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graaaaaayy · 2 months

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Book reviewwwww

Scythe by Neal Shusterman. probably spelled that wrong, but I can’t be bothered to verify. Anyway, 6.5/10

Let’s start with the list of things I liked, because that one’s shorter.

you guys better give this notes cause it takes an embarrassingly long time for my dyslexic ass to write a 1k word review with everything almost everything spelt right.

SPOILERS BELOW

Goddard died, thank goodness he was starting to get on my nerves

Faradays alive, fucking called it

the thunderhead is very intriguing I want to know more about it. Every dystopian setting has to have ‘its thing’ to set it apart, which ironically makes them similar. The thunderhead should be a plot hole ridden cliche but it stands out, because it’s very carefully written. We don’t know much about it but whatever we do know just piques one’s curiosty even further. 10/10 writing in that respect

Faraday and Curie’s romance ??? Come onnn

The goddamned High Blade himself has an illegitimate daughter. I have a love hate relationship with the dystopian genre because the mcs are usually the only ‘woke’ ones who start the revolution but here the entire frickin sycthedom is corrupted and they all know it. But nobody wants to do anything because then all hell will break loose which is exactly what we saw at the end of the book

what I didn’t like ( don’t come at me ) :

Okay, why were both citra and rowan bland as hell ? They both have exactly one personality trait. Rowan never shuts up about being the lettuce like that makes him special - have you ever heard of this concept called being the middle child buddy ? - and citra’s whole thing is that she’ll always say whatever she’s thinking. You and me both but at least that’s not my whole personality girl.

I WANT MORE BACKSTORY ABOUT THE AGE OF MORTALITY AND THE THUNDERHEADS WAY OF GOVERNING AND NANITES AND REVIVAL CENTERS AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND CELEBRITIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND I DIDNT GET IT. It wasn’t even to build suspense or anything it was just sloppy world building. And before you tell me an author can’t write a 700page novel, first off yes they can and second the first half of the book dragged on so much that I nearly gave up on reading it. Some of that could’ve been sacrificed for actual world building and plot.

Rowan and Citra kissed once, one time and basically the next time they have a conversation they’re proclaiming their love for each other ? And Citra had absolutely no proof that rowan hadn’t been corrupted, the guy snapped her neck, seemingly participated in goddards massacres ‘willingly’ and then she’d just heard that he shot a family member in the head during his test before the instructions were fully given. Why the hell would she just let him go ?

the way people react to scythes changed drastically from start to finish. People just went from terrified grovelling to just showing up to their parties ? What happened to ‘you never know if a scythe is just gathering people to glean them ? Especially Goddard who’s known for mass gleaning.

if the thunderhead had indeed done away with everything that was harming humanity then why didn’t it get rid of the concept of celebrities ? Consumerism still seems to exist. It’s got more cons than pros. Why isn’t there AI law enforcement that can’t succumb to bias ?

The klunky world building deserves another mention because it really pissed me off

If Goddard ( bad guy ) was smart enough to have cronies that hung on to his every word, then why couldn’t Faraday, Curie etc ( supposed good guys ) also rally together and secure allies so that they’d be ready when the inevitable uprising arrived ?

okay I know some of this is because of ‘undisclosed plot purposes ^TM’ but it could’ve been done better. That is all. Goodbye

#scythe book #book review #citra terranova #rowan damisch #scythe curie #scythe faraday #scythe goddard #scythe anastasia #scythe lucifer

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iosagol · 9 months

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I know that the cardinal rule for staying sane on tumblr is “ignore opinions that you don’t agree with”, but could you elaborate on why you think scythe is terribly written? I really enjoyed it and the writing, so I’m wondering what exactly you didn’t like. I agree that main duo (Citra and Rowan) are pretty weak, but to me the rest of the trilogy more than made up for it. Feel free to ignore this if you don’t feel like answering, but I’m legitimately curious about your opinions.

Hey there! Thank you for taking time to ask despite having a different opinion. I'm afraid I won't be able to provide the most varied textual evidence because I don't personally own all of the books, but I'll do my best to make my thoughts on this clear.

I would like to preface this by saying that I don't know Neal Shusterman and I don't intend to judge his skill as a writer. These are personal complaints that I have; they are opinions. Everyone is free to like whichever authors they want to. Now without further ado:

Writing issues with the AOAS series:

1) Dialogue.

Firstly, I find that the dialogue for each character is not in any way consistent. Faraday is a great example of this. One moment, he says something dark and wise that matches his experience, and then he speaks with the same vocal patterns as a young teen.

When Mister Shusterman writes a distinctly teenage character, this also happens:

"It's just that I haven't had anyone to talk to in like, forever!"

"So should I, like, know you?"

Another issue leading to a lack of distinct character voice is that pretty much every character quips and snarks and smirks. Rand quips, Munira quips, Curie smirks, Citra smirks, Citra quips, Rowan quips (having those two snark lords paired together is certainly a choice) Jerico snarks, and even Faraday quips if my memory serves me right. If so many main characters are the witty banterers in the book, it makes them all start to lose individuality and blend together.

And hey, I'm a Marvel rat, I'm used to quips during apocalypses, but even in Marvel there are some characters who quip multiple times in almost every kind of scenario, and others who are more reserved. It's these different line choices that set them apart.

Another issue I have with the dialogue is that it sounds somewhat… cheesy? The wisdom bits sound a little pseudo-wise, and the death threats are miraculously over the top. Sometimes the narration is overly dramatic. Even some random lines that are neither proverbs nor threats just sound off.

Examples:

"So tell me, Munira… Who will you be?"

"Are you so consumed by grief that you can't consume this fish?"

"His eyes had a careworn coolness to them as if he had seen more than he should and had stopped caring in order to save what was left of his soul."

"One can never truly master the art of driving, because no journey is ever exactly the same."

"I guess whoever holds the torch casts the darkest shadow." "Whoever steals the torch, you mean." "Well, it seems I can steal whatever I want."

"Ha! Citra playing a harp! How she would hate that!"

"Tonight we witness the spectacle of human folly and tragedy. Tomorrow, we shall live it."

"To live between the prospects of an unknown, eternal sky and a dark, enveloping Earth must have been glorious— for how else could it have given rise to such magnificent expression?"

I'll mention this briefly here and dive in further later: Robert Goddard says the most insane things that are probably intended to sound menacing but only make him sound like a comic villain.

Overall, the dialogue is my biggest issue with the writing in the Scythe series, failing to convey character and sometimes distracting from the plot. I'm afraid if you compare it to dialogue from other teen books like The Queen's Thief, or even something from Lemony Snicket, it's unfortunately subpar.

2) Sentence fragments.

A sentence fragment is series of words that doesn't qualify as a full sentence because it lacks either a subject or a predicate. This is a grammatical error. Some authors, some incredibly accomplished authors, can use sentence fragments in artful and interesting ways that set a unique tone for their story. However, Mister Shusterman uses sentence fragments in inconsistent, strange bursts that leave me wondering as to the purpose of them. I don't know if these were stylistic in any way, and this makes me think they are errors. For example.

"Through all of this, Scythe Rand said nothing. She had taken a seat and was watching. Waiting to see what Rowan would do. What accusations he'd make."

I'm sorry, but this is a basic flawed cluster of sentence fragments that would be better written as

"She had taken a seat and was watching, waiting to see what Rowan would do and what accusations he would make."

Another example:

"He tried to move his wrist, but found that he couldn't. Not because of any injury, but because he was restrained. Both of his hands, and his feet as well."

This should be arranged as

"He tried to move his wrist but found that he couldn't, not because of any injury but because he was restrained; both his hands and feet were chained."

Another:

"She felt vulnerable without her robe. Naked in a fundamental way."

All that's needed to fix this is a comma between Robe and Naked. That's it. I have no idea why an editor didn't swoop in and patch that gap. It would make the flow of the narrative infinitely less choppy.

Sentence fragments can make story sound like it is stuttering, and I think this is true for the Scythe series.

3) nicknames are used to create emotional beats to an excess.

This may seem like a random, small complaint to have. But if you go through all of the Scythe books and note every abrupt name change and meaningful first-name basis, the tally is very high. I find this to be a good tool, but it's negative when used excessively.

Examples:

"Jeri told Sydney--- because now they were most certainly on a first name basis…"

This signals a sudden leap from coworkers to friends. Instead of fleshing out the time Jerico and Sydney spent together, nicknaming works to hint that time has passed and events happened. Once more, I will say that I don't hate this tool. But it's going to be used again. And again. And it does function as a summarizer, and summaries can only take a story so far.

Tenkamenin is Tenka

Michael is whipped out when Mister Shusterman needs a soft moment for Curaday, same with Marie

Citra bounces between Anastasia and Citra (this is part of her identity struggle, I suppose, but it's very clumsy. Instead of just swapping a name to demonstrate his protagonist is putting on a persona/ready to behave more maturely, I think Mister Shusterman should have just relied on dialogue, body language, and verbal patterns to demonstrate her switches. Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde is an incredible study on this sort of style.)

Rowan dabbles in being Lucifer

Greyson learns Citra's first name? Suddenly they're able to communicate more fully and more intimately.

Goddard is Robert when Rand wants a moment with him, even though Robert is just such a dreadful name for an evil overlord and it just doesn't work. Think about Voldemort. Did Voldemort EVER let Bellatrix call him Tom or Marvolo? Not a chance. The one person who called Voldemort by his first name was his arch-nemesis, and Voldemort tried to kill said arch-nemesis for his irreverence. Goddard literally called himself an angel, I don't see why he allows himself to be addressed so casually without repercussions. It lessens his strength so much.

The moment I learned the high scythes' first names in the second book, I knew they were going to die, because whenever Mister Shusterman lets us know a first name, it's meant to make us have a deep connection with that character.

I mentioned this before with quips, and I'll say it again; if every character has a nickname and/or an alter ego that they flip and flop back and forth with to represent their inner turmoil, well… then it's not a unique trait, it's just a general device that's used over and over. It loses meaning, it loses its punch, and it loses uniqueness.

I don't want to accuse an author I don't know, but I personally believe that simply switching names to get across complex emotional beats is a weaker, quicker way to write. If there were complex emotional beats with body language and good dialogue and then names were conservatively sprinkled in after these important parts, maybe I would be less aggravated by it.

4) Telling things that should be shown or not mentioned at all.

As a general rule, narrators do not exist to make you like characters. The characters themselves are meant to win you over through dialogue, actions, and shows of personality. When the narrator decides not to let the characters show their personality and simply blurts the character's attributes to the reader, this is called telling and not showing.

"Citra was well known for her temper. It often arrived before reason, and left only after damage was done. Tonight would be no exception."

If this scene is going to demonstrate exactly what the narrator is describing, why describe this attribute at all? Simply let the scene play out, showing us Citra's temper, and we will deduce her personality from this.

"Every ship would have its own Cirrus, as wise and benevolent as the Thunderhead."

This is said at the end of the third book. We've spent three books with the Thunderhead. If we don't know what it's personality is by now, we must be illiterate. We don't need to be told attributes we've already been shown.

Part of the reason why Citra and Rowan's relationship feels so flat is because the narrator gives us a speedran summary of their relationship growth; we don't actually get to see anything beyond them yelling and snarking at each other one second and being desperately in love the other. We're told they care about each other. We're told they take actions and have conversations. We. Are. Not. Shown. These moments.

"She was now Citra once more; proud and headstrong, but with no impressive social footprint."

This is said in the second book, at which point we ought to know all this and more about Citra. If Mister Shusterman included this for readers who chose to start reading at the second book instead of the first, this is still a bad choice because he already showed us Citra's proud and headstrong nature in the chapter before the one where this quote came from. Any new readers should already have picked this up on their own. Again, he's stating something that the character herself should have been left to demonstrate.

This feature in the Scythe series leads me to experience aggravation of two kinds:

I feel that I am being given a summary of an event I have already witnessed/a person I have already met, even though the author knows I have witnessed the event/met the person. It's as though the author thinks I suffer from short term memory loss.

I feel that I am being given a summary of a YouTube video in words when the author has a cell phone and could easily take his phone out and show me the video himself, and would paint a better picture by doing so.

5) Goddard is a remarkably awfully written villain

This part is a combination of several different technical problems, and I considered integrating it into the other points I made, but I thought it deserved its own honorable mention.

The main issue I have with the main villain is that Mister Shusterman doesn't seem to know whether he wants Goddard to be a joke or a threat.

There is a paragraph in The Toll saying that Goddard could "twist your thoughts until they were no longer yours, but his. That's what made him so dangerous."

Only a few chapters away from this sentence is another one which says "Goddard spouted erudite gibberish with such regularity, Rand had learned to turn her ears off to it."

The contradiction is incredible. I have no idea who this man ought to be.

(I will also say that if the author has to tell me how a villain is dangerous, he most likely isn't.)

Some examples of strained Goddard dialogue/descriptions are

"He was brilliant in at finding shapes in the clouds of his fury."

"I am your completion! I am the last word of your unsatisfied, unsavory lives… I am your portal to the mysteries of oblivion!"

"He had strewn them there as a way to raise his troubled spirits. Surely their magnificence would bring him not just comfort, but elevation."

"We are angels of death," said Scythe Goddard. "It is only fitting that we swoop in from the heavens."

I haven't got the book with me but there's a line about the meat of his vengeance being relished

"I enjoy spectacles, and there's no reason needed beyond that."

"Embrace it, Rowan. Suckle at its transformative breast… The thrill of the hunt and the joy of the kill simmers in all of us."

"Now Goddard paces, whipping his fury into a caustic meringue."

Goddard clapped his hands together, truly tickled.

"Goddard is as corrosive as acid hurled in the eye."

It’s him!” “He’s so handsome!” “He’s so scary!” “He’s so well-groomed!” Goddard took a moment to turn to the crowd and sweep his hand in a royal wave.

In summary, Goddard comes off as a comic villain, and not a strong one. It sounds like he's almost trying to be Thanos and just falling so so short.

But he has such damaging effects? And it seems to be for no reason whatsoever?

He spews terrible dialogue but has absolute control? He supposedly is powerful, but he is vanquished by his own henchwoman when the heroes don't care enough about him to try and kill him themselves?

Literally Citra is trying to find reasons to stay on earth and she's like "Well I guess no one really needs me here" as Goddard has been spending the past years? mass murdering people? She just forgets about him as a threat?

Also he's named Robert How can I take a villain named Robert seriously, for the love of all that is good

When the main villain is simply cringeworthy, the series suffers as a whole.

BONUS Round! Just some thoughts

To this day I think about how Sydney Possuelo had to go into a vault and find two naked teenagers lying very deadish on the floor in each other's arms and I think about his reaction and you know what it definitely checks out

Honestly Astrid was awesome, she handled her situation like a champ

I still don't get why Greyson broke up with the Thunderhead tho, he genuinely fell in love with Jerico because she said hello in the same way the Thunderhead did lol

To be real, the deaths are always the best part of this series

Xenocrates tho

Rand's relationship with Tiger was very interesting

I'm still not sure what I think about it

.... ....

Now. You may be thinking that I despise the Arc of a Scythe series.

This is untrue.

I stuck with the Scythe series through all of my nitpicks and dislikes because the concept is absolutely incredible and can't be thrown aside. Mister Shusterman did an amazing job of creating an emotional, fast-paced plot with great locations, moral questions, and themes. I just desperately wish that the flaws that I personally noticed could have been left out of such an interesting story so that I could have been drawn even deeper into the world and loved the characters more than I do.

#arc of a scythe #scythe faraday #citra terranova #rowan damisch #greyson tolliver #scythe curie #scythe goddard #Excuse me dear dudes #just speaking my mind #book analysis #Book breakdown

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leafydinosaur · 3 months

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scythe spoilers!!!

oh my god. OH MY GOD. the ending was actually so good. i'm gonna read thunderhead soon (i gotta do homework and stuff...) but i'm really excited to see how citra and rowan yk like...stay together ig (even though they aren't TECHNICALLY together but it's okay) also they're so cute. AHGDHJBSEHFB anyways! i'm assuming rowan like somehow becomes a scythe later in the book but idk. also i kinda knew that scythe faraday didn't die because it was so random. and i absolutely 100% ship marie and gerald. tbh i just wanna see them grow old together :((((((

#scythe #arc of a scythe #citra terranova #scythe faraday #scythe curie #rowan damisch

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book-lover85 · 3 months

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i just finished The Toll in the Arc of a Scythe series and spoiler warning

i don’t think Citra and Rowan would leave Earth tbh

I would’ve rather they stayed (also Loriana should’ve stayed cause her and Munira could’ve been cute together) and like lived on a secluded little island that only their friends knew about (Faraday, Greyson, Munira, Loriana, Jeri, Morrison maybe, etc) also the idea that Rowan is like 136 and Citra is technically still 19 cause of how being deadish works is ickyyyy like i love them as a ship but….. ew

i just don’t think they would do that as characters also Shusterman was lowkey being a coward by not letting them get the ten plagues nanites or whatever like

anyways fucking loved this series and everybody’s else’s endings were amazing and i loved the solution to the Scythedoms existence honestly genius but in my own personal headcanon Citra was revived immediately and they never went to space

#the toll #arc of a scythe #scythe #citra terranova #rowan damisch #rowan x citra

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aroaceoutinspace · 1 year

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Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️(4.5)

Overview

If you like:

Moral challenged characters

Dystopian worlds

A 'perfect' world

Dangerous apprenticeships

Doing bad for the greater good

Dual POV

Corrupt societies

Then this book is the one for you!

The concept of this book is so unique and plays beautifully with the idea of the underlying imperfections in a seemingly perfect world. There were brief moments where I was loosing interest, but somehow they would be the exact times the curveball I was craving would arrive! If it hadn't hit on a big pet peeve of mine, this could have been a perfect 5 stars.

Blurb

'Thou Shalt Kill'

'What if death was the only thing left to control?

'In a perfect world, the only way to die is to be gleaned by a professional scythe. When Citra and Rowan are chosen to be apprentice scythes, they no they have no option but to learn the art of killing. However, the terrifying responsibility of choosing their victims is just the start.

'Corruption is the order of the day and Citra and Rowan need to stick together to fight it.

'Then they are told that one of them will have to glean the other...'

When I got settled into the story I forgot the end of that blurb, and the reveal came as such a shock until I realised I already knew 😂.

Warnings

There is a lot of violence in this book, not excruciatingly graffic, since that isn't my thing, but still frequent. There is also talk of suicide, referred to as 'self-gleaning', and descriptions of enjoying and becoming desensitised to violence.

If you think any of these topics may affect you this series may be worth a skip.

I feel this is suitable for 15/16 years and upwards.

The Downside

If I do anymore reviews in the future, you will learn that I'm a little bit of a romance cynic- if there isn't space to fully develop the relationship without it overpowering the story, then I don't see the benefit in having it. The main relationship in this story felt empty to me for the level of sacrifice it created. Something was missing, and it felt like the epitome of forced proximity. Probably won't be a popular opinion, but I honestly feel they would have been better off as friends. Like I said, if there isn't space to develop the relationship in the plot, it isn't necessary.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I impulse bought the series since I definitely will continue it! Lots of interesting concepts, and a refreshing break away from the standard fantasy/science fiction.

Fans of the Hunger Games and Divergent will definitely appreciate it, but even if dystopian isn't usually your thing, if you have any interest in mystery at all I'd encourage you to give it a shot.

Thank you very much for reading, I hope I helped!

My first full review so any criticism is welcome! Reblog if you'd like me to do the same for other books

Also, stuck between reading the Raybearer sequel or The Box in the Woods next, any advice?

🧡💛🤍💙🖤

#my book reviews #book reviews #scythe #arc of a scythe #neal shusterman #my reviews #booklr #books #dystopian books #book series #book reccomendation #4.5 stars #almost 5 stars #my posts #unique posts #not reblogged

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illicthearts · 1 year

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Scythe Thoughts

Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

I think Citra is Scythe Faradays favorite

I don’t trust this “Thunderhead” thing, anything can be corrupted.

Also isn’t a scythe’s family getting immunity playing favorites or showing bias?

The world is not much different if the power of death is in the hands of people. what makes Scythes different from politicians, dictators, and presidents? They controlled armies and humans died serving those armies so they controlled their death. And Scythes total have control over lives of people, makes them worst in my opinion

Humanity can’t know everything, like what about the universe? The Big Bang? Aliens? What’s inside a black hole?

They say that governments are gone but isn’t Thunderhead a sort of government? It makes laws and keeps people in line, the whole world is literally being ruled by an AI and they don’t even know it.

Why do I like those Scythes who killed the entire plane? Like they seem chaotically funny

Do people still believe in religion? And stuff like that, cuz it wasn’t clear. There was a wedding but if people don’t believe in religion how did the ceremony work?

Are different cultures still thing or-?

Being a Scythe sounds annoying like you can’t wear pretty clothes, you can’t go out ,you can’t do normal stuff that once did and I don’t see why anyone would want to give it up, like can you even eat what you want? They make it seem like an honorable position but comes with less benefits and more trauma

Also how are they past the age of mortality when they can literally be killed? Like at one point they’re going to be chosen, they just don’t die naturally and live longer. With our modern medicine we live longer than people did in the Middle Ages so really it isn’t that much different.

These people are being ruled over by an AI and they don’t even know it, they think this Thunderhead is better or whatever than AIs portrayed in movies but I highly doubt it, I like technology but I wouldn’t trust it with my life

Also what’s the ship name for Citra and Rowan? (I know they end up together but that’s all I know)

Hightlights

(I decided this would be a better way to do it since Tumblr won’t let me mass post my million highlights)

#arc of a scythe #citra terranova #rowan damisch #rowan x citra #scythe faraday #reading notes: scythe #scythe

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i-love-side-characters · 2 years

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just curious... what are your thoughts on citra x rowan? do you have any headcanons for them?

scythe asks my beloved <3

actually i love citra x rowan!! i wasn't too hot about it through the first book since the two main characters getting together is kind of a cliché type thing, but honestly their relationship feels really natural to me, so i don't mind. i'm glad that their romantic relationship took a bit of a backseat through the story otherwise i don't think i would have liked it as much :) i don't love them as much as curaday but they are still great!!

headcanons!

i'd like to think that they cook dinner together and whatnot all the time

i feel like they just continue the tradition from when faraday made them do it

also they have a dog named poppy because i said so

guys i can't do headcanons so

i'd honestly like to imagine that citra quit being a scythe in some way and they went to live together in some secluded cottage in amazonia

and they go travelling around the world together

and they buy a small token from each place they go to because that's so cool

for some reason i can't think of any more <3 i'm sorry anon

thank so much for the ask though my dear ALSO IF U GUYS HAVE ANY MORE SCYTHE ASKS HMU BECAUSE I'M IN A SCYTHE MOOD

if you’re not a coward here’s my askbox

#asks #anon asks #not main content #arc of a scythe #citra terranova #scythe anastasia #rowan damisch #scythe lucifer #citra x rowan #scythe spoilers #thunderhead spoilers #the toll spoilers #whats their ship name????#bruh i should know this #anyways anon thank you so much for the ask

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raedas · 2 years

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BESTIE IM DYINGok so major thunderhead spoilers here BUT-

when all the scythes are on endura there’s a whole chapter of citra and curie basically just exploring the island and first of all I was dying because they got a tour of the vault and the foreshadowing there was PAINFUL to say the least but more painful was the fact that they went to see an opera together and like first of all that was how citra and rowan first met each other and became apprentices, BUT then there’s what the opera is about, “The opera was easy to follow: a forbidden love between an Egyptian military commander and a rival queen, which ended with eternal entombment for the two of them.”

like?????? there’s no way i’m getting through the rest of this without crying

OH MY GOD . OHM YGOD . DIDNT CITRA ALSO WEAR CLEOPATRA'S ROBE???????? THEYRE INSANEEEEEE

#asks #scythe spoilers #meg

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shitty-scythe-content · 4 years

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In honor of Halloween I’m stealing Moonkitti’s idea and doing Scythe characters as what they would dress up as if they were invited to a Halloween party. (In case you were curious, none of the characters are hosting. Either Neal hosts or it’s just like a hostless party)

Citra: Citra couldn’t decide between five different costume ideas, so she has to throw something together last minute. She goes to Spirit Halloween and buys a Breath Of The Wild Link costume and calls it a day. Rowan: Rowan goes as the grim reaper, thinking he’s making a statement

Faraday/Curie: Faraday and Curie go as something matching, probably peanut butter (Faraday) and jelly (Curie) or Woody and Bo Peep. If all else fails, they just go as a dad and a mom. Goddard: Goddard goes as himself Rand: Rand wears one of those, like... unnecessarily sexy costumes? Really any of them work for her, but I feel like a sexy green M&M fits best.

Volta: Volta was invited to the party but he stayed home and is eating Butterfingers in a long t shirt and nothing else while crying.

Chomsky: Chomsky is wearing a Charizard speedo and that is it. Everyone refuses to look at him.

Xenocrates: Xenocrates goes as a sumo wrestler. He didn’t even need the inflatable suit.

Tyger: Tyger wears either a fursuit or one of those inflatable dinosaur costume.

Thunderhead: Thunderhead goes naked. It is above clothing as it has no physical form.

Possuelo: Possuelo goes as a chimpanzee. I am not taking criticism on this opinion.

Greyson/Jeri: These two go as Bert (Jeri) and Ernie (Greyson).

Purity: Purity goes in what is essentially BDSM gear and gets sent to the corner of shame with Chomsky. Then they eat all the Twizzlers.

Constantine: Constantine wears a cowboy hat and calls it good.

Supreme Blade Kahlo: She goes as her Patron Historic.

Brahms: He goes as Rick from Rick and Morty.

Morrison: He forgets about the party until Loriana reminds him about it, so he just finds multiple parts from costumes past and tries to throw something together last minute.

Astrid: She either goes as a nun or a ghost.

Loriana: Loriana goes as a teacher

Munira: Munira also goes as a teacher, and accuses Loriana of stealing her costume idea

Mendoza: Mendoza goes as either Joe Biden or Donald Trump

Esme: Esme is a Tootsie Roll. It was her mother’s idea.

Ben: Ben goes as Minecraft Steve

Ezra: Is wearing a pin that says “this is my Halloween costume” or cat ears.

Prometheus: Prometheus goes as the ass judge from Pink Floyd’s “The Trial”. Another one I am not taking criticism on.

Cleopatra: Cleopatra goes as sexy Cleopatra.

Da Vinci: Da Vinci wasn’t invited to the cool kids party so he eats Skittles at home and plays with a cat.

Alighieri: Alighieri goes as the devil himself. AKA, Grandpa Joe.

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ellaofoakhill · 3 years

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Why You Should Read...

So I recently finished reading Scythe, the first book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy by Neal Schusterman, and I feel.. a little conflicted.

First, let me say that, objectively, it’s a well-written story, and Schusterman--take a look at his bibliography--clearly knows what he’s doing. To summarize, the story follows two protagonists, Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch, who are chosen by a scythe to become his apprentices. In this far future (the 24th and a half century, roughly), human beings have attained immortality*, and all our needs and wants are provided by the Thunderhead, an artificial intelligence that grew out of the Cloud we know today, and, as far as I’ve read, anyway, it seems to be entirely benevolent.

Now, though, I should come to the asterisk beside the word immortality. Naturally, humanity’s population exploded with all this lack of death and everything being provided for us, but we still needed some form of population control; we needed a way to die. Hence the scythes; they glean people, and the people they glean stay dead. Naturally, this gives the scythes tremendous power, and they’re treated by the world as such, usually with varying degrees of fear or sycophancy.

And--I’m going to try and avoid spoilers throughout this little commentary--this all has a serious impact on our protagonists, who are both compassionate people who live in a society where death is all but a bad memory.

There’s a fair exploration of all this within the story, but I can’t help but feel it takes a back seat to The Plot, in which Citra and Rowan are forced--through means I won’t go into--to compete for their promotion to proper scythes, and the winner will be forced to glean the loser. And it is through this plot contrivance that Neal introduces a number of typical YA tropes.

Again, the man knows his stuff, and he handles them all very well, and does a number of things that surprised me throughout (yet still made sense with hindsight) and kept the story entertaining, but at the same time the little voice in the back of my head (yes, that creep) was saying “You didn’t have to do this, Neal! You didn’t have to make this a typical YA story!”

And while that little voice often seems to take immense pleasure in ruining good stories for me, he (they? I haven’t asked my little voice how it identifies) may have a point here. Because here’s the thing: you don’t need to have a big overarching plot to make or keep a story interesting. And I feel like it may have gotten in the way here.

Bear with me. Neal makes it clear neither Citra nor Rowan knew anyone, prior to meeting their teacher-to-be, who had died; it was a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend sort of thing. And they are abruptly taken from several degrees of separation from death to ground zero, watching people die over and over and over again. In a society that does virtually nothing to prepare people for the end. Not that this information is withheld in any way. With the chances of any one person dying grown so astronomically tiny that it’s plausible for a person to live ten thousand years, human culture as a whole has fundamentally changed, with the most obvious consequence being that Citra and Rowan have no clue how to deal with death because their society has no idea how to teach them.

And this by itself is dark and weird and so, so plausible. In western culture, among the privileged, death is more remote than ever before in human history. And even 100 years ago in World War 1, when average lifespans were much shorter, lots of people who went off to war came back with PTSD. Why? Because while everyone knew they must eventually die, their relatively peaceful youths had been spent conditioning them to believe that killing someone else was fundamentally wrong, and that to do so was loathsome. Oh, don’t get me wrong, the propaganda machine was and is a powerful force that can make it easier for one person to kill another, but that deeper conditioning and that lack of experience with inflicting death run so harshly counter to war that it did and does break lots of people, who often spend years putting their pieces back together, and too often never do.

So imagine, if you will, what might happen to someone who hasn’t just been told and conditioned their entire life not to kill, but lives in a culture where dying itself has all but passed away? I was fascinated by the earliest part of the story, that started going into this, and the potential ways these two kids could go, hints at where this traumatic path might take them. And Neal wrote it so vividly. And it was deeply personal, what these two characters felt as they helped kill people as part of a necessary process to help ensure humanity didn’t consume all the resources on earth and starve itself. And their teacher tried his damndest to make sure they not only did all of this in the right way, but that they themselves were psychologically taken care of as best he could manage.

There’s one scene where Rowan has to pick who his teacher will next glean, and I’ll try not to spoil it for you, but it is powerful and awful and crookedly beautiful, both how he slowly spirals at the prospective consequences of his choice, and how his teacher snaps him out of that self-destructive mindset.

And then the plot started getting in the way.

I won’t go into it any further than I already have, and Neal worked well with said plot, but i feel like not having an overarching plot would have made this whole story a creeping slow-burn of suspense as we see these two young people crack under the burden of this calling, and either fall apart or find whatever interpretation or justification they can for what they do. It would also have made it unlike any YA I’ve read, where the story is the education, rather than an addition to it. This could’ve had a powerful lotr feel, that “yes, good things are happening now, but there’s a lot of bitter in that sweetness, and while a lot of evil things have left the world, a lot of ancient wonder has to”. And while there is some of that, it is, sadly, pushed into the background about halfway through, rather than being allowed the focus it deserves.

See, there’s a lot of talk in the writing community that we should be focusing on character arcs as opposed to plot arcs, and I feel like there are a lot of missed opportunities here in YA in general, and this was one of them. And I think what frustrates me about this is that Neal has such a clear grasp of his characters that they, by themselves, could easily power an entire novel or trilogy. He is clearly good enough to pull this off. And he chose not to.

You could argue that I’m seeing the glass as half-empty, and that’s fair; I’m lamenting the story that could’ve been, and not lauding the one that is. But I do wonder, the way things seem to change trajectory partway through, if Neal might have been editorially persuaded to write something more typical. I don’t know, and again, the story he wrote still has lots of good points, and is worth a read. I recommend it, and if you find it half as thought-provoking as I did, feel free to drop me a message; after all, a lot of this is my highly subjective opinion.

#why you should read...#arc of a scythe #book one #scythe #my original review I guess #again I don't hate this story #and I don't think anyone should hate it for the reasons I mentioned above #but that little voice...#>:[

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reviewsbytomsatrekkie · 3 years

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21. Scythe - Neal Shusterman - 3 STARS

“Thou shalt kill.”

Humanity has managed to conquer all; hunger, crime, disease, war, misery and even death... Now the only way to die is to be killed by a Scythe. To keep population levels balanced scythes are commanded to kill a certain number of people every year. Citra and Rowan are chosen to be apprentice scythes, to learn the different ways to take a life, a role neither of them wants. Corruption is everywhere and it doesn’t take long for Citra and Rowan to be thrown right into the eye of the storm, only sticking together will help them survive.

Scythe was an interesting read, but it left me feeling underwhelmed and not that excited to read the next book. Technically, it is well written and well thought out, the characters were all individuals, and they didn’t seem like cookie cutters at all. What frustrated me was how slow it felt, this took me almost 2 weeks to read because I just never felt that engaged in the book or the characters. The relationship between our two main characters is odd, they are never really shown becoming more than acquaintances or work colleagues but by the end of the book you’re meant to believe that they love each other, it was completely unbelievable and unnecessary. I would have much preferred them becoming friends and just being there for each other in that way. The authors style of writing also annoyed me, it felt very high and mighty, like he was standing on a pedestal preaching about how humans will always be corrupt and can’t learn from our mistakes. I understood where he was coming from and I do actually agree with him to a certain extent, but I just didn’t like the way he portrayed his point, it felt like a sermon.

Citra and Rowan were good characters, but I never felt like I fell in love with them or even liked them. They were both very determined and were chosen for their sense of right and wrong. I can see why so many people did like them; I just didn’t get enough real personality from them. I was much more intrigued by the Scythes they were apprenticed too, Faraday and Curie, they seemed to have a much more interesting story to tell, and I really hope that the next books delve into their relationship more.

Our bad guy wasn’t really given much of a motivating factor, other than being a sadistic psychopath, this made his character feel really flat. He was really over the top and kind of gaudy, he reminded me of an evil peacock. There was no moment where you got to see his reasoning, or if he had any underlying motives. Though I guess that could have been the authors point, sometimes evil people are just plain evil, and they don’t need a tragic backstory to justify their actions. I do also have to keep in mind that this is a trilogy so there’s a high chance of there being bigger and badder evils in future books.

Overall, I would say this was a mostly solid book and a lot of people will like it, I just didn’t get as much out of it as I thought I would. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting at all and was very clever but was sort of ruined by the thrown in use of “I love you” when it sooo not needed.

3 Stars

Let me introduce you to my very naughty yet very cute cat Kenji, he wanted to be included in todays review.

#Book #Books #bookworm #booklover #book review #Review #reviews #reading #reader #neal shusterman #Scythe #citra x rowan #kenji #Cat #Kitten #Pets

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welcometothebookreport · 3 years

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Scythe, Neal Shusterman

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/fantasy, Dystopia/Utopia

Themes: Death, Morality, Mortality, Coming-of-age

TWs: Death, Violence, Mass Killings, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Child Death, Suicide, Sexual Harassment of a Minor

Recommended if you’re looking for: dark, medium-paced, adventure, reflective, coming-of-age, strong female lead

Scythe is a story exploring the post-mortal world. Citra and Rowan become apprentices to an Honorable Scythe, training to become initiated into an elite class of immortals chosen to cull humanity safely, efficiently, and by seven commandments of the scythdom. Neither Citra nor Rowan want to become a scythe—but according to their instructor, it’s that which makes them the best candidates for the role.

The concept of the book alone was intriguing enough for me to grab without having any recommendations. I don’t know Shusterman; this is the first I’ve read of his—it won’t be the last.

Within the first ten pages of the book, I fell in love with the concept, the writing, the worldbuilding, and the characters. Shusterman set the tone straight away; no heavy info-dumps, no paragraph blocks of exposition, and with a firm understanding of where our heroes start their journey and what their motivations are.

And while this book was on the dark-ish side, I was surprised to find subtle humor woven in. Too often in dystopian novels, humor is subdued or gone in favor of keeping the tone of the books dark and dreary. But, the humor in Scythe contrasted nicely against the book’s inherent darkness.

A bit of a warning: this book is slow-paced to start. The first hundred pages (or more) are filled with less action and more worldbuilding. We take a journey with the characters, get to know them, understand their motivations and what drives them forward. If you only enjoy the face-paced, page-flipping sort of book, you may struggle with the beginning of this novel. However, once the plot gets going, once the characters are situated in the moment of never being able to turn back, once you truly get a handle on the villain and the root of everything our heroes are fighting for, the book picks up steam. It’s so worth it to get to that place. Twists, turns, uncertainty in the characters and their arcs—a marvelous bit of storytelling, done at the pace of a journey rather than a sprint.

To be honest, I enjoyed the pace of the book from start to finish. I don’t believe a book has to have the “Michael Bay Hollywood” style of action-packed, constant explosions to be valid and amazing.

I also really love a book that makes me think, and Scythe had me evaluating where I stand on any number of theoretical situations that could arise in this imagined future. And the beauty of it is that the author doesn’t tell you what to think or how to feel—there is the truth of the book and you’re left to examine the various paths a character could take. So resonating, so reflective. I found myself trying to figure out how I’d behave if I were in the characters’ shoes. For a lot of books, that’s very straightforward; heroes do this, and so that’s what I’d do. With this book, the avenues were endless and complete with full scales of gray morality tied in.

Shusterman spent time making me care about this world, the many facets of it, and the many characters that feature through the story—leads and minor characters alike.

Citra, our main female lead, resonated with me; she’s determined, rejects failure as an outcome, and has a sense of duty to the world around her. She pushes herself hard to succeed, allows herself to grow, and challenges the status quo. It’s refreshing to have a female lead who isn’t just pitted against other females to prove how much better they are. And, to Shusterman’s credit, there was no concern over her looks or her emotions: she was allowed to be who she was without objectifying her womanhood. A rare case, as I’ve come to find in sci-fi/fantasy books, especially written by men. *claps for Shusterman*

Rowan, our main male lead, was refreshing. He wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. Falling into a morally gray area, his anti-hero qualities made me root for him even harder. Written as “the lettuce” of life—forgotten, always overlooked, never destined for importance or infamy—the useless part of a sandwich, essentially. But, Rowan is compassionate and fierce, wanting to do what’s right even if it’s the hardest thing he’ll ever have to do. We need more male heroes who personify goodness in this way; a true ride-or-die friend before anything else.

And despite loving the book so much, there was one aspect that fell flat for me in some ways. The romantic relationship between Citra and Rowan felt more like ride-or-die friendship to me. I loved that even more than a romance between them. From the very beginning, they were in this together—I didn’t even care if they kissed or fell in love; I just wanted them to have the friendship they’d cultivated at the start. So, if you’re into the romance aspect of YA sci-fi/fantasy, you may be frustrated by the lack of clear romance involved.

Saying all of that: I actually enjoyed the off-screen build of their relationship. It was a theme, I think—absence makes the heart grow fonder. In this world, there’s no absence, no death, etc., and so to have them forced apart at such a big point in their relationship, solidly built the care, worry, and curiosity that would naturally build deeper feelings between them. Maybe it’s the girl inside me that went through a long distance relationship, or maybe it’s because I don’t read a book for romance; I’m not sure. Except to say that, while I ship Citra and Rowan completely, the story of their journey meant far more to me than the status of their relationship through the book.

So, uh… TL;DR: if you’re looking for a deeply interesting, moderately paced, dystopian coming-of-age story that’s light on romance but heavy on story development and character arcs, give this book a read because it’s entirely worth the potential existential crises that would lead to a thousand-word book review when you’re done.

#jessireads #bookish #book review #booklr #scythe by neal shusterman #dystopian #sci-fi/fantasy #young adult #ya #coming of age #literature #books

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theastrophilearchitect · 3 years

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March TBR/W.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I want to consume in March 2021.

-Hence ‘TBR/W’ - to-be-read/watched.

I’m not usually a fan of pre-planning my media for the month - I plan out all my media obsessively, but doing it by month seems a little too much like setting deadlines for my taste, and I’m sure I’ll somehow manage to turn watching tv into a chore. Regardless, it’s worth a shot, so this is going to be a rough guide - I’m going to pick four of each category, one per week, because I’d rather underestimate and surpass than overestimate and have to defer things to the next month. So let’s go.

Books

1. Skyward and 2. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is set in a future where the human race is on the verge of extinction, trapped on a planet constantly attacked by alien warriors. Spensa, a teenage girl stuck on the planet, wants to be a pilot, but it seems far-off. Then, she finds the wreckage of a ship that appears to have a soul, and she must figure out how to repair it, and persuade it to help her navigate flight school.

In truth, I mainly want to read this because of how highly it’s been praised by Hailey in Bookland on YouTube. I actually tried reading Sanderson’s Mistborn series a couple years ago, and just didn’t click with it. I love fantasy, but I can pretty confidently say epic fantasy just isn’t for me. However, Sanderson’s work is adored by many, and Skyward and its sequel Starsight appeal so much more to me, and I can’t wait to get to them.

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This is Maas’s first technically-adult book; Throne of Glass is young adult, ACOTAR being classed either as young or new adult. I’ve been a fan of Maas for a long time, and, though I enjoy her books less now than I have in the past due to how seriously they tend to take themselves, I’d still love to read this one. Where her previous series were both fantasies, this sits somewhere between that and a sci-fi, but I can’t say as-of-yet what I think, because I haven’t read it yet.

Bryce Quinlan finds herself investigating her friends’ deaths in an attempt to avenge them after they were taken from her by a demon. Hunt Athalar is a Fallen angel, enslaved by Archangels, forced to assassinate their enemies, when he’s offered a deal to assist Bryce in exchange for his freedom.

4. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I listened to this as an audiobook in 2019 as part of BookTuber Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, and didn’t hugely get along with it in truth. The audiobook was excellent as an audiobook, but the story Ian’s I just didn’t really vibe. I think I just want to like this book, so I think it’s worth a reread to see if my opinion changes.

This follows Citra and Rowan, a reluctant pair of apprentice Scythes - in a utopian future where humanity has the means to live forever, it is the job of the Scythes to control the population by essentially reaping the souls of those they choose to die. Neither Citra or Rowan want it, but I don’t remember enough about this book to say any more.

Audiobooks

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you either already know what this series is about, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirteen years. I read this book for the first time nearly seven years ago, and it’s stuck with me. It sent me into a phase of only reading dystopian books (The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was part of this, and was the series that really got me into reading), but this was the main one that stuck with me.

It contains a powerful message about capitalism and discrimination, and this is the second time I’ve listened to the audiobooks, though the god-only-knows-what time I’ve read the series. I listened to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in February, which automatically puts this on my to-listen for March.

2. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman

This is a novella bind-up set in the Shadowhunters world, that I would imagine has quite a bit to do with the Shadow Market, an aspect of the Downworld introduced in The Dark Artifices, which I finished in January.

In truth, I’m mainly planning to listen to this audiobook because it’s the only Shadowhunters novella bind-up with an audiobook, and I’d just rather read additions to the main Shadowhunters series in this format rather than physically.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

This is a Hunger Games prequel that was released early last year, and I just wasn’t going to read it. I heard several reviews, the general consensus of which was basically that it’s not as good as the trilogy and is somewhat unnecessary, but, in truth, my curiosity’s got the better of me, especially since I started listening to the trilogy’s audiobooks again.

This prequel follows Coriolanus Snow as a mentor in the Games before he became President of Panem and the wonderful villain of the original trilogy.

4. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I mentioned this in my physical TBR post a couple weeks ago, but have decided to listen to the audiobook instead. A few weeks ago, I’d started to run out of audiobooks I wanted to listen to, and didn’t want to read anything on my regular TBR in this format, including this book. But, I went through a load of audiobook recommendations, and this was one of them, so it joined my to-listen.

I’m not hugely into contemporary books, but I’ve wanted to get more into the genre for a while, and this was the first one to join my TBR.

This novel follows Eliza Mirk, your typical high school outcast, who publishes a hugely popular web comic under the pseudonym LadyConstellation. Then Wallace Warland, the biggest fanfic writer of her comic transfers to her school and begins to draw her out of her shell.

TV Shows

Before I go into my list, I’d like to mention that I am currently watching WandaVision and am definitely planning to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, but both come out on a weekly basis, so aren’t being included on this list. Also, I’ve been watching way too much YouTube recently, so I’m not sure I’ll get through all of these this month, especially since I’m watching the Arrowverse shows, which have such long seasons.

1. Love, Victor Season 1

This Love, Simon spin-off follows a character named Victor at Creekwood (I think that’s the name?) High School. I saw Love, Simon twice in cinemas when it was released, and, miraculously, it made me cry. I love that movie.

This series was released last year on Hulu, which is only available in the US, but as of February 23rd, it’s one of the shows that came to Disney+ as part of Star.

2. The Flash Season 1

As mentioned, I’ve started watching the DC Arrowverse shows. I watch tv shows through alternating seasons - as in, I watch season 1 of show A, then season 1 of show B, then 2 of A, etc., then when I finish one, I start watching show C - but I’m treating the Arrowverse as one show (even though it isn’t) so it’s not the only thing I’m watching. So this is technically Arrowverse S3, preceded by Arrow S1+2 (though I haven’t actually started S2 as of writing this because of how much YouTube I’ve been watching, so I’ll be finishing that first).

I genuinely don’t know that much about most DC superheroes, Flash included, but I’m going into this having been assured it takes itself less goddamn seriously than Arrow. It’s my sister’s favourite Arrowverse show, and I can’t wait.

3. Dare Me Season 1

I added this Netflix show to my watchlist when it came out, and my basic understanding is that it focuses on the cheerleaders at a high school, and begins when a new coach arrives. It focuses on the psychological damage behind competitive cheerleading, and I’m not convinced I’m going to love it, but I think it’s worth a shot.

4. Arrow Season 3

I’m so confused by this poster. This is specifically the season 3 poster, and I’m so confused, but I’m sure it’ll make more sense when I watch the season.

I explained the weird way I’m watching Arrowverse (named as such because Arrow was the first show in it) already, but Arrow follows Oliver Queen, the son of one of the billionaires of Starling City upon his return after being stuck for five years on an island when a cruise ship carrying him and his father sunk. His father left him with a list of names of the people ‘corrupting’ the city, and Oliver takes it upon himself to assume a vigilante identity and take them down.

Movies

I’m not a huge movie-watcher, but I end up compiling so many to watch that, to ensure I get round to them, I watch a movie every time I finish a tv show season. I’m also currently re-watching the MCU movies in chronological order.

1. Instant Family

This is just something that came onto Netflix recently and I thought might be entertaining, and so it joined my list.

This follows a couple who decide to adopt a teenager, only to find out she has two more siblings.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

This is just a continuation of my MCU re-watch - I love this movie. I love Guardians of the Galaxy, full stop (on another note, I just generally don’t understand why British people call it a full stop and Americans call it a period. Neither name makes particular sense).

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

And here we have another continuation of my MCU rewatch. I honestly think this is my favourite Avengers movie, because the whole teams actually together, and Wanda, Scarlet Witch, is introduced - I love her. I really didn’t like Vision until WandaVision came out, though.

4. Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary

Not technically a movie, but still. (Are documentaries movies? I tend to think of them as separate categories, but I guess they’re both movies. Hm.) I’ve been watching the Try Guys for years, which means I need to convince my sister to give me her Google password so I don’t have to pay for this.

I’m probably not going to stick to this list, and even if I do, I’m either going to also consume things not on it, or just not finish it. But, you’ll have to wait for my March wrap-up to find out.

#tbr #book #books #reading #reader #bookblr #marchtbr #tv shows #movies #review #films #movie #tv show #writerblr #march tbr

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booksandwords · 3 years

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Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Series: Arc of a Scythe, #1 Read time: 3 Days Rating: 4/5

The quote: We must by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill. And as I see it, they're all innocents. Even the guilty. Everyone is guilty of something, and everyone still harbors a memory of childhood innocence, no matter how many layers of life wrap around it. Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true. — Scythe Marie Curie

Scythe is a popular and award-winning book, I start with this only because that was one of the reasons I wanted to read it. I generally avoid ya dystopia, I think it's a tad overdone and rarely done well. Shusterman does do it well though I can easily see where people would take issue.

While I was reading I realised that Scythe is what you make it, what you want it to be to a degree. There is a commentary on the current state of the world and the political climate if you want to see it but it isn't forced upon you. The commentary can easily ignored, the history and focus on the now. Same goes for the discussion about humanity and what it is to be human. Though that is closer to being core to plot. I think it certainly will become more-so later.

One thing Scythe undeniably has is an interesting lore. And an engaging storytelling mechanic. There are effectively 3 main characters. Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch 16-year-old apprentice scythes, and Scythe Marie Curie one of the oldest of her kind and a living legend. While Citra and Rowan are the focus of the story, telling their stories in tandem, Curie's perspective is only seen through journal entries She tells the lore the history of the world and how it changed from what we know to what it is. There is a journal entry at the end of each chapter but it is hard to tell sometimes if they are old or contemporary to the plot. It really doesn't matter. It gives the reader what the need to know to pull everything together. There are other journal entries mostly from Scythe Goddard, a man with a disturbing and very different take on the scythhood to Curie.

On the names. Aside from Citra and Rowan most of the characters have the names of historical people (it is explained and it does make sense). I really liked the names and most seemed to a degree to suit their characters. Marie Curie, Robert Goddard, Michael Faraday, Ayn Rand, Noam Chomsky (okay his is just ironic), Alessandro Volta.

Everything about Scythe is wonderful to me the characters feel human, the plot and storytelling are engaging. While Rowan is a character I have strange feelings about, you are supposed to. Everything is shades of grey. But I can see why people take fault. This a book with so much praise thrown at it that people would possibly come in with expectations. There is no real romance, it is more a bond (and thank god for that). Also all the fantastic humanity, life and death quotes. The plot and the characters caused a lot of emotion. By the end, I left quite emotional, for what happened, what could have been and what was lost. I appreciated the ending. It sets up Thunderhead nicely. But is fully capable of standing alone if that is what the reader wants.

See my Goodreads review for a bit of a spoiler discussion of the ending.

#arc of a scythe #scythe #neal shusterman #book review #younglings #(? kinda i think it's more for everyone)#clever books #ktreviews #read 2019

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