Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Ask and the Answer

  • By: Patrick Ness
  • Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
  • Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (665 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Ask and the Answer cover art

The Ask and the Answer

By: Patrick Ness
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Wide, Wide Sea cover art
Richard's Story cover art
Timekeeper cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
Scythe cover art
Six of Crows cover art
Out Of Darkness cover art
Demon in the Wood cover art
Devils Unto Dust cover art
Boy 23 cover art
New Spring cover art
The Last Best Hope cover art
Winter's Rising cover art
Red Rising (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
Fire Country cover art
The Remaining cover art

Summary

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.

©2009 Patrick Ness. (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about The Ask and the Answer

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    397
  • 4 Stars
    195
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    408
  • 4 Stars
    118
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    332
  • 4 Stars
    150
  • 3 Stars
    63
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Absolutely fabulous book - not one to put a big smile on your face, but does ask some big questions. I found it quite difficult to read at times due to the trials and tribulations that some of the characters go through.

The narrator is absolutely fabulous, I really can't say enough good things about him, every voice is differentiated, and at times it's difficult to believe they're all coming from one person. I'd personally have him do all books from now on!

Hugely recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

If you've read the knife of never letting go, get this book! It's an amazing sequel. If you haven't read the knife of never letting go, get over there and get it, then come back for this. I'm hooked! Off to read monsters of men.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

this book actually irritated me

Would you try another book written by Patrick Ness or narrated by Humphrey Bower?

The narrator was doing the best he could with the material in front of him. Yes, I would listen to another book from a different author read by Humphrey Bower

Would you ever listen to anything by Patrick Ness again?

I would avoid anything written by this author ever again. Time and time again he kept repeating phrases that in the end just annoyed me. I endured almost two hours of listening before I eventually threw in the towel. A waste of one credit.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None whatsoever.

Any additional comments?

I only awarded one star because I had to give something.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Equally as great as the first book! I was not able to stop listening to this book, LOVED IT!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent second part!

Great follow up, and as said before it has been read superbly. So good that you'll have to buy the next one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Keeps the story going

With the characters from the first book and a few new ones the story develops into a battle between fanatics. The theme being you can't trust warmongers - on any side.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent book, fantastic reader!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Ask and the Answer to be better than the print version?

It's controversial but I would say yes. The reader (the same person who read the first book in the series) is so good and the addition of the sound effects etc really bring this book to life. It's a whole new experience and it blew my mind.

What other book might you compare The Ask and the Answer to, and why?

It can only be compared to the book that came before 'The Knife of Never Letting Go', they're in a league of their own, if you ask me... I'd say 'Ask' is possibly even better than 'Knife' because of the addition of new points of view and the complexity of the plot, the character development and the difficult questions it asks (pun intended).

What does Humphrey Bower bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He does the accents and voices so well! He also makes excellent acting choices that are much more subtle and well-thought out that I could have thought of. His "President" Prentiss for example is much more terrifying when he voices him because, let's face it, I'm not nearly as subtle as Bower ;)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

SPOILERS!


When Todd and Viola are reunited and Todd's noise is all "Viola! Viola! Viola!..." <3

Any additional comments?

This series is going to kill me, it's so intense!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Long and miserable

The strength of the first book was contrast -- between crocodiles and cows, kindness and vengeance, Hildy and Matthew, Davey Prentice and Ben. Each made the other more real. The dark helped you appreciate the light.

This second book, though, has almost none of that light. What's left is a miserable slog of violence and cruelty.

As the book wore on I found it disturbing. The darkness is endless: manipulation, sadism, guilt, cowardice, violence, murder. Both of the main characters - 14-year-olds - are tortured.

But despite this parade of horrors, the book doesn't have much to say. None of the characters develop healthy ways of dealing with their emotions. The moments of breakthrough ('you just have to get back up again') feel psychologically inadequate. The book shows the moral conundrums of using violence to fight for freedom, but then it labours the same point again and again until it becomes tedious.

Eventually the cruelty feels like it's there for its own sake.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not as good as the first book

I wrote a glowing review for the first book, unfortunately this book pales in comparison. I'm not even sure I'm going to bother getting the next one.
The character arcs disappoint, and the point of view switches between Tod and Viola get extremely confusing towards the end.
The horse was maybe supposed to fill the massive hole left by the death of Manchee, but it never came close, and the 'rawness' of the writing style in the first book also seemed very toned down in this one. So essentially, the two things that made the first book stand out so much were gone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I was hooked

I ached, suffered, cried, hoped, loved and struggled along Viola and Todd. Once more, Humphrey Bower brings Ness's words to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!