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Liked It “This is the second book in the trilogy. Unlike other middle books of three this keeps up the pace and intensity of the first and leaves you desperate for the next instalment.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This is the second book in the trilogy. Unlike other middle books of three this keeps up the pace and intensity of the first and leaves you desperate for the next instalment.”
C Johnston wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Absolutely amazing. I was gripped cant wait for monsters of men in May.”
Zoë D wrote this review Saturday, October 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“In a new area (which I'll leave unnamed to avoid spoiling) Viola and Todd face new challenges; Todd is in jail and Viola imprisoned in a healing house. The pair go their seperate ways. Fighting a war where no one can win.
Deedge wrote this review Tuesday, October 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book is very different from the first in the series. The first has a lot of action involved showing an adventure from A to B. The second brings a very different approach. I saw this book as a moral story that questions what is right and wrong. I thought it was not as engaging as the first in ways. The first seemed more set out. It had a clear goal for the characters. This one felt slow at times, it did pick up enormous pace at times and it felt a lot more emotionally probing. This was a very intresting read indeed”
“i love this book it's got a killer ending and you should really read it after you read the knife of never letting go.patricness another great book.thank you mr wood for reading this to room 13 you a superb”
ethan w wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“bludy choice”
corbin M wrote this review Wednesday, August 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Even better than the first! Not a goal orientated narrative this time. Stong themes though of propaganda. Dualisms galore!”
Stephen W wrote this review Sunday, July 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ohmygod todd just kiss viola already!”
Tammy T wrote this review Wednesday, June 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Once again, a rollercoaster of a book. However, I couldn't read this as fast as The Knife of Never Letting Go as there are some very violent scenes and I had to put it down and walk away from it. Definitely not for the faint-hearted!”
Maree M wrote this review Saturday, May 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Knife of Never Letting Go ended with a massive cliffhanger, followed by the words "The End".
Robert H wrote this review Sunday, April 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The Ask and the Answer starts with the words "The End" and carries straight on. Where the first novel was a long chase story, introducing us to this strange world and the history of the people there, this second novel is not a novel about chases, but about oppression and moral compromise. Todd and Viola are separated, and they have different political paths in a morally murky world of fascism, segregation, oppression, torture and war. The first story was like an action movie. This one is like a dystopia.
The Ask and the Answer deals with many issues - appeasement, terrorism, fascism and so on - without delivering easy answers. In a way, this book gets too educational, too school-friendly for its own good. Where the first was entertaining, this one is much less of a thrill-ride, much more of a book wanting to be analysed and chewed over. Except, there are things in it that undermine the intellectual developments. The cure, the mayor's ability to cloak and weaponise noise, convenient coincidences, the completely unrealistic tendency of all the villains to give Todd and Viola central importance in all their schemes... for all its earnestness and seeming good intentions, the book is not deep or literary enough to match its own ambitions.
It's a decent read, but it did not grab me as much as Knife did, and it felt very bleak and cold as a read. It lacked the energy and joy that I had hoped for.
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