Monsters of Men

Last updated

Monsters of Man
Monsters of Men.jpg
Front cover of first edition
Author Patrick Ness
LanguageEnglish
Series Chaos Walking #3
Genre Young-adult, science fiction
Publisher
Publication date
  • 3 May 2010 [1]
  • 28 September 2010 (US)
Publication placeUK
Media typePrint (hardcover & trade paper), audio CD [2]
Pages602 (first edition)
ISBN 978-1-4063-1027-6
OCLC 501398023
LC Class PZ7.N43843 Mon 2010 [3]
Preceded by The Ask and the Answer  

Monsters of Men is a young adult science fiction novel by Patrick Ness, published by Walker Books in May 2010. It is the third book of the Chaos Walking trilogy inaugurated two years earlier by The Knife of Never Letting Go . Walker's U.S. division Candlewick Press published hardcover and audiobook editions within the calendar year. [2] [3]

Contents

Ness won the annual Carnegie Medal from CILIP, recognising the year's best new book for children or young adults published in the U.K. [4] [5] [6] [7]

The title is taken from previous dialogue in the series; "War makes monsters of men" is said in Knife, which both Todd and Viola later quote. [8]

Plot summary

An army of Spackle marches on New Prentisstown from one direction, and the forces of The Answer from the other. Mayor Prentiss has been freed by Todd to help defend the city, whilst Viola attempts to warn incoming settlers.

Prentiss' army and the Spackle's engage in combat. Meanwhile, Viola and Mistress Coyle confer with Bradley and Simone, the scout ship pilots; Coyle wants to use the ship's missiles to destroy Prentiss. However, Prentiss' army pushes the Spackle army back into the forest. 1017, now branded "The Return", has made his way to the Spackle camp. He is the only surviving slave, and seeks revenge on Todd and the settlers.

The Spackle dam off the river to block the water supply and attack Prentiss' camp. Coyle attempts to manipulate Viola to use the scout ship, and when Todd is in danger, she launches a missile that kills most Spackle warriors. The Return argues with The Sky, the leader of the Spackle, demanding more attacks. The Sky refuses, but reveals a captured, hibernating Ben, Todd's adoptive father. The Sky promises Ben to The Return if the two armies reach peace. The Spackle begin attacking the town at random. During a raid, Todd knocks Prentiss unconscious and takes over. Prentiss praises him for having such ability.

Prentiss' army without water, and The Answer without food, are forced into a peace talk. The two groups work together – Prentiss lures Spackle and The Answer provides bombs. Angry that Prentiss undermines her, Coyle sends a bomb into the Spackle stronghold. The Spackle respond with a message to send two people to meet the next morning.

Viola and Bradley are sent to negotiate with the Spackle. The Return attempts to murder Viola in revenge, but stops when he sees the ID band on her arm, sympathising. Although the peace talks are successful, the Spackle launch a surprise attack on Prentiss and Todd the next day. Prentiss, planning ahead, had already set up his artillery and soldiers. After killing the attacking Spackle, The Sky surrenders. The Return goes to kill Ben, angered by both the surrender and his inability to kill Viola. The Sky meets him there, and watches as the Return fails to murder Ben. Ben wakes.

During a speech, Mistress Coyle reveals a suicide bomb, intent on killing Prentiss. Todd inadvertently saves him. Later, Ben and The Return arrive. Todd, overwhelmed by happiness, rejoins Ben and leaves Prentiss' side. The settlers plan to settle peace, leaving Todd and Prentiss alone. Angered by Todd's decision to leave his side, Prentiss captures him and steals the scout ship. Prentiss launches flammable fuel at the forest, killing many Spackle, including The Sky who passes leadership to The Return.

Prentiss lands at the ocean and ties up Todd in a nearby church, while Viola rides in hopes of rescuing him. Prentiss is being driven mad by all of New World's Noise, a side-effect of his experiments. Todd escapes, and they Noise-fight by the ocean. Viola arrives and the two overpower Prentiss. Todd begins to force Prentiss into the ocean. However, Prentiss, realizing his immorality, walks into the ocean himself, and dies.

The Return arrives and mistakes Todd for Prentiss, shooting him in the chest. Todd dies, driving Viola to threaten shooting The Return back. The Return accepts his death, but Ben then swears he can hear Todd's Noise return.

The Spackle attempt to cure Todd with their medicine. His Noise returns in bursts, on and off. Viola will not leave Todd's side until he wakes up. The Return apologises, but Viola does not forgive him, and continues to read Todd's mother's journal to him, hoping he will hear and come back. While in the coma, Todd enters his old memories, at his school, at Farbranch, but also human and Spackle memories from all over New World. He searches for Viola, unsure who she is, who he is. Every now and then, he hears extracts from the diary and begs Viola to keep calling for him.

Reception

Critical reception has been largely positive. The Bookseller said the novel was "breathtaking" and noted that it was "innovative, intense writing at its incendiary best". 3:AM Magazine praised Ness, compared him to Philip Pullman, Robert Cormier, and Paul Zindel, and called the series "too good for the Young Adult strapline." [1]

Beside winning the 2011 Carnegie Medal, Monsters of Men made the Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), who calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing". CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award.

<i>The Last Battle</i> Childrens fantasy novel by C. S. Lewis, 1956

The Last Battle is a portal fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by The Bodley Head in 1956. It was the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). Like the other novels in the series, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes and her work has been retained in many later editions.

The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It was a lifetime award in that previous winners were not eligible. At least from 2000 the prize was £1,500. The prize was apparently discontinued after 2016, though no formal announcement appears to have been made.

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which inherited it from the Library Association. CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award, though their sponsorship and the removal of Greenaway’s name from the medal proved controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dickinson</span> English author & poet (1927–2015)

Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.

Chris Wooding is a British writer born in Leicester, and now living in London. His first book, Crashing, which he wrote at the age of nineteen, was published in 1998 when he was twenty-one. Since then he has written many more, including The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, which was silver runner-up for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, and Poison, which won the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year. He is also the author of three different, completed series; Broken Sky, an anime-influenced fantasy serial for children, Braided Path, a fantasy trilogy for adults, and Malice, a young adult fantasy that mixes graphic novel with the traditional novel; as well as another, four-part series, Tales of the Ketty Jay, a steampunk sci-fi fantasy for adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Almond</span> British childrens writer (born 1951)

David Almond is a British author who has written many novels for children and young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Creech</span> American writer of childrens novels

Sharon Creech is an American writer of children's novels. She was the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for British children's books and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal and the British Carnegie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siobhan Dowd</span> English writer and activist (1960–2007)

Siobhan Dowd was a British writer and activist. The last book she completed, Bog Child, posthumously won the 2009 Carnegie Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best book for children or young adults published in the UK.

Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith was a Scottish writer known as Mollie Hunter. She wrote fantasy for children, historical stories for young adults, and realistic novels for adults. Many of her works are inspired by Scottish history, or by Scottish or Irish folklore, with elements of magic and fantasy.

<i>The Graveyard Book</i> 2008 young adult novel by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is a young adult novel written by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America in 2008. The Graveyard Book traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and reared by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard after his family is brutally murdered.

<i>The Knife of Never Letting Go</i> 2008 novel by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go is a young adult science fiction novel written by British American author Patrick Ness. It was published by Walker Books on 5 May 2008. It is the first book in the Chaos Walking series, followed by The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. The story follows Todd Hewitt, a 12-year-old boy who runs away from Prentisstown, a town where everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, after learning of a secret about its past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Ness</span> American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter (born 1971)

Patrick Ness FRSL is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Born in the United States, Ness moved to London and holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking (2008-2010) trilogy and A Monster Calls (2011).

<i>The Ask and the Answer</i> 2009 young-adult science fiction novel by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer is a 2009 young-adult science fiction novel written by British-American author Patrick Ness. It was published on 4 May 2009 by Walker Books. It is the second book in the Chaos Walking series, preceded by The Knife of Never Letting Go and followed by Monsters of Men. The story follows Todd Hewitt, a 13-year-old boy held captive by the mayor of New Prentisstown.

<i>Chaos Walking</i> Young adult sci-fi series by Patrick Ness

Chaos Walking is a young adult science fiction series written by American-British novelist Patrick Ness. It is set in a dystopian world where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise. The series is named after a line in the first book: "The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking." The series consists of a trilogy of novels and three short stories.

<i>A Monster Calls</i> 2011 novel by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother's illness. He is repeatedly visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. Dowd was terminally ill with cancer when she came up with the idea for the story, and died before she could write it.

<i>The Death-Defying Pepper Roux</i> 2010 book by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux is a children's book by British children's author Geraldine McCaughrean.

<i>Chaos Walking</i> (film) 2021 film by Doug Liman

Chaos Walking is a 2021 American dystopian science-fiction action-thriller film directed by Doug Liman and written by Patrick Ness and Christopher Ford. It is based on Ness's science fiction trilogy Chaos Walking, adapting its first book, 2008's The Knife of Never Letting Go. It stars Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas and David Oyelowo. It follows a young man who lives in a dystopian world without women, where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in streams of images, words and sounds, called "Noise". When a woman crash-lands on the planet, he protects her from danger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Kay</span> British illustrator and printmaker

Jim Kay is a British illustrator and printmaker from Northamptonshire, England, who won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for his illustrations for the book A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. He was selected personally by J. K. Rowling to present colour illustrations of every title in the Harry Potter series.

References

  1. 1 2 Ness, Patrick (3 May 2010). Monsters of Men (publisher's listing). Walker Books. Retrieved 15 July 2012. — This presentation by the book publisher includes excerpts from book reviews.
  2. 1 2 "Series: Chaos Walking". Speculative Fiction Database (isfdb.org). isfdb series 24854. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Monsters of men" (first U.S. edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Carnegie Winner 2011". carnegiegreenaway.org.uk (Press release). Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "'Chaos' Reigns, Patrick Ness wins ..." carnegiegreenaway.org.uk (Press release). Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Patrick Ness: CILIP Carnegie Medal winner 2011". carnegiegreenaway.org.uk (Press release). Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Pauli, Michelle (23 June 2011). "Patrick Ness accepts Carnegie medal with fierce defence of libraries". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Patrick Ness (3 August 2009). "Chaos Walking: Book Three - The Title Revealed". Diary: August 2009 Archives. Patrick Ness. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Pauli, Michelle (4 March 2011). "Patrick Ness's Monster of Men shortlisted for award". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 12 August 2017.
Awards
Preceded by Carnegie Medal recipient
2011 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.