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A review by leebraries
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
holy fucking shit.
let it be known to all that i am not someone who rarely enjoys science fiction. i am stuck in the fantastical renderings of the past, and have found few stories of the future that i have enjoyed.
let it be known that “scythe” may just be the exception to that.
from the moment i opened the first page, i knew that this book would be genius. it echoed “the giver” and “1984” in some ways, but with a concept so unique i found myself immediately pulled into this world of post-mortality.
let it be known to all that i am not someone who rarely enjoys science fiction. i am stuck in the fantastical renderings of the past, and have found few stories of the future that i have enjoyed.
let it be known that “scythe” may just be the exception to that.
from the moment i opened the first page, i knew that this book would be genius. it echoed “the giver” and “1984” in some ways, but with a concept so unique i found myself immediately pulled into this world of post-mortality.
the scythes are literal personifications of death — meant to bring about the one constant in human life long after it’s been eradicated completely (which is also BONKERS). and the fact that they themselves choose who to glean… based on stats and facts from the foregone “age of morality” is just so WILD. and this chapter. gleaning an entire PLANE? based on the fact that hundreds of passengers used to die in plane crashes? insanity. and also. terrifying. also. the fact that the people’s reactions to “unnatural death” is so similar to their reactions to “natural death” ?? holy shit
above was my honest reaction to reading an early chapter. it holds true. i was struck by how the concept seemed so plausible, the debate it would cause. morality among scythes is valued, but the book, evidently, shows that the times are changing — and that more scythes, chief among them goddard, are coming to enjoy “gleaning” in a way that makes it “murder.” it poses so many interesting questions about both theur society and ours. that, paired with the characters that compelled my attention, and the underlying plots of romance and politics and corruption that, despite the utopia, never really seems to have left, made this book unputdownable. im eager to read the next book, if only to witness more of this particular brand of genius. insanity, and deserving of 5/5 stars.
(my heart belongs to anastasia and lucifer. please do not touch me.)