The Unseen Nook&Canny reviewed Chaos Walking Boxed Set by Patrick Ness
Thought-provoking, unsettling, and deeply human. A trilogy that lingers long after the final page.
4 stars
What stood out to me most about this trilogy was how vividly it captured the protagonists’ inner turmoil. I also loved the creative use of different fonts to highlight shifts in perspective—mainly between Todd, Viola, and The Return. It’s such a clever stylistic choice, and the paperback edition handles it beautifully (unlike the eBook version, which loses some of that nuance).
I’ll admit, the books can be frustrating at times, but that’s largely due to the young adult focus. Book one is full of teenage drama—expertly written but still a little exhausting. Parents of teens will definitely relate! Book two was my personal favorite, while book three turned much darker. I only wish the Mayor’s ending had been different; he seemed to come off a bit too easily.
At its heart, this is a story about war—what ignites it, what keeps it alive, who profits from it, and …
What stood out to me most about this trilogy was how vividly it captured the protagonists’ inner turmoil. I also loved the creative use of different fonts to highlight shifts in perspective—mainly between Todd, Viola, and The Return. It’s such a clever stylistic choice, and the paperback edition handles it beautifully (unlike the eBook version, which loses some of that nuance).
I’ll admit, the books can be frustrating at times, but that’s largely due to the young adult focus. Book one is full of teenage drama—expertly written but still a little exhausting. Parents of teens will definitely relate! Book two was my personal favorite, while book three turned much darker. I only wish the Mayor’s ending had been different; he seemed to come off a bit too easily.
At its heart, this is a story about war—what ignites it, what keeps it alive, who profits from it, and how people justify their actions, even as they destroy themselves in the process. Although the setting is a distant planet with two moons, the portrayal of human nature feels disarmingly real.
The trilogy reminded me of other dystopian works like The Handmaid’s Tale—not in setting, but in the way it exposes systems of power, control, and moral compromise. There are also striking parallels to our current geopolitical climate: manipulation through fear, the exploitation of division, and the slow erosion of empathy in the face of conflict.
I’d recommend this series not only to young adult readers but to anyone interested in stories that mirror the darker patterns of our world while asking important questions about humanity’s capacity for both hope and cruelty. The ending ties things up fairly well, though I found myself wishing for a few more pages to truly round it off.
Bonus for eBook readers: it includes three companion short stories—“The New World” (best read after Book 1), “The Wide, Wide Sea” (after Book 2), and “Snowscape” (after Book 3). If you own the paperbacks, you can download these stories for free.