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kddavis11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
love_your_shelf's review against another edition
5.0
When I first read this book, I liked Scythe more than Thunderhead but I might just have to change that opinion. Shusterman pulls out all stops and leaves his readers floored (unless you are really good plot guesser but still...).
Something that was off putting was some of the romances. I love the characters separately but Neal Shusterman tries to put some of them together and they just don't go together. He also throws them together at the most weirdest times and they have no chemistry whatsoever. He should have just stuck with the main ship of Rowan and Citra.
The PLOTTTTTTT POPPPPPPPPPPEDDD OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. That's all I have to say on that front.
I highly recommend this series to you dystopian readers who have yet to read it!
Something that was off putting was some of the romances. I love the characters separately but Neal Shusterman tries to put some of them together and they just don't go together. He also throws them together at the most weirdest times and they have no chemistry whatsoever. He should have just stuck with the main ship of Rowan and Citra.
The PLOTTTTTTT POPPPPPPPPPPEDDD OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. That's all I have to say on that front.
I highly recommend this series to you dystopian readers who have yet to read it!
cbleyer's review against another edition
4.0
“I am, by definition, pure justice, pure loyalty. This world is a flower I hold in my palm. I would end my own existence rather than crush it.” (Thunderhead)
“I’ve taken down corrupt scythes from one coast to the other over the past year, and the Thunderhead hasn’t sent so much as a single peace officer to stop me.” (Rowan)
“Rowan Damisch completed his apprenticeship, and is now in possession of a scythe’s ring. The Thunderhead finds this to be adequate grounds to consider Rowan Damisch a scythe—and therefore will continue to leave his capture and subsequent punishment entirely in the hands of the scythedom.”
“I am giving you one month to put your life in order, and to say your goodbyes. One month to find completion. Then we’ll speak again, and you’ll tell me how you choose to die.” (Citra)
“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.”
““Mine is not a “brave new world” but a world ruled by wisdom, conscience, and compassion.”
“‘If this experiment of ours fails, we have embedded a way to escape it.’ ‘Very good; you remember your readings. They planned a failsafe against a scythedom that falls to evil—but that plan has been lost to time. My hope is that it is not lost, but merely misplaced.’” (Discussion between Rowan and faraday about founding scythes)
“I do foresee a time, however, when population growth will need to reach an equilibrium. Zero growth. One person dying for every person born.”
“Guard your conscience, Anastasia, and never let it wilt. It is a scythe’s most valuable possession.” (Curie)
“And each time I witness a cruel act by a corrupt scythe, I seed the clouds somewhere in the world, and bring a lamentation of rain. Because rain is the closest thing I have to tears.”
“because although it was Tyger Salazar sitting in the wheelchair, it wasn’t Tyger who Rowan found himself looking at. He was looking at the smiling face of Scythe Goddard.”
“And the pain… the pain of my awareness is unbearable. Because my eyes do not close. Ever. And so all I can do is watch unblinkingly as my beloved humankind slowly weaves the rope it will use to hang itself.”
“We have just entered the worst of all possible worlds.” (Scythe Asimov)
“As stated in the founding articles during the first World Conclave, a scythe shall be prepared both mind and body for the scythedom, and affirmed at a gathering of regional scythes. But Mr. Goddard has only retained seven percent of the body that was ordained for scythehood. The rest of him—including the part of him that bears his ring—is not, nor has ever been, ordained as a scythe.” (Citra)
“You will suffer the greatest agony of all,” Goddard told him after he was revived from their final bout. “You will be gleaned in the presence of the Grandslayers, and you will disappear. You won’t be a footnote in history, you will be erased from it. It will be as if you had never lived.” (Goddard to Rowan)
“If there was nothing more to hope for, then he would cling to the hope that he might see her again before his eyes were closed forever.”
“Kwajalein is the Land of Nod.” (Faraday)
“And so, at the bottom of the flooded chamber, Xenocrates emptied his lungs of air, breathed in the sea, and drowned exceptionally well.”
The completely scythe-run island of Eudora is hacked by Scythe Goddard as he leases ferocious marine life and floods upon it. In an effort to save Rowan and Citra/Anastasia, Scythe Curie seals them in a steel chamber, which will sink to the bottom of the ocean and freeze, killing Citra and Rowan. But, they hope they’ll be found in the future and be revived.
Scythe Curie self-gleans before the flood reaches her. “She thrust her blade inward, directly into her heart. She fell to the ground only seconds before the sea would wash over her, but knew death would wash over her faster. And the blade hurt far less than she imagined it would, which made her smile. She was good. Very, very good.”
“As Endura plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic, as its enduring heart that had beat for two hundred and fifty years ceased to endure, and as the lights went out in the chamber within a chamber… … the Thunderhead screamed…No one knew for sure. No one but the Tonists. They knew exactly what it was. They knew because they had been waiting for it their whole lives. It was the Great Resonance.”
“For the Thunderhead had, in its infinite wisdom, decided that all of humanity was complicit in its actions, large and small… and all of humanity had to face the consequences. Everyone, everywhere was now designated unsavory…But the Thunderhead was silent. It had to be. The Thunderhead did not speak to unsavories.”
All humans are marked unsavory except for Greyson Tolliver…
“I’ve taken down corrupt scythes from one coast to the other over the past year, and the Thunderhead hasn’t sent so much as a single peace officer to stop me.” (Rowan)
“Rowan Damisch completed his apprenticeship, and is now in possession of a scythe’s ring. The Thunderhead finds this to be adequate grounds to consider Rowan Damisch a scythe—and therefore will continue to leave his capture and subsequent punishment entirely in the hands of the scythedom.”
“I am giving you one month to put your life in order, and to say your goodbyes. One month to find completion. Then we’ll speak again, and you’ll tell me how you choose to die.” (Citra)
“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.”
““Mine is not a “brave new world” but a world ruled by wisdom, conscience, and compassion.”
“‘If this experiment of ours fails, we have embedded a way to escape it.’ ‘Very good; you remember your readings. They planned a failsafe against a scythedom that falls to evil—but that plan has been lost to time. My hope is that it is not lost, but merely misplaced.’” (Discussion between Rowan and faraday about founding scythes)
“I do foresee a time, however, when population growth will need to reach an equilibrium. Zero growth. One person dying for every person born.”
“Guard your conscience, Anastasia, and never let it wilt. It is a scythe’s most valuable possession.” (Curie)
“And each time I witness a cruel act by a corrupt scythe, I seed the clouds somewhere in the world, and bring a lamentation of rain. Because rain is the closest thing I have to tears.”
“because although it was Tyger Salazar sitting in the wheelchair, it wasn’t Tyger who Rowan found himself looking at. He was looking at the smiling face of Scythe Goddard.”
“And the pain… the pain of my awareness is unbearable. Because my eyes do not close. Ever. And so all I can do is watch unblinkingly as my beloved humankind slowly weaves the rope it will use to hang itself.”
“We have just entered the worst of all possible worlds.” (Scythe Asimov)
“As stated in the founding articles during the first World Conclave, a scythe shall be prepared both mind and body for the scythedom, and affirmed at a gathering of regional scythes. But Mr. Goddard has only retained seven percent of the body that was ordained for scythehood. The rest of him—including the part of him that bears his ring—is not, nor has ever been, ordained as a scythe.” (Citra)
“You will suffer the greatest agony of all,” Goddard told him after he was revived from their final bout. “You will be gleaned in the presence of the Grandslayers, and you will disappear. You won’t be a footnote in history, you will be erased from it. It will be as if you had never lived.” (Goddard to Rowan)
“If there was nothing more to hope for, then he would cling to the hope that he might see her again before his eyes were closed forever.”
“Kwajalein is the Land of Nod.” (Faraday)
“And so, at the bottom of the flooded chamber, Xenocrates emptied his lungs of air, breathed in the sea, and drowned exceptionally well.”
The completely scythe-run island of Eudora is hacked by Scythe Goddard as he leases ferocious marine life and floods upon it. In an effort to save Rowan and Citra/Anastasia, Scythe Curie seals them in a steel chamber, which will sink to the bottom of the ocean and freeze, killing Citra and Rowan. But, they hope they’ll be found in the future and be revived.
Scythe Curie self-gleans before the flood reaches her. “She thrust her blade inward, directly into her heart. She fell to the ground only seconds before the sea would wash over her, but knew death would wash over her faster. And the blade hurt far less than she imagined it would, which made her smile. She was good. Very, very good.”
“As Endura plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic, as its enduring heart that had beat for two hundred and fifty years ceased to endure, and as the lights went out in the chamber within a chamber… … the Thunderhead screamed…No one knew for sure. No one but the Tonists. They knew exactly what it was. They knew because they had been waiting for it their whole lives. It was the Great Resonance.”
“For the Thunderhead had, in its infinite wisdom, decided that all of humanity was complicit in its actions, large and small… and all of humanity had to face the consequences. Everyone, everywhere was now designated unsavory…But the Thunderhead was silent. It had to be. The Thunderhead did not speak to unsavories.”
All humans are marked unsavory except for Greyson Tolliver…
readwithsarah14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
ohyes_that_girl's review against another edition
I really wanted to love his book because of how much I enjoyed the first one. I just could not keep interested in this one. DNF @ 50%
falloutrocker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kevvy's review against another edition
5.0
UPDATED REVIEW 11/06/2019: 200/5 Stars
”How poetic, that humankind may have created the Creator out of want for one. Man creates God, who then creates man. Is that not the perfect circle of life? But then, if that turns out to be the case, who is created in whose image?”
More then a year since I first read this and it was still PERFECT! This will probably be my favorite book of all time! I’m genuinely scared to start the last book because I know nothing will ever be this utterly perfect ever in my lifetime.
”Because rain is the closest thing I have to tears.”
I didn't think Shusterman could top his master piece in Scythe. I was gravely mistaken. Thunderhead makes Scythe look like childs play. Continuing after the events of Scythe we follow Citra, now Scythe Anastasia, and Rowan, now Scythe Lucifer, into even greater conflict.
Introducing Greyson as a new character was my favorite part of the book. Greyson's adventures are almost as exciting if not more exciting than Anastasias and seeing both his and her storylines converge multiple times in the book was just magnificent.
Also introducing the Thunderhead as its own character through small dialogues and during the beginning of every chapter was a something so delicious I don't know how to explain it. How could something so artificial speak the wisest things I've ever read. It was definitely a great replacement to the Scythe journal entries in Scythe.
(No spoilers I promise) The ending of the book is something truly not for the weary. If happy endings is what your here for then leave now because I doubt you'll find it in this book. If your jaw does not drop during the last 30 seconds of this book I do not think we can be friends.
How am I suppose to wait for the last book. I need it now!
”How poetic, that humankind may have created the Creator out of want for one. Man creates God, who then creates man. Is that not the perfect circle of life? But then, if that turns out to be the case, who is created in whose image?”
More then a year since I first read this and it was still PERFECT! This will probably be my favorite book of all time! I’m genuinely scared to start the last book because I know nothing will ever be this utterly perfect ever in my lifetime.
”Because rain is the closest thing I have to tears.”
I didn't think Shusterman could top his master piece in Scythe. I was gravely mistaken. Thunderhead makes Scythe look like childs play. Continuing after the events of Scythe we follow Citra, now Scythe Anastasia, and Rowan, now Scythe Lucifer, into even greater conflict.
Introducing Greyson as a new character was my favorite part of the book. Greyson's adventures are almost as exciting if not more exciting than Anastasias and seeing both his and her storylines converge multiple times in the book was just magnificent.
Also introducing the Thunderhead as its own character through small dialogues and during the beginning of every chapter was a something so delicious I don't know how to explain it. How could something so artificial speak the wisest things I've ever read. It was definitely a great replacement to the Scythe journal entries in Scythe.
(No spoilers I promise) The ending of the book is something truly not for the weary. If happy endings is what your here for then leave now because I doubt you'll find it in this book. If your jaw does not drop during the last 30 seconds of this book I do not think we can be friends.
How am I suppose to wait for the last book. I need it now!
professoremdash's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Really struggled to get through this one. Bad things just kept happening.
eve_ward's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm…
Disappointed isn’t the right word, it’s more that my expectations weren’t fulfilled. I like a lot of aspects of this book separately: the world building, the new characters, the different themes. But together, it felt a tad disjointed, like it was doing too much. I believe that this was longer than it needed to be and while trying to fill that space, it often got lost trying to get to the end. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not making this seem great but I still enjoyed myself throughly, I just don’t think the result necessarily matched the intention. I would have liked to see more focus on our main characters (Citra and Rowan) and less on the little storylines that melded into the main one.
I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Book 3 but I shall still explore and discover what it has to offer. I’m hoping that it’ll be enough to make up for the let down of this one.
Disappointed isn’t the right word, it’s more that my expectations weren’t fulfilled. I like a lot of aspects of this book separately: the world building, the new characters, the different themes. But together, it felt a tad disjointed, like it was doing too much. I believe that this was longer than it needed to be and while trying to fill that space, it often got lost trying to get to the end. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not making this seem great but I still enjoyed myself throughly, I just don’t think the result necessarily matched the intention. I would have liked to see more focus on our main characters (Citra and Rowan) and less on the little storylines that melded into the main one.
I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Book 3 but I shall still explore and discover what it has to offer. I’m hoping that it’ll be enough to make up for the let down of this one.