Review: The Toll - Neal Shusterman

The explosive conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Arc of a Scythe series.

It's been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding finale to Neal Shusterman's internationally bestselling trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

Arc of a Scythe Series:
Scythe
Thunderhead
The Toll

Visit Neal Shusterman's website for more information

Review:
Why is it always so hard to write reviews for books you love? Especially when its the final book in a trilogy where you are trying really hard not to include spoilers so aren't really able to talk about anything that happens in it. I really do find these reviews the hardest ones to write!

Anyway, The Toll picks up the story three years on from that evil cliffhanger ending of Thunderhead. Scythe Goddard has done exactly what you'd expect and tried to grab hold of as much power as he possibly can while blaming the tragedy on innocent people. The world is a very different place to the one we remember but what remains to be seen is if there is any way to pull the Scythedom back from the brink.

The book was pretty much non-stop action from the first page, there is so much we need to catch up on with all of our favourite characters but we also get to meet a few new ones and even if their importance to the story isn't immediately clear they all have a role to play. There are so many different threads in play that it's hard to see the whole picture but oh what a wonderful tapestry Neal Shusterman manages to weave by the end of the book!

This entire series has been a joy to read, I love the questions it made me ask myself, the hard look it takes at morality and matters of life and death, the way it sometimes pokes fun at current events in clever ways, the fantastic characters that we've now spent so much time with and the way it always kept me guessing about how things would end. I don't think there is anything I'd change about The Toll so I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Source: Received from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Thunderhead - Neal Shusterman

The dark and thrilling sequel to Scythe, the New York Times sci-fi bestseller.

The stakes are high in this chilling sci-fi thriller, in which professional scythes control who dies. Everything else is out of human control, managed by the Thunderhead. It's a perfect system – until it isn't.

It’s been a year since Rowan went off-grid. Hunted by the Scythedom, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. Citra, meanwhile, is forging her path as Scythe Anastasia, gleaning with compassion. However, conflict within the Scythedom is growing by the day, and when Citra’s life is threatened, it becomes clear that there is a truly terrifying plot afoot.

The Thunderhead observes everything, and it does not like what it sees. Will it intervene?

Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?

Arc of a Scythe Series:
Scythe
Thunderhead
The Toll

Visit Neal Shusterman's website for more information

Review:
I absolutely loved Scythe so Thunderhead was a book I had incredibly high expectations for and Neal Shusterman didn't let me down. I'm really enjoying the direction this series is heading in, even if it's one that I never would have guessed at, and Thunderhead just left me even more desperate to get my hands on the final book, The Toll, next year. To be honest I don't know how I'm going to survive the wait after that shocker of an ending!

This book picks up Citra and Rowan's stories about a year on from the end of Scythe. Citra, now known as Scythe Anastasia, has started to settle into her role and has come up with her own code of honour when it comes to the people she gleans. Not all of the Scythes are happy with the way she does things and the Scythedom as a whole seems to be fracturing into two very different factions who have very different outlooks on the way things should be run. Meanwhile Rowan is still on the run and trying to stay off the grid but rather than holing up somewhere he's taking a more proactive approach and has turned himself into someone feared by all Scythes, especially the ones who perhaps take a little more pleasure from their job than they really should. Rowan spends his time hunting Scythes who he believes are abusing their powers and delivering the ultimate punishment.

We're also introduced to a new character called Greyson who has nothing to do with the Scythedom but has a very interesting role to play in the story none the less and through him we get a lot more insight into the Thunderhead, the omnipotent artificial intelligence that pretty much runs the whole world. I'm not going to give you any more hints about the plot than that so you'll just have to read the book for yourself but if you enjoyed Scythe then I guarantee you'll love Thunderhead. This world is so incredibly well thought out and the series raises so many interesting questions about life, death and morality. The characters are compelling and you can't help but feel invested in the journeys they are taking and what can I even say about that ending? You're a cruel man Neal Shusterman, a cruel, cruel man to leave us hanging like that! But I loved every minute of it so I'm not sure what that says about me LOL. This series has been one of my favourite new discoveries of 2018 and I have every expectation that The Toll is going to be phenomenal.

Source: Received from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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Review: Scythe - Neal Shusterman

In a perfect world, what is there left to fear? A chilling and thought-provoking sci-fi novel from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

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.

Arc of a Scythe Series:
Scythe
Thunderhead
The Toll

Visit Neal Shusterman's website for more information

Review:
Scythe is set in a futuristic world where disease is a thing of the past and life is so good that crime and war are non existent. People are able to reset the ageing process whenever they like so you can live into your 90s and then go back and start your 20s all over again, even having a whole new family if you choose to. Not even accidental death is an issue as in nearly every instance hospitals can fix any damage and bring you back to life, in fact some teenagers take great joy in finding ever increasingly strange ways to hurt themselves just to prove they're invincible. The only blight on the world is the potential for an uncontrollable population explosion that would reduce the quality of life for everyone.

To avoid that the society has created the Scythedom, a group of people known as Scythes who are tasked with permanently ending the lives of a certain quota of people each year. Scythes are supposed to be beyond reproach, they have the power to choose who lives and who dies but they have to use it responsibly and they must be able to justify their choices. They have to kill people from across all walks of society, of all races, genders, ages and there must be no bias in their choices. But what happens if the Scythedom becomes corrupt? What happens if instead of being a neutral organisation carrying out a distasteful job to the best of their ability they end up with some Scythes who relish killing and take enjoyment from making people suffer?

This is the story of Citra and Rowan, two teenagers chosen to become Scythe apprentices, it isn't a job either of them would have chosen but that's why Scythe Faraday thinks they're perfect candidates. I really don't want to say too much about what happens to them but I can almost guarantee it won't be what you're expecting. This story is dark and it'll have you asking yourself all kinds of questions about what it means to be human and how an organisation that has the best intentions can possibly end up so barbaric. This isn't a simple YA romance in a futuristic setting (there's actually very little in the way of romance) - its so much more than that. This is about the journey that Citra and Rowan must both take in learning to become killers, not just physically learning to kill but trying to come to terms with that on an emotional and moral level. How do you take lives but still retain your humanity afterwards? How do you look into the eyes of grieving family members knowing you caused their pain?

I was absolutely hooked by this book from page one and I couldn't read it fast enough. The story is so full of unexpected twists and turns that you'll never be able to guess what is going to happen next and I loved the way Neal Shusterman kept me on my toes. The world building was brilliant, the politics was fascinating and more than anything I found the two main characters incredibly easy to relate to. Neither of them took joy in their apprenticeships but they do take their responsibilities seriously and when things turn against them they're up against the clock trying to save their own lives as well as the lives of the people they care about. I can't wait to start reading the sequel Thunderhead and Scythe was definitely one of the best books I've read this year by far.

Source: Received from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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