Scythe by Neal Shusterman Series: Arc of a Scythe #1
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on November 22nd 2016
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Goodreads
Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman Series: Arc of a Scythe #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on January 9th 2018
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Goodreads
Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?
I’ve heard nothing but great things about this series so when my library hold of Scythe finally came in, I immediately grabbed a copy and started reading.
My favourite part of Scythe is the world-building. It takes place in a very distant future (so far in the future that years are no longer numbered) where the world is controlled by a benevolent AI named Thunderhead. The Thunderhead is so powerful that it has successfully eradicated all disease and there is no death. But with world population control a problem, there is a group of people called Scythes who’s main task is to choose people to glean (a.k.a. kill). Scythe focuses on two teens who apprentice for a Scythe and learn about his way of life. Even though scythes are supposed to be wise, they’re not immune to inner politics and drama within their group. The series has a lot of intriguing premises and themes that are definitely worth exploring.
While I am not usually a fan of reading novels about death, I think the way in which this series handled mortality was interesting. The novel was less even about death but more about mortality and what makes life worth living. It was a tad intense at times, as it’s painfully clear that humans today don’t have the option of an lifespan that’s in the thousands, but it was definitely worth reading.
Some elements of the novel were a bit slow to develop but once the drama and suspense really hit, I was hooked. Both Rowan and Citra were well developed and interesting characters but I was really entertained when the inner politics of the Scythedom were explored. If you’re looking for a series with unique world building, a bit of humour, and complex characters, I recommend this one.
Overall, this series is definitely one worth picking up if you’re curious about what a world with no disease and a kind AI would look like. I’m so excited for the next book in the series that I am a bit mad at myself for starting the series before book 3 is out!
