Book Blog #209: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Title: Monsters of Men
Author: Patrick Ness
# of Pages: 603 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered?
Review: This is yet another book I meant to read three to four years ago but never got the chance to.

In the midst of my reading frenzy to finish the books on my to-read shelf I bought but no longer have a strong interest in, I was trying to put off this book as much as possible. It's the third book of a series I haven't read in years,  and I could remember the book that preceded it was lack-luster. To top it off, the book is relatively longer than the rest of the books on my to-read shelf. With these factors in mind, I knew this read would take around a week (it ended up only taking 5-6 days), and I wasn't sure if this book was worth my time.

But I decided to stop putting it off; the sooner I read it and got it over with the better off I would be. Grudgingly, I began reading this over 600 page book...

Which presents us with the first problem with Monsters of Men; it's unnecessarily long. Part of the book's lengthiness comes from the point-of-view switching, an aspect of the book that has carried over from the second book. Although there are some authors who can tell a story from different first person perspectives effectively, Ness makes each point of view overlap with one another which means the reader has to hear about each event at least twice.

Sure, some may say the POV switching is as important in this book as it is in Allegiant (Divergent #3). Yes, some events in the book may depend appear to rely on a POV switch to be able to be told at all. But both Monsters of Men and Allegiant could have been told from one perspective and still include all the important parts of the plot; it is up to the author to figure out how it can be done. To me, first person POV switching is a sign of sloppy writing and immediately weakens the immersion into the story.

The struggle between war and peace is central to the plot but the constant back-and-forth between the two drags on for way too long. Ness takes his time developing relationships and resolving conflicts between different characters which just drags the book on even longer. Not to mention how the book comes to an end, only for there to be an "additional side story!" that goes on for another 40 pages from yet ANOTHER perspective.

However, there are still some good themes in this book.

I almost didn’t want to read the Snowscape side story. I had finished reading Todd’s story; I don’t carry about the secondary characters. But Ness wrote this additional story to make his revenge theme even clearer. Dawson felt “the act of firing the middle” did not compensate for the loss of her husband” (p.641).

“But then, revenge never does, does it? Because everything you buy has a price that someone, somewhere has to pay” -p.642

Like in the book The Revenant, Monsters of Men reveals the negative aspects of revenge. However, while The Revenant focused on the damaging effects in the pursuit of revenge, MoM concentrated on displaying the effect during and after the revenge (not only shown during the side story but also through 1017 and his ongoing desire for revenge against Todd).

In the main part of the book, when Viola is pondering whether people’s Noise should be opened to everyone or closed within individuals, she suddenly thinks:

“Why can’t we learn to live with how we are? And whatever anybody chooses is okay by the rest of us?” -p.590

Viola’s thought applies to those beyond the New World. From his series consisting of both inner and outer species conflict and homosexual relationships such as 1017 with his one and Ben with Cillian in raising Todd, Ness’s message is clear: despite people’s differences, everyone should be able to live their lives as they truly are, not by how others believe lives should be led.

If you are okay with POV switching (which I clearly am not) and have already enjoyed the first two books, you will probably enjoy this book. However, although I cannot remember much of the first two books, Monsters of Men seems to be the weakest book in the trilogy.

Book Blog #208: The Revenant by Michael Punke

Title: The Revenant
Author: Michael Punke
# of Pages: 262 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Trapping beaver, they contend daily with the threat of Indian tribes turned warlike over the white men’s encroachment on their land, and other prairie foes—like the unforgiving landscape and its creatures. Hugh Glass is among the Company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. The Company’s captain dispatches two of his men to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies, and to give him the respect of a proper burial. When the two men abandon him instead, taking his only means of protecting himself—including his precious gun and hatchet— with them, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. With shocking grit and determination, Glass sets out crawling inch by inch across more than three thousand miles of uncharted American frontier, negotiating predators both human and not, the threat of starvation, and the agony of his horrific wounds. In Michael Punke’s hauntingly spare and gripping prose, The Revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution.
Review: This is not my type of book.

Although I like historical fiction (especially those with a stronger emphasis on the historical and less on the fiction), I have no interest in reading about people venturing through the American frontier. Learning about people "roughing it" is about as appealing as the idea of venturing out into the wilderness myself.

However, in 2015, the movie adaptation came out, and the action-packed trailer convinced me to watch it in theaters. I enjoyed it well enough, but I was grossed out by what Glass had to do to survive. The book was no different, except action scenes are less enjoyable and more chaotic than they are in the movies.

I also realized the movie had swerved away from the plot Punke created to make the movie more interesting to the general public. This is to be expected, but the climax and the fate of Fitzgerald, our antagonist, was completely altered to the point where the message against revenge is weakened. In the movie, Glass is told "revenge is in the Creator's hands" which later influences his actions in regards to achieving his revenge. In the book, Glass has a conversation with Kiowa, who says:

"'Why did you come to the frontier? To track down a common thief? To revel in a moment's revenge? I thought there was more to you than that'" -p.248

 The book is clearly against pursuing revenge (many of Glass's life-or-death struggles are folly as he ventures out for revenge instead of exploration) while the movie seems to support it. Although the movie may be more exciting, the book has the better message.

I rated this book four stars because it is well-written, not because I enjoyed it as much as other four star books. However, if you enjoy this kind of topic, I would recommend this book to you.