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A review by samahcanread__
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
The premise of the book was that humanity conquered everything, even death. People don't die from diseases or even old age; technologies are made to make people de-age and look as young as 21, despite how old they truly are. But, to keep the balance in the world, a new monk-like organisation is put in place to "glean" people, which is basically select randomly people to kill.
I don't understand the concept. Why make life easier, conquer death, basically invent immortality, when you still have to kill people to keep the balance? I mean, it sounds fun to not worry about diseases like cancer or about accidental deaths like road accidents or dangerous labours that cause mortal accidents, but from what I understand, death sounds crucial to humanity, so why abolish it, then invent a new order that is doomed to be corrupt anyways?
We're scared of death because we don't know when it might happen. Despite our arrogance as a species, we are pretty vulnerable. We're scared of death because we feel like we can do more, we haven't met our full potential, made our dreams come true, when these dreams are usually cut short or unattainable because of money or time or health issues. But when all these problems are eradicated; poverty is eradicated, diseases don't bother humanity, why are people so scared when they are face to face with their gleaning?
We can conquer death, but never our greed for more.
Back to the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. It's obvious that I'm not the targeted audience with this book, but that doesn't deny the fact that we shouldn't simplify books just because they targeted at a younger audience. I needed more world buildings; I found myself scrapping together the little information that is dropped casually in conversation or the journal entries that interrupt the chapters of the stories. Also, I wanted a map. Normalise having maps in dystopian books.
I don't understand the concept. Why make life easier, conquer death, basically invent immortality, when you still have to kill people to keep the balance? I mean, it sounds fun to not worry about diseases like cancer or about accidental deaths like road accidents or dangerous labours that cause mortal accidents, but from what I understand, death sounds crucial to humanity, so why abolish it, then invent a new order that is doomed to be corrupt anyways?
We're scared of death because we don't know when it might happen. Despite our arrogance as a species, we are pretty vulnerable. We're scared of death because we feel like we can do more, we haven't met our full potential, made our dreams come true, when these dreams are usually cut short or unattainable because of money or time or health issues. But when all these problems are eradicated; poverty is eradicated, diseases don't bother humanity, why are people so scared when they are face to face with their gleaning?
We can conquer death, but never our greed for more.
Back to the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. It's obvious that I'm not the targeted audience with this book, but that doesn't deny the fact that we shouldn't simplify books just because they targeted at a younger audience. I needed more world buildings; I found myself scrapping together the little information that is dropped casually in conversation or the journal entries that interrupt the chapters of the stories. Also, I wanted a map. Normalise having maps in dystopian books.