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jamesbullinger's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Much worse than the first book, which is saying something, since the first was not great. I think trying to broaden the world with the unsavory sub culture was a mistake. I think fans probably complained about the perfect society and exploring the unsavory sub culture was his response. I think instead of showing how this perfect thunderhead society had room for everyone, it made the thunderhead society seem even less like a possible reality.
*Spoiler alert*
One of the things I liked from the first book is that they killed Goddard. I like when stories commit to pragmatism and death, instead of half measures. Well, he completely ruined it by bringing Goddard back in an incredibly lame way. We should kill off characters and then have someone worse fill the power vacuum.
*Spoiler alert*
One of the things I liked from the first book is that they killed Goddard. I like when stories commit to pragmatism and death, instead of half measures. Well, he completely ruined it by bringing Goddard back in an incredibly lame way. We should kill off characters and then have someone worse fill the power vacuum.
bonafidefaygo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Where I found the first book to be too YA in all the wrong places, I found this book to read much more mature and I think it has to do with the switch from individually focused and character driven to big-picture focused and plot driven.
The world building continues to be wonderful, the overall narrative focus switching to sort of be from the POV of the Thunderhead majorly worked for me. And this book shocked me with a twist I didn't see coming and it imbued new life into the narrative. And while the first half drags a bit, the second half more than made up for it.
I am MUCH more impressed by this book than I was by the first one. Excited to finish the series
The world building continues to be wonderful, the overall narrative focus switching to sort of be from the POV of the Thunderhead majorly worked for me. And this book shocked me with a twist I didn't see coming and it imbued new life into the narrative. And while the first half drags a bit, the second half more than made up for it.
I am MUCH more impressed by this book than I was by the first one. Excited to finish the series
marteg's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
unhealthybitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
verylargeants's review against another edition
4.0
Everything Shusterman writes is honestly so good. I love the Arc of a Scythe series so much.
Never stop writing, Shusterman, otherwise I'll have to glean myself.
Never stop writing, Shusterman, otherwise I'll have to glean myself.
kacaz13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
eesh25's review against another edition
5.0
In my review of Scythe, I said that it was a rollercoaster. Well, this was a way bigger and badder rollercoaster and, even hours later, I'm still reeling. I'm gonna need a few months to fully process everything, which is great because the third, and final, book isn't coming out for at least another year. Yay... Not!
At the end of Scythe, Citra becomes a Scythe while Rowan escapes with Scythe Faraday. That means the Scythedom is looking for him. And instead of lying low, it turns out that he's decided to go rogue. He goes by Scythe Lucifer and ends corrupt Scythes (burns their bodies and everything). And before reading, I was afraid he'd had a psychotic break or something but no, he's quite sane. But he loves the Scythedom too much to let the corrupt Scythes poison it. This is his way of helping. Citra is helping too. But she's taken a diplomatic approach and introduces new ideals while being part of the system.
Then we have the Thunderhead, who's a big part of the book. You know how in Scythe, we got excerpts from the journals of various Scythes? Well, in this book, the excerpts are from the Thunderhead. We get to know it a lot. Even the chapters highly feature the Thunderhead. And I freaking loved it. The Thunderhead is such an interesting addition. It's an artificial intelligence that's pretty-much perfect and all-knowing. It's also concerned, most of all, with humanity's welfare. It's law-abiding but won't hesitate to use a loophole or two for a good cause.
But, while it's supposed to be perfect, I don't trust it. I guess, after AIs like Skynet and Ultron, it's difficult. But it's different from them, it truly cares about people. Though that could also be a problem. We don't know. And that's the beauty of it.
There another character we're introduced to. Greyson Tolliver. Love him too but I don't wanna give everyone away so you'll have to get to know him yourself. Basically, we have a lot of characters: Citra, Rowan, Scythe Curie, Scythe Faraday, Thunderhead, Greyson, and others. And they're amazing. There's not a single character that I'm supposed to like that I don't (meaning villains don't count). I didn't even hate Rowan's friend, who is too dumb for his own good.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, the character game in this novel is on point. So is the writing, Seriously, Neal Shusterman does such an amazing job of writing from each characters perspective. He balances the changes in tone perfectly to build tension and drops just the right amount of hints.
The pacing is also perfect, and faster than it was in Scythe. And I can't talk enough about the world building and the story. We delve deeper into a world that I already love, and we out why things are the way they are, from the Thunderhead. And it's all so believable and so human. This series truly is a study in human nature and we can see how much effort the author has put into understanding people. The story is... so good. It's fast and it's clever, and so nerve-wracking that I spent the last 300 pages in 'please tell me this isn't really happening' mode. And that ending! Oh my God!
Overall, I can safely say that this novel is perfect. It's better than I could've imagined and I cannot wait to see how the series will conclude. If you loved Scythe, then you're obviously reading this one. But even if you didn't, please give it a shot. You won't regret it.
At the end of Scythe, Citra becomes a Scythe while Rowan escapes with Scythe Faraday. That means the Scythedom is looking for him. And instead of lying low, it turns out that he's decided to go rogue. He goes by Scythe Lucifer and ends corrupt Scythes (burns their bodies and everything). And before reading, I was afraid he'd had a psychotic break or something but no, he's quite sane. But he loves the Scythedom too much to let the corrupt Scythes poison it. This is his way of helping. Citra is helping too. But she's taken a diplomatic approach and introduces new ideals while being part of the system.
Then we have the Thunderhead, who's a big part of the book. You know how in Scythe, we got excerpts from the journals of various Scythes? Well, in this book, the excerpts are from the Thunderhead. We get to know it a lot. Even the chapters highly feature the Thunderhead. And I freaking loved it. The Thunderhead is such an interesting addition. It's an artificial intelligence that's pretty-much perfect and all-knowing. It's also concerned, most of all, with humanity's welfare. It's law-abiding but won't hesitate to use a loophole or two for a good cause.
But, while it's supposed to be perfect, I don't trust it. I guess, after AIs like Skynet and Ultron, it's difficult. But it's different from them, it truly cares about people. Though that could also be a problem. We don't know. And that's the beauty of it.
There another character we're introduced to. Greyson Tolliver. Love him too but I don't wanna give everyone away so you'll have to get to know him yourself. Basically, we have a lot of characters: Citra, Rowan, Scythe Curie, Scythe Faraday, Thunderhead, Greyson, and others. And they're amazing. There's not a single character that I'm supposed to like that I don't (meaning villains don't count). I didn't even hate Rowan's friend, who is too dumb for his own good.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, the character game in this novel is on point. So is the writing, Seriously, Neal Shusterman does such an amazing job of writing from each characters perspective. He balances the changes in tone perfectly to build tension and drops just the right amount of hints.
The pacing is also perfect, and faster than it was in Scythe. And I can't talk enough about the world building and the story. We delve deeper into a world that I already love, and we out why things are the way they are, from the Thunderhead. And it's all so believable and so human. This series truly is a study in human nature and we can see how much effort the author has put into understanding people. The story is... so good. It's fast and it's clever, and so nerve-wracking that I spent the last 300 pages in 'please tell me this isn't really happening' mode. And that ending! Oh my God!
Overall, I can safely say that this novel is perfect. It's better than I could've imagined and I cannot wait to see how the series will conclude. If you loved Scythe, then you're obviously reading this one. But even if you didn't, please give it a shot. You won't regret it.