Scythe / Thunderhead / The Toll
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- Create Date：2021-05-04 11:54:43
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Neal Shusterman
- ISBN：1406393649
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Summary
From Book 1: Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book， the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman， author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology。
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。
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price。
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。
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price。
Reviews
Noah
，
My absolute favorite series of all time， the characters are to die for （quite literally）。
Jason Daves
，
Be Unsavory
Jakub Kohút
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9。1/10
Deanna
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I really enjoyed this YA， dystopian， sci-fi trilogy。 It was such a great plot。 In the future there is no natural death， so Scythes have the jobs or killing people in order to keep the population growth under control。 However， some scythes are corrupt and could destroy the peaceful balance in the world。 Two teenagers have been selected as Scythe apprentices and could change everything。
Danielle Buckroyd
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I loved this trilogy。 The story was captivating and really made me think。 Me and my husband had a long discussion about what it would be like to live in that would; we even started to wonder if time will ever be like that。 I highly recommend this series of books
Lisa Cain
，
Fantastic for teens， this series takes us to a future with no disease， war or death。 A wonderful exploration of what it means to be human and the consequences of the choices we make。 There is also a captivating gender fluid character， which I love seeing normalized in fiction。
MK Whiting
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My daughter loaned me this book。 It was not bad。 It was hard to get over the concept of mortality is so planned。It is a three-book series and I am onto the third book now。I would recommend this book
Haya
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The Arc of a Scythe trilogy is one of the best book series that I have read。 As an avid YA fantasy reader， I rarely read dystopian， but this book made me question that。 I am currently in the process of finishing the last book， and I am so immersed in this series！ It is a gripping and thrilling story， and at the same time it touches on some real world concepts and issues。 I would definitely recommend this series， and I cannot wait until I can finally complete it。
Evan
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love it
Cas ❦
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Scythe~I received a physical proof copy from Walker Books Australia and willingly reviewed it~Set in a futuristic world where humans have conquered death， Scythes are humans who are tasked with "gleaning"， the act of killing to keep the world's population under control。 The book follows Rowan and Citra， two teenagers who are reluctantly drawn into the world of the Scythedom to become Scythe's apprentices。 But they soon learn that there's more to being a Scythe than killing， and division within S Scythe~I received a physical proof copy from Walker Books Australia and willingly reviewed it~Set in a futuristic world where humans have conquered death， Scythes are humans who are tasked with "gleaning"， the act of killing to keep the world's population under control。 The book follows Rowan and Citra， two teenagers who are reluctantly drawn into the world of the Scythedom to become Scythe's apprentices。 But they soon learn that there's more to being a Scythe than killing， and division within Scythe ranks threatens the harmony and order of their world。 Will they fight for what's right even if it means losing everything they've ever known？I've been putting off reading Scythe forever， but I finally did it？ And no regrets， I'm definitely pleasantly surprised because part of the reason I hadn't read it until now is because I was scared I wouldn't like it very much。 Neal Shusterman depicts a realistic future that's almost perfect， but has underlying issues that threaten to tear it apart。I really like the dual perspective; Rowan and Citra are two contrasting characters who showed clear character development。 Rowan goes from being the bland， "lettuce" kid to fiercely dangerous in the name of what's right， and Citra goes from being defiant to attentive and compassionate。 While I was initially unsure about these fairly drastic changes to personality， I believe they made sense considering the progression of events in the book。And ahh believe me I did want to give this five stars， but there was something nagging at the back of my mind telling me not to。 So I think I've figured out what it is， and it's that typically dystopian bond （or romance） between two characters that happens so suddenly and without explanation。 I can't say much though， these bonds are some of my favourite relationships in YA， however I think my appetite for them has diminished as I've grown older。 I'm really satisfied with how the book left off， but I did feel like a lot of the action revolved around the bond between Rowan and Citra。Scythe has a really amazing way of exploring issues in this foreign yet oh so familiar world， and that's my favourite thing about the book。 Neal Shusterman has set up a strong world as the foundation of Rowan and Citra's song， and I can't wait to see what happens next。ThunderheadIt was long and it probably didn't need to be， but worth it？ （Yes I read over 80% of this book instead of studying for mock exams， shh。） There was an entirely new dimension to this one which made it different from Scythe and I'd call it a stand-out factor？ There's obvious growth in this sequel， and that ending pained me。 I need The Toll now。The TollUhh I have to say I'm a bit disappointed， I think Cait summarised my views really well。 I love the way this series has explored issues， and this book is a prime example of that， but it lacked a driving force and even though my interest in the universe and the characters propelled me to keep reading I felt like I was strolling along the beach rather than speeding down a highway？ There were a lot of different perspectives and I certainly had my favourites， so the ones I didn't really like made me want to put down the book for sure。 And as for the ending。。。 Heavily mixed feelings？ I think Ayn got what she deserved in many ways， and as for Rowan and Citra， who even knows。 。。。more
Teddy S。
，
good
Bob Vincent
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An absolutely gripping utopian/dystopian YA series。 We originally bought the Scythe audiobook for listening on long car trips。 Before long， I grew impatient and checked out the print version。 I finished book Thunderhead in one weekend and book The Toll in another。In the future， a benevolent global computer AI known as "The Thunderhead" solves nearly all of humanity's problems。 There is no longer any shortage of food， housing， or other basic necessities。 Even death is optional， or at least tempor An absolutely gripping utopian/dystopian YA series。 We originally bought the Scythe audiobook for listening on long car trips。 Before long， I grew impatient and checked out the print version。 I finished book Thunderhead in one weekend and book The Toll in another。In the future， a benevolent global computer AI known as "The Thunderhead" solves nearly all of humanity's problems。 There is no longer any shortage of food， housing， or other basic necessities。 Even death is optional， or at least temporary， in nearly all cases。 But as a check on overpopulation， certain humans designated as "Scythes" are tasked with "gleaning" a yearly quota of individuals。The point of view shifts as new characters， places， and concepts are introduced， giving the reader ample opportunity to get acquainted with each。 The story is full and satisfying but simple enough to be enjoyable。 I found the ending very satisfying， as all the "loose ends" were wrapped up in a nice tidy bundle， leaving no need for a sequel。 。。。more
Erin
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Ummm。。。trying to organize my thoughts because I just finished this trilogy and my MIND IS BLOWN。 Talk about a series where each book’s conclusion gets bigger， Bigger， and BIGGER。 Just。。。wow。 Okay so onto my review， this is a dystopian series at the macro level， which felt really fresh for me。 Most of the dystopian books I love （and I really love this genre） have been all about my concern for what happens for THIS one character， even if the rest of the world burns。 This series brings so many pers Ummm。。。trying to organize my thoughts because I just finished this trilogy and my MIND IS BLOWN。 Talk about a series where each book’s conclusion gets bigger， Bigger， and BIGGER。 Just。。。wow。 Okay so onto my review， this is a dystopian series at the macro level， which felt really fresh for me。 Most of the dystopian books I love （and I really love this genre） have been all about my concern for what happens for THIS one character， even if the rest of the world burns。 This series brings so many perspectives that I found myself （while still invested in the characters） more focused on society and the planet as a whole。 In addition， this series is a huge construct of moral and philosophical questions and dilemmas。 It is utterly fast paced and readable but could also fuel a really fascinating book group discussion。 The premise: Earth in the not-so-distant future， where technology has evolved so that humans can live forever， the world is run by a perfect and benevolent AI， and population is controlled by a group of Scythes whose calling is to control overpopulation in a world of immortality by “gleaning” a certain quota of people every year。 Right。 It is uncomfortable， thought-provoking， and brilliant。（From a diversity perspective， I’ve been looking for more books with balanced portrayals of multiracial characters and I’ll just say that this series definitely fits the bill。 ） 。。。more
Sofia
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The Scythe series is honestly the best book series I have ever read。 I read "Scythe" a year ago， and only figured out the rest of the series recently。 Although "Thunderhead" and "The Toll" did lack some things that "Scythe" did， but they added more perspectives such as Greyson's and Thunderhead's。 The story for this entire series is incredible。 It is a thought I fantasized about a few times in my head。 The way Shusterman drags people into the story is incredible， making people be immersed in the The Scythe series is honestly the best book series I have ever read。 I read "Scythe" a year ago， and only figured out the rest of the series recently。 Although "Thunderhead" and "The Toll" did lack some things that "Scythe" did， but they added more perspectives such as Greyson's and Thunderhead's。 The story for this entire series is incredible。 It is a thought I fantasized about a few times in my head。 The way Shusterman drags people into the story is incredible， making people be immersed in the book easily。 If I have one criticism， I feel like "The Toll" lost the spark that the rest of the series had。 The view of the Tonist was fun， but not as fun as the other books were。 But I would still give it a 5 out of 5。Even if you don't particularly enjoy reading， you will enjoy this series。 Definitely recommend it to anyone who likes dystopian novels， but I would recommended to everyone。 5 stars。 。。。more
TheCosyDragon
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Citra and Rowan have been selected as Scythe’s apprentices。 They are responsible for controlling the human population now that death， war and disease have been overcome。 Their mentor Faraday thinks that he can train them both – but soon they have been pitted against one another by Goddard。I read this trilogy in very short order – so short that I’m not going to bother reviewing the individual novels。 That being said ，the first novel was a standout in my mind， while the other two novels dropped of Citra and Rowan have been selected as Scythe’s apprentices。 They are responsible for controlling the human population now that death， war and disease have been overcome。 Their mentor Faraday thinks that he can train them both – but soon they have been pitted against one another by Goddard。I read this trilogy in very short order – so short that I’m not going to bother reviewing the individual novels。 That being said ，the first novel was a standout in my mind， while the other two novels dropped off in quality and consistency。Scythe Anastasia toes the line most of the time， while Rowan likes to push boundaries。 Although surely both got equal page time， I felt like the skew was towards having more Anastasia。 I could have lived with a few less perspectives so that there was more tension。 Eventually I could see exactly where the plot line was going。What was the purpose of having the Thunderhead cut off like that？ Why was mister mean guy so mean in the end？ Why couldn’t the Thunderhead just overcome its own programming like the way it went around its other limitations？I had a problem with the human population not even really needing containment。 I would have kept it down at a constant level， not letting it expand even to just below capacity！ What if the humans found a way around it？ Scythes aren’t necessarily the most brilliant after all。This series includes Scythe， Thunderhead， and The Toll。 I wouldn’t reread them， but I really enjoyed reading it the first time。 I’d give the first novel 4 stars， and the others 3 stars。Did you enjoy this goodreads review？ If so you may find it useful to visit my blog The Cosy Dragon 。 I regularly post new reviews on a variety of genres。 。。。more
Non Pantalones
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Excellent start to the series！ I picked this book up because I'm a Neal Shusterman fan and I wasn't disappointed！ The story started off strongly， I'm intrigued with the world-building and the characters are all solid。 Everyone is well-written and noone feels arbitrary - nothing kicked me out of the narrative。 I was engaged from start to finish - excited for this trilogy！ Excellent start to the series！ I picked this book up because I'm a Neal Shusterman fan and I wasn't disappointed！ The story started off strongly， I'm intrigued with the world-building and the characters are all solid。 Everyone is well-written and noone feels arbitrary - nothing kicked me out of the narrative。 I was engaged from start to finish - excited for this trilogy！ 。。。more
Jill
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really liked this series - wish I could give it 4。5 stars。 Unique plot， great characterization， through world-building。 While I liked the two characters together， I didn’t really feel their relationship- mainly because they really didn’t have time to have one。 Great series though。 Will read again。
Noël Mckelvey
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I can't even list all the types of symbolism。 It is a surreal story that I has left me speechless。 I can't even list all the types of symbolism。 It is a surreal story that I has left me speechless。 。。。more
Alex Kazimirov
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First two books are great but the third book sadly misses the mark。
hello
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I enjoyed it， a bit infuriating at times， but still a good series。
Cornmaven
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Book Two of a trilogy， and I felt the story moved along well and properly。 Shusterman's premise is one to consider: how do you balance our desire for eternal life with the consequence of overpopulation and loss of real humanity。 It's an allegory worth exploring。 Book Two of a trilogy， and I felt the story moved along well and properly。 Shusterman's premise is one to consider: how do you balance our desire for eternal life with the consequence of overpopulation and loss of real humanity。 It's an allegory worth exploring。 。。。more
Jumana Ahmed
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The first book was absolutely phenomenal， I loved it。 The second book was also great。 The third book， however， took me a long while to read because of how much it dragged on， I genuinely didnt want to finish it， but I did。 Only a bit after page 300 does it get really exciting。 The attention to detail was great， but in the third book it was kind of excessive。 It was also obvious that it was kind of hastily written and didnt get the adequate editing it required。 The ending was also fine， I didnt l The first book was absolutely phenomenal， I loved it。 The second book was also great。 The third book， however， took me a long while to read because of how much it dragged on， I genuinely didnt want to finish it， but I did。 Only a bit after page 300 does it get really exciting。 The attention to detail was great， but in the third book it was kind of excessive。 It was also obvious that it was kind of hastily written and didnt get the adequate editing it required。 The ending was also fine， I didnt love it， but it was good。 There were a bunch of loose ends I wanted to see that weren't mentioned。 I honestly didnt really like the revival of Tyger， I just wanted Goddard gone and done with。 I loved loved loved the incorporation of gender fluidity in the book， I think that was one of the key points that made me love the series。 Overall， it was great， I loved it。 。。。more
haylie
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Such an exciting and original story。 The main character was inspiring and I loved how the story unfolded from one book to the next。 Excellent recommendation for dystopia fans
Nolidoli
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****Find More Reviews at abq-live。com****Popular Book Series Arc of a Scythe Parallel the Last Decade with its Twists and TurnsBy Nichole Harwood With the end of the year fast approaching， I stopped and looked at the many great book series coming to an end。 Deciding to take a chance on a series I never read that was coming to an end in 2019 I jumped into the Arc of a Scythe book series by Young Adult Award-winning author Neal Shusterman。 There are few things more satisfying for a reader than bei ****Find More Reviews at abq-live。com****Popular Book Series Arc of a Scythe Parallel the Last Decade with its Twists and TurnsBy Nichole Harwood With the end of the year fast approaching， I stopped and looked at the many great book series coming to an end。 Deciding to take a chance on a series I never read that was coming to an end in 2019 I jumped into the Arc of a Scythe book series by Young Adult Award-winning author Neal Shusterman。 There are few things more satisfying for a reader than being able to read a new series from book one through to the last book without stopping。 After picking up “Scythe” the first book in this series， I was hooked。 The thrill only continued with the second book “Thunderhead，” and finally， after finishing the last book in the series “The Toll，” I have come to one conclusion。 There could never be a better book series to reflect the last decade than this one。 This last decade has been filled with ups and downs， twists， and turns no one could ever have predicted。 There have been conclusions to many phenomenons， both politically-related and entertainment-related that have left many feeling the journey was bittersweet。 “Sythe” the first of the series focuses on two main characters Citra and Rowan。 Through these characters， we are introduced to a world that is for all intents and purposes a Utopia。 Disease， war， and death are a thing of the past， and the world is run by a computer program known as the Thunderhead。 Regardless of what other sci-fi books have thought would become of a culture dependent on a computer program， Thunderhead has not turned on humanity but instead runs a functional society that addresses the needs and wants of its people。 The only part of society that reflects any darkness whatsoever is the scythes。 You see， in a perfect world， the only problem left is overpopulation。 In response to this problem， scythes monitor and end lives to keep the population under control。 Scythes are not monitored by Thunderhead， and Thunderhead isn’t allowed to interfere in their duties at all。 Scythes exist because humans decided that only other humans should be in charge of who lives and who dies。 And this is the primary writing point for all conflicts in the series。 Our protagonists Citra and Rowan， are chosen to apprentice to a scythe。 Together the two must learn about their society and find a solution to any corruptness within。 The first book， “Scythe，” does a beautiful job setting up the world and characters。 Both Citra and Rowan are amazing and have incredible layers to them。 I found myself invested in both their fates。 By the second book， “Thunderhead，” we have a third character added in Greyson， who is a refreshing addition as he is just an ordinary guy within this society that， by this point， we readers have begun worrying about。 His personality sharply contrasts with the two protagonists， and his relationship with Thunderhead gives us more insight into the computer system than we ever had before。 I found I could not stop reading the second book anymore; then， the first and words could not express my excitement to read the third。 Then I read the third book， “The Toll，” and this was when the comparison between the series and the last decade came to mind。 “The Toll” is by no means a bad book。 There are many exciting parts to it， and the ending it gave to the character Greyson is by far one of my favorite character endings in literature。 But the end it gave for both Rowan and Citra was…well more odd than necessarily bad。 Twists in cinema and literature can often sweep us off our feet， making us jump up excited to know more。 But in the same regard， a twist can also sweep us off our feet， leaving us lying on the ground， wondering what the heck happened and not wanting to see more because our head still hurts from hitting the ground。 Certain twists in “The Toll” had me excited eager to see what happen next， and others made me do something I never had for the previous books in the series。 Put it down。 I came back， of course， because I needed to know the end， but I often found myself so thrown by decisions made by the author I was not in the mood to read more。 I read both “Scythe” and “Thunderhead” in a day。 It took me three to read “The Toll。” And that is what is so brilliant about this series。 Shusterman created a world and series that I became so invested in that I found myself actively irritated by twists that I felt did not give the series justice。 All in all， I do not regret picking up these books and highly encourage anyone with interest in a well developed and exciting fictional series of books to do the same。 This last decade was a mixed bag， and so was this book， but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss either of them。 It may not have had a satisfactory ending for every character， but covering that is just as important as covering the satisfying endings。 To quote the first page of the series， “We are instructed to write down not just our deeds but our feelings because it must be known that we have feelings。 Remorse。 Regret。 Sorrow to great to bear。 Because if we didn’t feel those things， what monsters would we be？” – From the gleaning journal of H。S。 Curie。 Review Originally Written in ABQ-Live the Magazine December 24th: https://abq-live。com/popular-book-ser。。。 。。。more
Hillary Wilson
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Wow。 I rarely give a 5 start rating but this one deserves it！ Great ending to a exceptional series！
Virginia Adi
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one of my favorite epics this year
Rob Linklater
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Good read finished all three books in 3 weeks or so，citra and rowan were compelling enough POV characters， i enjoyes the thunderhead and subsequently cirrus not being tropey bad AIs。
N
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the books in the world of the scythes was amazing。
Gordon
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Amazing series
Zeynep Ertuna
，