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A review by wendleness
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My biggest gripe with this book would be the length. It did not need to be 600 pages long. There wasn’t enough plot or action to warrant the amount of words. It was only really the last 150-200 pages where things really picked up. Most of the book sees Todd and Viola having the same conversations over and over again. No one trusts the Mayor but they’ve got to keep an eye on him. No one trusts Mistress Coyle but they’ve got to get the truth out of her. Everyone wants peace but some people want glory to go along with it. Yadda, yadda, yadda. As much as it was easy to read, a large chunk of the book felt like a bit of a slog. I’d read 40 or 60 or 80 pages but the plot wouldn’t have moved forward much at all.
Despite some issues there were a lot of things I loved. I loved the Spackle—the Land—finally being fully involved and learning more about them. I loved the parallels between Todd and the mayor, Viola and Mistress Coyle, and the Return and the Sky. The parallels weren’t exactly subtle, but seeing all these characters, ostensibly from different groups and culture and backgrounds, all going through the same struggles and learning the same lessons was really quite powerful.
Of course the best thing about the book, the driving theme of the entire story, and the thing I’m still thinking about, is summed up nicely by the title. Throughout the book the overwhelming message from the several groups of people is a desire for peace. A desire to live a simple life without fearing for their lives or having to take up arms. Yet it is the actions and desires of a few—the few in charge, the few with power and influence, the few with selfish personal motivations—that dictate the course of action. That create monsters out of people and drag them into a war they’d rather not be fighting. It is a depressingly accurate account, I think, of power and how those who have it often choose to wield it.
A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel at Words.
Despite some issues there were a lot of things I loved. I loved the Spackle—the Land—finally being fully involved and learning more about them. I loved the parallels between Todd and the mayor, Viola and Mistress Coyle, and the Return and the Sky. The parallels weren’t exactly subtle, but seeing all these characters, ostensibly from different groups and culture and backgrounds, all going through the same struggles and learning the same lessons was really quite powerful.
Of course the best thing about the book, the driving theme of the entire story, and the thing I’m still thinking about, is summed up nicely by the title. Throughout the book the overwhelming message from the several groups of people is a desire for peace. A desire to live a simple life without fearing for their lives or having to take up arms. Yet it is the actions and desires of a few—the few in charge, the few with power and influence, the few with selfish personal motivations—that dictate the course of action. That create monsters out of people and drag them into a war they’d rather not be fighting. It is a depressingly accurate account, I think, of power and how those who have it often choose to wield it.
A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel at Words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, War, and Violence