We were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...

Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...

"The Ask and the Answer" is a tense, shocking, and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure. This is the second title in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy. 

Review

After almost a year of always wanting to come back to this breathtaking trilogy, I gathered my will to start the second part, and I must say it only left me seeking for more. Since the ending of The knife of never letting go, things have gone down a spiral of tyranny, cruelty, and secrecy.

At first, I wasn't sure about what the Mayor intended to do (no, I ain't going to call him President), because everything seemed to turn the other way around. He messed with Todd's mind a little bit too much the same with mine, however, I loved how our dear author Patrick portrays this: exactly as people with the power, they make you believe they will get you what you desire and then twist their words and actions so that you never reach the promised goal. 

I have to say, on a side note, that I hate violence and descriptions of brutality so I kind of skipped some parts of such, still reading the dialogue, but I found them necessary to the story and development because that's how war is. It helped me understand a bit better how everything is valid during a battle, no matter how miserable or how that leaves you as a human.

Although our lovely Todd can't kill for his own life nor Viola's, and I feel very attached to his character since his heart could never get corrupted, he values life and he can't take anyone's life. This shows very clearly when there's an issue with the Spackle (I won't go into much detail, this is a spoiler-free review) where he simply becomes numb at the atrocity of what happened. Some could think he is a hypocrite, however in his position, it's surrendering or dying, and he went on just for Viola...

Talking about her, I became more and more fond of her through this second book, as in the first one she wasn't fully my style. I kind of see where Patrick is going with Todd and Viola, the man (boy) who can't kill, and the girl who would do anything to keep him safe. Paradoxically, Mistress Coyle teaches Viola to be a healer which she isn't very good at. This somehow feels in my mind like they have their "roles invented" (there's no such thing, only stereotypes, but I'm sure you get me).

Finally, I want to add some characters to my list of favorites. Since Manchee unluckily left us, a fact which broke my heart, Angharrad caught once again my heart, with her little Boy colt interruptions and her loyalty. Moreover, we have Davy, which ended up making my chest warm in the last chapters, and Todd's too... Devastating.

Mark

10/10

As the Knife of never letting go has a 9,5 and I liked this one a little more as I was already familiar with the world and the characters, it deserved a 10. I also gave it this mark because every time I read a few pages, my chest became heavy and I suffered immensely... That's what good stories and writers do. 

Read you! Nym.