The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first installment of Chaos Walking written by Patrick Ness. It was published on May 5, 2008 and follows 12-year old Todd Hewitt who runs away from Prentisstown after learning a of a secret regarding its past. Chronologically, it suceeds The New World and The Wide, Wide Sea and proceeds The Ask and the Answer.
Plot[]
Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a small settlement on New World where a war with the native Spackle released a germ that killed all the women and left the remaining men the ability to hear each other's (and animals') thoughts, described as an ever-present cascade of Noise. When Todd discovers a lone patch of silence and the source: a mysterious girl named Viola Eade, they learn more about the true history of the New World together.
Synopsis[]
Part I[]
Todd Hewitt is walking through the swamp looking for apples for Ben Moore, one of his adoptive fathers. Manchee (Todd's pet Border Terrier) needs to poop, so Todd lets him. As he walks, Aaron finds Todd and hits him for swearing, both using his mouth and his Noise. Aaron then leaves. As they continue walking, Todd discovers a patch of silence, yet he can't locate its origin,
Todd and Manchee walk back to Prentisstown, supposedly the only settlement on New World. On the family farm, Todd takes care of sheep while Ben and Cillian grow wheat. All the men have been infected with the Noise, a germ native to New World created by the Spackle that puts all their thoughts and mental images on display. Todd knows what women and Spackle are through educational videos he was shown at school.
Cillian Boyd (one of Todd's adoptive fathers), working the fisson reactor at the family farm, makes Todd prepare the sheep for butchering and wool harvesting when Todd doesn't bring any apples back from the nearby swamp. Todd finds Ben working the wheat and chats with him before David Prentiss, Jr. shows up, demanding Todd chat with him.
In a hurry, Ben and Cillian prepare Todd to leave Prentisstown for good. Cillian talks with Davy while Ben leads Todd (alongside Manchee) into the swamp and gives Todd his hunting knife. A gunshot suddenly goes off and Ben runs off to Cillian, who has been shot by Davy.
As Todd and Manchee walk along the river in the swamp, they encounter a hungry crocodile and Aaron, who beats Todd just as the crocodile aims itself at Aaron. As Todd and Manchee continue on in the swamp, they stumble onto Viola Eade (unnamed), terrified and pressed against a tree.
Part II[]
Todd has never met a woman before, so he has no idea how to interact with Viola. As Todd reads the map Ben made in Mrs. Hewitt's diary, Viola attacks Todd in fear with a stick. Todd sees Viola's bloodied arm and begins to tend to it when Aaron finds them.
Aaron begins strangling Todd, but Manchee saves him from death. Aaron then chases Viola down, calling her "the sign". Viola screams as she is caught by Aaron, and Todd threatens Aaron with Ben's knife. In response, Aaron attempts to drown Todd, but Viola (possibly?) kills him. Todd saves Viola from the bindings Aaron forced on her and begin walking through the swamp for another human settlement on New World.
Todd, Manchee, and Viola walk through the swamp at night and encounter the ship that Viola entered New World in. Viola briefly grieves her deceased parents before giving Todd food and lighting a fire. The group then walks through the swamp the rest of the night and nap during the day.
The three are awoken from their nap by a cassor, the New World version of a cassowary, looking for food. The combination of Todd's attempt to give the cassor a hunk of cheese and Manchee barking at the alien bird make Viola laugh. The group later stops for a rest and eat some more of Viola's food.
Todd thinks that Viola will die of the Noise, spooking her. As Viola reflects on her potential doom, Todd begins to read the map Ben made and is frustrated about not being able to read it. Todd then uses Viola's binoculars and searches the horizon and finds that David Prentiss' army is after them.
Todd, Manchee, and Viola run from Prentiss' army and cross a canyon with a bridge connecting it. As the army approaches, Viola sets the bridge ablaze with her "campfire box", preventing the army from continuing to chase them. Afterward, Viola formally introduces herself to Todd.
Part III[]
Todd, Manchee, and Viola flee the scene into a nearby forest. Viola is unsure of New World, so Todd explains for her. Viola figures out that a phrase on Ben's map says "You must warn them". A man with a rifle then threatens the three.
The man is in reality a women named Mathidle and offers to take them to a nearby settlement, where women, children, and Noise-infected men live in peace together. Hildy is married to Tam, a Noise-infected man, and Todd wonders how Hildy has lived for so long. Tam mentions that Prentisstown is corrupt and that old couple take Todd, Manchee, and Viola into their spaceship-turned-house, an Expansion Class Three, Series 200. Viola now understands the meaning of Ben's phrase in the map: there are thousands of New World settlers waiting to land.
Part IV[]
Coming soon...
Part V[]
Coming soon...
Part VI[]
Coming soon...
Characters[]
Humans[]
- Todd Hewitt
- Viola Eade
- Ben
- Cillian
- Aaron
- David Prentiss
- David Prentiss, Jr
- Tam
- Mathidle
- Dr. Snow
- Jacob Snow
- Wilf
- Jane
- men of Prentisstown
- people of Carbonel Downs
- unknown humans encountered throughout the novel
Dogs[]
Aliens[]
- Spackle
- Cassors
- The Things
- other New World fauna/flora
Film Adaptation[]
Chaos Walking: The Knife of Never Letting Go has been adapted into the film Chaos Walking (2021) as part of a planned book-to-film trilogy of the Chaos Walking series. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and negative reviews of the film has hindered the possibility of adapting all three novels for the big screen. The film stars Tom Holland as Todd Hewitt, Daisy Ridley as Viola Eade, Mads Mikkelsen as David Prentiss, Sr., Nick Jonas as David Prentiss, Sr., Cynthia Erivo as Mathidle, David Oyelowo as Aaron, and Lamborghini as Manchee. Major changes were made adapting the book for the silver screen, resulting in negative reviews from both film critics and devoted fans of the books.
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