Summer Reading Day 36: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (audio)
Chaos Walking #3. Unabridged audiobook on 12 compact discs (14 hours 32 min.). Narrated by Nick Podehl, Angela Dawe and Macleod Andrews. Brilliance Audio, 2010. 9781441889539. (Borrowed from the public library.)
Oh. My. Goodness. If you would like to experience first hand, what it feels like to "go through the wringer," read this trilogy. I listened to all three one after the other. After I listened to The Knife of Never Letting Go, I naively wrote that the benefit of not reading the book back when it was pubbed and lighting up the blog-o-sphere with discussion, was that I didn't have to wait a year for the next installment. Huh. I might have needed that year to recover, especially between books two and three.
The end of the world is imminent as the Spackle are poised to attack The Clearing. The scout ship has landed and were listening to Mistress Coyle when Viola rode up to set the record straight. Tod was left guarding the Mayor, but he decided that the best course of action would be to release him.
Unrelenting violence ensues as each side relentlessly pursues its best interest. There are three narrators in this production - Todd and Viola are joined by The Return, aka 1017. Todd feels that the mayor has changed. Viola feels that the Mayor is remaking Todd in his image and The Return is out for revenge against The Knife.
Excellent listening. Nick Podehl continues to amaze me with his narrative talents. Angela Dawe impressed as the additional narrator in The Ask and the Answer and continues with a memorable performance here. I wouldn't have recognized Andrew McLeod here had I not known it was him. He also delivered a wonderful performance as 1017/ The Return.