, but the right person will probably love this story.

2. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (5/5 stars) REVIEW 23/08
I should have known already I would love this book after seeing so many glowing reviews and after positive experiences with some of his other stories, but WOW. This is hands down my new favorite Patrick Ness story and it will be hard for any other story to live up to this one. Between the brilliant prose, characters, powerful and emotional topics and perfect mix of reality and fantasy there just isn’t something I didn’t love about A Monster Calls. Read this book if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it.

3. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 24/08
If you like fast-paced and twisty thrillers that read like a train, you will love The Kind Worth Killing. This story is packed with plot twists that will both surprise you and keep you guessing about what will happen next until the very end. The writing is excellent and only helps enjoying the story even more. The flashbacks to the past of Lily don’t distract from the main plot at all and only help to develop her character further. In short, definitely read this title if you haven’t already and like the genre. It’s just as good as everybody keeps promising in their raving reviews!

4. Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips (3/5 stars) REVIEW 26/08
While I had problems with the credibility of it all, I did very much enjoy reading Fierce Kingdom and I could really appreciate the refreshing plot and the fact that it isn’t just another psychological thriller. The focus on the bond between Joan and her son was interesting and added a whole different level to this story. Definitely one to keep in mind.

5. The Secret Of Heaven by Felix Alexander (2/5 stars)  REVIEW 28/08
I really thought I was going to enjoy this one and I’m still wondering if I picked it up at the wrong time, but the fact is that The Secret Of Heaven didn’t manage to convince me in the end. The writing isn’t bad and it shows that the historical elements are very well researched, but there were too many characters involved and the pace wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be with the extensive descriptions slowing it down. I normally love historical details so I was really surprised I wasn’t able to enjoy this story more!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I have two Netgalley ARCs with upcoming deadlines I need to read: The Accident by S.D. Monaghan and I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist. If I read both and manage to not get any new titles it means I’ll finally be below my 5 pending ARCs limit! 😀 😀 I’m also dying to finally pick up Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab… I still don’t know why it’s taking me this long other than that I don’t want this duology to end yet. And I have a new TBR jar pick! Flowers For Algéron by Daniel Keyes, a modern classic that I can conveniently use for one of the challenges as well. 😉

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WWW Wednesdays #150 – August 16th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I decided to give Girl In Snow by Danya Kukafka another shot since the deadline is coming up, and this time it’s definitely going a lot better. I can’t say I love it, but it seems to be a very fast read so far. As soon as I reach the final page, I’m picking up The Missing Girls by Carol Wyer. I’ve been dying to read this book ever since it appeared on my kindle and I can’t bear to wait any longer! I’ve also posponed Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro for now because I just can’t get into the story.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Dead To Me by Stephen Edger (2,5/5 stars) REVIEW 17/08
There is a lot to love in Dead To Me and I would probably have given it a lot higher rating if it wouldn’t have been for the main character Kate. Sadly I couldn’t ignore the fact that she is the most important character of this new series and the whole story is told around her… And it’s really hard to properly enjoy a story when you absolutely despise the main character, no matter how good the writing and plot are. The writing, plot, twists and intense feel were more than promising and I do hope there will be a ‘Kate-less’ thriller by his hand in the future.

2. Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore (4/5 stars) REVIEW 18/08
Reincarnation Blues isn’t the type of book I normally pick up, but sometimes browsing outside your comfort zone can bring some very pleasant surprises. This book turned out to be a hidden gem and I really enjoyed following Milo’s story as he lives his lives through time and space. Some chapters were a bit too futuristic for me, but that is probably mostly me since sci-fi isn’t really my genre in the first place. The writing was wonderful though as well as the rest of the story.

3. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 20/08
I was pleasantly surprised by just how easy it was to read this classic. Sure, the dialogues felt a bit dated, but the rest of the writing read naturally and made it really easy to enjoy Mowgli’s story. The other four stories included afterwards weren’t as enjoyable for me and lowered the rating a bit, but all in all I can definitely recommend The Jungle Book to those who are looking for an easy and entertaining classic. The songs at the beginning of the chapters were a nice touch!

4. Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 21/08
I have been looking forward to this title for a while now and it was without doubt just as good or even better than hoped. I had such a great time reading Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore and the two mysteries/puzzles that are included are both fascinating and well executed. The bookish elements are a true delight and I had a great time discovering more about Joey and Lydia, their past and their development. The writing is wonderful as well and made me fly through the pages… All in all I can highly recommend this title.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I really need to pick up The Secret Of Heaven by Felix Alexander since it’s an ARC way past due… Afterwards I’m probably going to pick up Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness next because I really want to know how the story ends. I also need to read The Accident by S.D. Monaghan to help me clean out my Netgalley shelf (which is going really well as I only have eight titles left; and two less after I finish my current reads). My newest TBR jar pick is still The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. Looking forward to be reading it soon!

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WWW Wednesdays #149 – August 9th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve just started with Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, a title I’ve decided to finally pick up since I needed to read an author starting with the letter ‘I’ to complete my ABC Author challenge. I also need to read Dead To Me by Stephen Edger since the publish date is coming up soon… And I picked another classic to read: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I still can’t believe I’ve never read this book before! I must have seen the Disney movie a dozen of times when I was little.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard (2,5/5 stars) REVIEW 
Initially I thought I was really going to enjoy this story and the writing style is without doubt enjoyable at first. I can’t point out the exact moment I started to enjoy Beautiful Broken Things less, but there is no doubt that the final part of this story didn’t live up to the promising start. There were certain things that started to bother me: the cliches, some of the characters and the way they act and think, the way important (darker) themes are handled… All in all not what I expected.

2. The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW
Just give one look at that cover and you will get a pretty good idea of what is waiting for you inside. The illustrations of The Little Red Wolf are absolutely gorgeous and will make you happy by just looking at them. They are very detailed as well; full of little drawings inside drawings to discover the longer you look at each page. The story itself is a mix of typical fairy tale and something a bit more darker and haunting, which is why I don’t think it’s suited for the youngest readers… But age 6 and up should be ok depending on how sensitive the child is to tragic themes.

3. Hide And Seek by Richard Parker (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 10/08
If you enjoy reading fast-paced, intense and slightly twisted thrillers, you will definitely be in a treat reading Hide And Seek. This story will have you in its claws right from the very first page and trust me, it will be very hard to stop reading before you reach the final page. Hide And Seek is a kidnapping story with a twist and a LOT of action and suspense. The only thing I wasn’t sure about involved the characters, but that was only minor compared to the rest of the story. Recommended!

4. Sister by Rosamund Lupton (2,5/5 stars) REVIEW 12/08
Part of the problem I had with this book has probably been caused by reading it in Dutch, but I don’t think the language barrier was solely to blame for my negative reading experience with Sister. Between the superslow pace, writing style I couldn’t connect to and characters I never warmed up to, it was quite hard to actually enjoy reading this story. It was a very slow ride and it took me a whole month to reach the final page. The last part did improve considerably and the final twist was a huge surprise that will make you reconsider everything you read before. I don’t think that made up for the rest of the story though.

5. The Ask And The Answer (4/5 stars) REVIEW 14/08
It’s been too long since I read the first book, so I can’t properly compare the two… But what I do know is that I enjoyed The Ask And The Answer just as much as the first book. I had once again the same reaction to the slang the men use in Todd’s chapters, which I found mostly highly annoying. That would be my only real complaint though and I still thoroughly enjoyed this sequel. I’m definitely going to read the third and final book soon now!

6. The Other Girl by Erica Spindler (?/5 stars) REVIEW 15/08
Coming soon…

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I’m probably going to pick up Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness next because I really want to know how the story ends… The only reason I haven’t already is because I still need to finish my review of book two. I also need to read Girl In Snow by Danya Kukafka urgently and Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan is also high on my list. My newest TBR jar pick is still The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. I’ve been wanting to read this title for ages so I saw it as a sign it was about time I did when I opened the paper. Looking forward to be reading it soon!

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