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marareading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
I enjoyed this third book more than book two. The twists were more intense. I am not sure how I feel about the ending yet. The plot of this particular book is so random, I. Not sure if I love it or not. It is definitely going to sit with me, and on that basis alone it gets high marks. It is original, and very well thought out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
medini_l's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
emilysreadingbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
**includes spoilers for the first two books in the series**
Endura has sunk, Citra and Rowan are assumed dead, Scythe Goddard has set himself up to wield unlimited power, and the Thunderhead has gone silent for everyone except Greyson Tolliver. With Goddard’s biggest opponents dead, and the Thunderhead unable to interfere in scythe business, is there anything that can stop him?
The writing style in this book is unique, but made the book much more interesting to read. There are a variety of plots and subplots in this novel, but they are all woven together to push the main plot foreword. While this is a long book, there isn’t a moment of lull in the action; everything Shusterman wrote has a purpose to the plot.
The limited amount of romance in this entire series was refreshing. I love romance, but it is often included with no real benefit to the plot. I was actually surprised that this book includes the romance, considering that the first two books in the trilogy contained essentially none, but in this book it added to the plot, and created a bigger emotional response.
The ending is teetering on the edge of being either brilliant, or literally dues ex machina. But I’m not mad about it? The more I think about it and the more time it’s been since I finished, the more I think this book is brilliant. Very few authors could successfully write a plot twist like this, but Neal Shusterman pulls it off beautifully.
Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. It was a well-written, interesting novel, but I found the plot twists at the end to be a big leap, even though it was pulled off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Drug use
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Grief
cepbreed's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I am in awe. I really thought this book was on track to be the worst in the series, but I couldn't have been further from correct. In fact I enjoyed it the most out of all three. The story is long and convoluted yet every single thing happens for a reason. Each little detail is brought back and explained in a way that makes Neal Shusterman seem like a human on another level of existence. The mind he has to weave all of these details together is amazing. The ending filled my heart. I had grown to love each character so much I wanted the best for each of them. I am so glad he gave his creations the ending they deserved. Such a masterful balance of world-building, character arcs, and romance. Never was there a moment where I felt bored even when details were introduced that we wouldn't be able to comprehend for another 20 chapters or more. I was particularly moved by the cutting off of the Thunderhead. It was such a beautiful and melancholy moment. I never thought I could have grown so fond of an AI. Also, I am so glad to see Scythe Rand, who I despised, come into her own in a way that did not compromise her character. She is cold and calculating yet her act to fix the mistake that was her killing Tyger and bringing Goddard to life made me love her.
Ranking of the books: The Toll, Scythe, Thunderhead
Song:
Ranking of the books: The Toll, Scythe, Thunderhead
Song:
- Glory and Gore - Lorde
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and War
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is a book that is so different to anything else I've ever read. It took me a while to get through it and I was a bit bored in the middle but the ending was amazing.
I am definitely going to keep think about this book and especially the ending for some time!
I wish I could give this book 5 stars but I was pretty bored in the middle (mostly because of all the politics but I get that that was necessary for the story..)
One thing Neal Shusterman is amazing at it writing endings. Every book in this series made me want to keep reading in the end. If only the whole books were as captivating as the last 150 pages!
I definitely liked the series and as I said the ending was unexpected and the best it could have been. I'm generally not a sci-fi fan though so I think if you are you will probably like these books even more than me.
I am definitely going to keep think about this book and especially the ending for some time!
I wish I could give this book 5 stars but I was pretty bored in the middle (mostly because of all the politics but I get that that was necessary for the story..)
One thing Neal Shusterman is amazing at it writing endings. Every book in this series made me want to keep reading in the end. If only the whole books were as captivating as the last 150 pages!
I definitely liked the series and as I said the ending was unexpected and the best it could have been. I'm generally not a sci-fi fan though so I think if you are you will probably like these books even more than me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
judereadsalot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and War