Title: Scythe
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: Science Fiction | Dystopia
Format: Paperback
Length: 447 pages
Series: Arc of the Scythe #1
Publisher: Walker Books
Publication Date: 22 November 2016
My Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Goodreads | Storygraph
Synopsis:
A dark, gripping and witty thriller in which the only thing humanity has control over is death.
In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes’ apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do.
Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser.
My Review:
Where do I begin with Scythe?
This is a series that caught my eye years ago, but I never got around to picking it up.
Scythe takes place in a world where people are randomly killed by professional scythes’ because the advanced world means there is no death. I was completely sucked into this novel. There are plot-twist amid plot twists and I was living for it. I love a novel where I don’t know what to expect next, and this delivered it.
The world-building was on-point. I absolutely loved the unique concept of this series and was absolutely fascinated by Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence in the book. The Thunderhead is an observer, a moderator of behaviour who monitors to make sure nothing untoward happens and ensure people are happy.
Now the characters, Citra was intelligent and Rowan is one that develops throughout the story. They were complex and well developed. Their dynamic was fun to read, though I do wish we got to see their relationship develop a little more, the romance wasn’t that well-developed in my opinion but maybe we’ll see that change in the other novels.
Overall, this story had my full attention and cast a light on the questions around morality. The characters are flawed, and each one is capable of doing something heinous. I would highly recommend this book.
