Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness

I was thrilled to read that Patrick Ness had a new book, Piper at the gates of dusk, the first in the New World trilogy,  set in the world of the series Chaos Walking,  which was a memorable read for me. It is twenty years after the devastating events that Todd and Viola had experienced and they have settled on a quiet farm with their sons, Ben and Max. Ben is looking forward to continuing his studies at a higher level, while Max loves being on the farm where the chooks love him, chasing after him as if he were a deity, saying ‘Max, Max, Max’. A cure has been found for the Noise that had originally affected the men, but it had left Ben mute, having to use a communicator to converse.

Ness immediately drags the reader in with his first page, written in many typefaces: 'everyone thinks you’re a freak. You’re nothing’ and other negative thoughts that the Noise brings into the waking world. Then the reader follows Ben as a god comes screaming out of the woods, a giant alight with flames, burning everything around it and then plunging into the lake and disappearing. Is this apparition linked to the horrible nightmares that Max and other young people are having? An uneasy peace has settled between the Land the original inhabitants of the planet and the settlers, but racism is still an issue and some people find it very easy to blame the Land for bringing in this new threat.

Told in the voices of Ben and Max, short chapters often end on a cliff-hanger, leaving the reader breathless and wanting to continue reading, although at the same time needing to spend time thinking about the words of wisdom that Todd gives Max about being brave and doing the right thing and the problems that can arise in family relationships.

In his letter to readers at the front of the book Ness beautifully summarises the themes of this fabulous read. Piper at the Gates of Dusk is 'a story about storytelling, a story about feeling different and left out, a story about how we are reflected  in our parents but how we have to find our own way. A story about brothers.' It is not to be missed.

Themes: Science Fiction, Relationships, Racism, Brothers, Monsters, Fear.

Pat Pledger