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#5 Platform - Monsters of Men
Jul. 22nd, 2012 04:59 pm(Programming note: I've fallen a bit behind with reviews, so I'm going to try to do one a day until I get caught up. It's probably good thesis writing warmup, these reviews, anyway. So moving ahead, then...)
New players means new views and new strategies.
Book #24: Monsters of Men
Author: Patrick Ness
Provenance: Borrowed from Westmount Library
Caution: spoilers for The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer.
So somehow I managed to hold out on reading this book for a while after reading the Ask and the Answer, with its huge cliffhanger ending of the arrival of the Spackle army in town that leaves so much up in the air, after the big tense showdown with the Mayor at the end of the book.
Actually, that’s not exactly true. I started Monsters of Men right after I read that book, but had to put it down after about fifty pages or so. The structure at the end of the Ask and the Answer, where Todd and Viola start switching viewpoints every couple of pages, is what's used for the entirety of this last book, along with a Spackle viewpoint at the end of each rough section. I thought that this alternating format worked quite well for the thrilling climax of a book, but comes across altogether too breathless when used for the book's entirety. I never felt that I was able to get into Todd or Viola's head the same way, and the voice of the book didn't come together quite as well for me. Some styles really do work better than others.
That said, I did really want to know what happened, and so I did eventually get over my issues with the format, and get into the story. And this concluding book of the trilogy brings us a new set of players: both the indigenous Spackle, returned in full force after the genocide of the remaining prisoners held in Haven after the last war, and the first scout ship of the new colonists, who've come looking for Viola and to see the new planet for themselves. Place alongside these Mayor Prentiss, freed by Todd after the end of the fighting of the previous book to help lead the war effort against the returned Spackle, and Mistress Coyle, still trying to take control of the town, and there's a whole stew of rivalries and shifting, trying to gain the ultimate upper hand, but generally not overtly. Just trying to paint different people in unreasonable lights can carry an argument a long way.
The story that follows, including the shape of the Spackle society and the return of 1017, actually is quite well-constructed, and a worthy end to the trilogy. It's quite thrilling, and I did really settle into the reading rhythm of it. The tension gets ratcheted up and up, if in somewhat similar ways to the previous book. This is perhaps my other problem with the book - the themes from the previous books, and the characterizations, get abbreviated and flattened reprises, alongside the new ones of what it means to be part of a group, how to communicate with others, and what war can do to people. You got the sense in the previous book that the Mayor and Mistress Coyle were more complicated folk than they come across as here, and if you want to argue that's because they're desperate or some such, you can, but I think it still doesn't come off as interesting.
On the whole, though, I did quite enjoy the book - it stays pretty dark, overall, with a relatively ambiguous ending that fits the story, but I really did enjoy it. It's hard to finish off these sorts of trilogies in style, but I think Monsters of Men does quite a good job of it. I'm satisfied with where they ended up... even if I personally wouldn't want to go there. This is a really solid set of books, though; the whole trilogy is worth the time to read, especially since you can snap through them fast once you're in it.
Next up: Dramarama. The travails of a theater camper.
New players means new views and new strategies.
Book #24: Monsters of Men
Author: Patrick Ness
Provenance: Borrowed from Westmount Library
Caution: spoilers for The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer.
So somehow I managed to hold out on reading this book for a while after reading the Ask and the Answer, with its huge cliffhanger ending of the arrival of the Spackle army in town that leaves so much up in the air, after the big tense showdown with the Mayor at the end of the book.
Actually, that’s not exactly true. I started Monsters of Men right after I read that book, but had to put it down after about fifty pages or so. The structure at the end of the Ask and the Answer, where Todd and Viola start switching viewpoints every couple of pages, is what's used for the entirety of this last book, along with a Spackle viewpoint at the end of each rough section. I thought that this alternating format worked quite well for the thrilling climax of a book, but comes across altogether too breathless when used for the book's entirety. I never felt that I was able to get into Todd or Viola's head the same way, and the voice of the book didn't come together quite as well for me. Some styles really do work better than others.
That said, I did really want to know what happened, and so I did eventually get over my issues with the format, and get into the story. And this concluding book of the trilogy brings us a new set of players: both the indigenous Spackle, returned in full force after the genocide of the remaining prisoners held in Haven after the last war, and the first scout ship of the new colonists, who've come looking for Viola and to see the new planet for themselves. Place alongside these Mayor Prentiss, freed by Todd after the end of the fighting of the previous book to help lead the war effort against the returned Spackle, and Mistress Coyle, still trying to take control of the town, and there's a whole stew of rivalries and shifting, trying to gain the ultimate upper hand, but generally not overtly. Just trying to paint different people in unreasonable lights can carry an argument a long way.
The story that follows, including the shape of the Spackle society and the return of 1017, actually is quite well-constructed, and a worthy end to the trilogy. It's quite thrilling, and I did really settle into the reading rhythm of it. The tension gets ratcheted up and up, if in somewhat similar ways to the previous book. This is perhaps my other problem with the book - the themes from the previous books, and the characterizations, get abbreviated and flattened reprises, alongside the new ones of what it means to be part of a group, how to communicate with others, and what war can do to people. You got the sense in the previous book that the Mayor and Mistress Coyle were more complicated folk than they come across as here, and if you want to argue that's because they're desperate or some such, you can, but I think it still doesn't come off as interesting.
On the whole, though, I did quite enjoy the book - it stays pretty dark, overall, with a relatively ambiguous ending that fits the story, but I really did enjoy it. It's hard to finish off these sorts of trilogies in style, but I think Monsters of Men does quite a good job of it. I'm satisfied with where they ended up... even if I personally wouldn't want to go there. This is a really solid set of books, though; the whole trilogy is worth the time to read, especially since you can snap through them fast once you're in it.
Next up: Dramarama. The travails of a theater camper.
