The Ask and the Answer

Front cover of unknown edition
Author	Patrick Ness
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Chaos Walking
Genre	Young-adult science fiction novel
Publisher	Walker Books
Publication date	4 May 2009
Pages	519 pp
ISBN
OCLC	310156536
Preceded by	The Knife of Never Letting Go
Followed by	Monsters of Men

The Ask And The Answer is a young-adult novel by Patrick Ness, published in May 2009 by Walker Books. It is the second book in the series Chaos Walking and events continue immediately from The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008). It is succeeded by Monsters of Men.

Resuming directly after The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd Hewitt is captured by the Mayor's army in Haven, renamed New Prentisstown, but his only concern is for Viola. He is forced to live in the town's clock tower with the previous Mayor, Con Ledger. Ledger explains that Haven discovered a cure for Noise, but Mayor Prentiss has confiscated it for sole use by leaders of New Prentisstown. He has also separated the males and females and imprisons all domestic Spackle who live in the town. The Mayor organises a speech as the rest of his army marches in. His expresses his displeasure at the easiness of taking over, claiming that the people will pay for the lack of war.

Elsewhere, Viola awakes. Likewise her thoughts are for Todd. She is in a house of healing, a 'clinic' staffed by female healers, as opposed to male doctors, for her gunshot wound. She meets Mistress Coyle, the head of the facility, who also has previous political and activist ties. Viola also meets the apprentices Corinne Wyatt and Maddy as she recovers.

Todd is made to work with the enslaved Spackle of New Prentisstown with Davy Prentiss. Todd hopes that by complying he is ensuring Viola’s health and safety, while the Mayor hopes that Davy will become a better person with Todd's influence. Todd is disgusted at the treatment of the Spackle, yet Davy is proud of his authority. As the Spackle speak via Noise, cure has been placed into the Spackle's food to prevent communication.

Back at the house of healing, Viola finally recovers enough to help Mistress Coyle and begins an apprenticeship as a healer. However, one night Mistress Coyle and many other healers disappear. They have led a group of women out of New Prentisstown to form a resistance movement, reconvened from the time of the Spackle War, known as "The Answer", to carry out a series of bombings in the city.

Davy and Todd receive orders to brand the Spackle with numbered metal bands. Though Todd is shocked by this unethical practice, he wants to ensure Viola's safety. During the branding, Davy strangles a Spackle around the neck with a band, killing it, to the disgust of Todd. However, Todd continues the task without argument.