The series World in Chaos in Patrick Ness, released in Brazil by Intrinsic publisher, is more than a teenage adventure. In the three books, World in Chaos, The Question and the Answer and Men and Monsters, readers follow Todd and Viola on a journey that leads them to question humanity.
The third book closes in an – almost – formidable way all this drama experienced by the characters. In the first two books, readers were able to learn more about this new world and the people who live in it. But they were always the points of view of three characters: Todd with the truth he was taught about the society he lives in, Viola with her innocence coming from the ship and the rest of those who live in the new world.
Read too: Review | The Question and the Answer: World in Chaos Series – Volume 2 – Patrick Ness
But now, the Mundo em Chaos series presents a new point of view to complement the duo: a Spackle. Until then, Patrick Ness had focused on the colonizers, how the noise was born, and the war. It always kept the reader moving quickly with Todd and Viola and their race to survive.
In the second book, Ness inserted the Spackle, showing how they were oppressed by human colonizers and now in Men and Monsters, the reader has the unique point of view of someone who already lived on this planet and is trying to save themselves. Comparisons with the arrival of colonizers in America are inevitable, as are events in our current society where even today stronger nations try to overcome weaker ones and impose their culture.
Read too: Review | The World in Chaos - Patrick Ness
Unfortunately, as in The Question and the Answer, Patrick Ness delivers a slow and often tiring narrative. What ends up holding the reader back is their desire to know more and finish the work. Another negative part is that the author maintains communication problems between the characters from the first book, making them run in circles. It gets tiring, as there is no reason for this to happen anymore, as they already know each other very well.
But what really holds this first part together is Spackle's narrative. If the reality shown by him and the feeling of oppression were not so strong within the reader, Patrick Ness would certainly not be able to have a good second and final act. The final part is faster – sometimes too much so – and the author leads the reader to question all the actions of this society, as well as ours. It's a real slap in the face of how people live and just prefer to see a single reality without ever questioning it.
The approach of this last book, is really its title, Men and Monsters. As the reader follows the trio on this journey, they end up reflecting on themselves, what this world (Patrick Ness's and ours) would be like if it had been 'colonized' in another way and our relationship with each other.
Men and Monsters It may be the weakest book in the entire trilogy, but it wraps up the entire adventure well, mainly by making the reader question and reflect on how Men can transform into Monsters so easily.
About the book
From the beginning, humanity's presence in the New World was marked by violence. The first colonist war spread the germ of Noise across the planet, transforming men's thoughts into a chaotic flow of sounds and images. In the wake of the destruction, women disappeared and the Spackle, a native species, were decimated. However, the seeds of this war germinated into an even greater conflict, capable of destroying the planet and all its inhabitants. And Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade have nowhere to run.
Together, the two traveled the roads of the New World, made terrible discoveries and experienced atrocities. To save each other, they faced tyrants and terrorists. But none of this compares to the horrors that are to come.
Because war turns men into monsters. And from now on, every decision will have brutal consequences. Save the life of someone we love or the life of thousands of strangers? Join the armies of Question and Answer or listen to a third voice that appears calling for revenge? The desires of the few threaten to prevail over the needs of the many, and Todd and Viola question this scenario as they move towards an unpredictable and heartbreaking outcome.
Men and monsters is the memorable conclusion of the World in Chaos trilogy, which established Patrick Ness as one of the greatest names in young adult literature and was published in more than thirty countries. With a unique and visceral narrative, the series creates a stunning portrait of human contradictions and explores the limits of power, the fight for survival and the strength of the bonds we create. The Brazilian edition features an extra story that expands the universe of the series.
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