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Scythe
(Arc of a Scythe #1)
by
Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. ...more
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. ...more
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Hardcover, 435 pages
Published
November 22nd 2016
by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Start your review of Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1)
I struggled with rating Scythe because I initially liked the concept. A post-mortality society sounded interesting, but I just can't overlook how boring it was. I'm someone who finishes the average YA book in a couple of days, and this one was a painful week-long process.
In this future world, natural death is a thing of the past. The Internet is an all-powerful sentient being called the Thunderhead and all knowledge has been acquired. There is nothing left to learn. People have nanites in thei ...more
In this future world, natural death is a thing of the past. The Internet is an all-powerful sentient being called the Thunderhead and all knowledge has been acquired. There is nothing left to learn. People have nanites in thei ...more
5/5 Stars!! One of my absolute favorite books I have read in a while. A MUST MUST MUST READ. I can’t even begin to string coherent words together for a review. I love everything about this novel.
Check out my video review!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d37f6...
TW: murder/death, suicide
The world of Scythe is fascinating. With so many advances due to technology and research, it becomes a plausible future for our society which is equal parts interesting and terrifying. This story poses a lot of thought-provoking c ...more
Check out my video review!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d37f6...
TW: murder/death, suicide
The world of Scythe is fascinating. With so many advances due to technology and research, it becomes a plausible future for our society which is equal parts interesting and terrifying. This story poses a lot of thought-provoking c ...more
Pretty much a perfect teen adventure novel. In a conflict-free world where humans have conquered death, elected Scythes must cull the human population. Two teens find themselves volunteered as apprentice-Scythes, and discover that of all the things that Scythes can kill, corruption is not one of them.
1. Over the years, I've heard many books touted as the successor to Hunger Games, but SCYTHE is the first one that I would really, truly stand behind, as it offers teens a complementary reading exp ...more
1. Over the years, I've heard many books touted as the successor to Hunger Games, but SCYTHE is the first one that I would really, truly stand behind, as it offers teens a complementary reading exp ...more
dearly beloved… we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of my high expectations and also, the very last fuck I ever gave.
The worst thing about unrequited love is how much effort and time and money you pour into it; how much of your own self you can invest into this one entity that never shows you a sliver of gratitude or appreciation. You can be there through thick and thin, through the t ...more
Re-Read on Audio because the 2nd books comes soon =)
Here's the youtube video of the book. It's pretty awesome!
SCYTHE
I freaking love this book!
Citra and Rowen are two teenagers who get the pleasantry of meeting the honorable Scythe Faraday. No one wants to run into a scythe, much less talk to one or spend any kind of time with one. They have the ability to kill you if they see fit. ThatSCYTHEI ...more
Here's the youtube video of the book. It's pretty awesome!
SCYTHE
I freaking love this book!
Citra and Rowen are two teenagers who get the pleasantry of meeting the honorable Scythe Faraday. No one wants to run into a scythe, much less talk to one or spend any kind of time with one. They have the ability to kill you if they see fit. ThatSCYTHEI ...more
“Have we ever had an enemy worse than ourselves?”
Reread! This book was genius. That is all.
——————————————
HOLY. SHIT.
I AM IN AWE. I AM IN LOVE.
I’m blown away by what I’ve just read.
I’m pretty sure I became high whilst reading it. And now, I’ve been left exhausted by all the excitement!
Hello to my favourite new author.
I'm going to try and review this. Possible verbal diarrhoea ahead.
This story was ridiculously clever. I was not expecting to enjoy it, since I h ...more
Reread! This book was genius. That is all.
——————————————
HOLY. SHIT.
I AM IN AWE. I AM IN LOVE.
I’m blown away by what I’ve just read.
I’m pretty sure I became high whilst reading it. And now, I’ve been left exhausted by all the excitement!
Hello to my favourite new author.
I'm going to try and review this. Possible verbal diarrhoea ahead.
This story was ridiculously clever. I was not expecting to enjoy it, since I h ...more
{\__/}
( • . •)
/ > 📕Kelly, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( • . •)
/ > 📕Michelle, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( • . •)
/ > 📕 Beyoncé, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( •- •)
📕< \ I don’t think Kai can handle this
Update:
{\__/}
( • . •)
/>📕<\ Kai handled it.
and here is what he says:
Scythe was fun but not perfect. I enjoyed the dystopian world and the concept behind it: w/> ...more
( • . •)
/ > 📕Kelly, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( • . •)
/ > 📕Michelle, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( • . •)
/ > 📕 Beyoncé, can u handle this?
{\__/}
( •- •)
📕< \ I don’t think Kai can handle this
Update:
{\__/}
( • . •)
/>📕<\ Kai handled it.
and here is what he says:
Scythe was fun but not perfect. I enjoyed the dystopian world and the concept behind it: w/> ...more
THE HYPE IS REAL WITH THIS ONE GUYS!
“Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.”
This book got me through my 2 hour long delay at the airport on my way back from Turkey. I’d heard such good things, I had pretty high hopes, and I was not disappointed.
In a world where humans have conquered death, Scythes are chosen to glean which effectively means to methodically kill people, to ensure that the Earth’s population doesn’t overrun. All matters of/> ...more
“Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.”
This book got me through my 2 hour long delay at the airport on my way back from Turkey. I’d heard such good things, I had pretty high hopes, and I was not disappointed.
In a world where humans have conquered death, Scythes are chosen to glean which effectively means to methodically kill people, to ensure that the Earth’s population doesn’t overrun. All matters of/> ...more
I didn't know what to expect going into this book, and wanted to read it because 1. Neal Shusterman is an incredible writer and 2. Anything with a scythe on the cover has my interest.
This turned out to be a fascinating book that made me think much more deeply about death, but more importantly, about modern life and how the challenges we face in it are what make it worth living. Neal creates a truly original utopian world that looks great on the surface, but has a pretty nasty underbelly (like a ...more
This turned out to be a fascinating book that made me think much more deeply about death, but more importantly, about modern life and how the challenges we face in it are what make it worth living. Neal creates a truly original utopian world that looks great on the surface, but has a pretty nasty underbelly (like a ...more
Sep 18, 2018
Nick
marked it as to-read
The ratings are insane. Is it THAT good?
This book was a very pleasant surprise! Since the YA library of fiction has become saturated with dystopian tales, it is often hard to find originality. Because of that, the stories quickly become boring because we have "been there, done that". That is not the case here!
Key pros:
- Unique story, well presented
- Great characters
- Action and suspense
- Little (if any) filler
- Left me wanting more
Key con:
- St. Louis is not the capital of Mis ...more
Key pros:
- Unique story, well presented
- Great characters
- Action and suspense
- Little (if any) filler
- Left me wanting more
Key con:
- St. Louis is not the capital of Mis ...more
Spontaneous reread in anticipation of Thunderhead :) the thought process went a little like this -
Me: I should focus on my planned reads for this month and not get behind when we’re only 3 days into the new year!
Insidious inner voices: ssssssssssscythe!!!
Me: you make some really good points
—————————————————
Scythe defies all YA tropes and is incredibly quotable. What more can you ask for?
Exhibit A:
Me: I should focus on my planned reads for this month and not get behind when we’re only 3 days into the new year!
Insidious inner voices: ssssssssssscythe!!!
Me: you make some really good points
—————————————————
Scythe defies all YA tropes and is incredibly quotable. What more can you ask for?
Exhibit A:
"I think all young women are cursed with a streak of unrelenting foolishness, and all young men are cursed with a streak of absolute stupidity."
"Welcome to life as a god," Scythe Volta said to him. Whilessssssssssscythe!!!year!Insidious ...more
5, I am dead now and this review is my eulogy, never has a rating been easier stars!!!
Full review along with a recipe for my Mimi's chicken noodle soup on my blog Recipe & a Read!
Christina Loeffler (Jones) – Born: September, 21 1989. Died: November, 6 2018. Cause of Death: Scythe by Neal Shusterman.
Ok, ok, all jokes aside I’m obviously not dead because I still have to finish the second installment of this series! However, this book SLAYED me with it’s sheer magnificence and brilliance. The wo/>Full ...more
Full review along with a recipe for my Mimi's chicken noodle soup on my blog Recipe & a Read!
Christina Loeffler (Jones) – Born: September, 21 1989. Died: November, 6 2018. Cause of Death: Scythe by Neal Shusterman.
Ok, ok, all jokes aside I’m obviously not dead because I still have to finish the second installment of this series! However, this book SLAYED me with it’s sheer magnificence and brilliance. The wo/>Full ...more
i honestly had no expectations for this book whatsoever, so i think its pretty safe to say that this was so much better than i thought it would be! and i can definitely understand the hype - the concept was just so fascinating. maybe its because i havent read a dystopian novel in quite some time, but i found this to be so interesting!
the writing was so nicely done, as well. it was quite crafty in a way - i felt like there were so many little cliffhangers throughout the book that i ha ...more
the writing was so nicely done, as well. it was quite crafty in a way - i felt like there were so many little cliffhangers throughout the book that i ha ...more
Third time reading and still damn perfect. Minus the ‘romance’🤷♀ which was unnecessary to begin with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.75⭐
This month has been nothing short of ‘surprise the shit outa’ Nani, month’ and I’m here here for it! Please, keep ‘em coming. The good ones that is; I don’t want to leave anything to chance.
People, this was cray!!!
And to think I looked down my nose at it for over a year. I could be such a pea-brain sometimes.
What I absolutely loved above all was the ...more
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.75⭐
This month has been nothing short of ‘surprise the shit outa’ Nani, month’ and I’m here here for it! Please, keep ‘em coming. The good ones that is; I don’t want to leave anything to chance.
People, this was cray!!!
And to think I looked down my nose at it for over a year. I could be such a pea-brain sometimes.
What I absolutely loved above all was the ...more
So this book is basically just about murder. Exciting! All I want to do is say "MURDER, JOHN" like Sherlock wood, so imagine me doing that. Anyway! I had super high expectations for this because every blogger, bookworm, and semi-literate fish I know has raved over it. I also love Challenger Deep and Unwind a LOT, so I knew this was going to be excellent!
+ It's a dystopian with this perfect world where there is no death: so some people become scythes to keep the balance.
This is a very cool premise althoooough, we ha/>+ ...more
+ It's a dystopian with this perfect world where there is no death: so some people become scythes to keep the balance.
This is a very cool premise althoooough, we ha/>+ ...more
I skip the auction part! Five gazillion stars! Sold!
This is deliciously mind blowing, entertaining, heart throbbing, visionary, intelligent, powerful and fantastic page-turner!
Can you hear the banging sounds? That’s me again! I’m so angry with myself to wait too long for reading this precious, amazingly yummy masterpiece at my tbr mountain( this is officially highest place on the earth. At the weekends I start to rent my tbr list to the climbers to exceed their records!)
Citra, powerful, strai ...more
This is deliciously mind blowing, entertaining, heart throbbing, visionary, intelligent, powerful and fantastic page-turner!
Can you hear the banging sounds? That’s me again! I’m so angry with myself to wait too long for reading this precious, amazingly yummy masterpiece at my tbr mountain( this is officially highest place on the earth. At the weekends I start to rent my tbr list to the climbers to exceed their records!)
Citra, powerful, strai ...more
Dec 05, 2016
Robin (Bridge Four)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Unwind, Black Mirrors
Kindle Daily Deal 20Oct19 $4.95 This was one of my favorite reads of 2016.
Reread with some BB&Bers
What if you could kill people and be Death himself.
What if cancer and all the worlds diseases were healed and our understanding of how to heal everybody was so great that you could pretty much save anyone from practically anythclass="gr-hostedUserImg">What ...more
Reread with some BB&Bers
What if you could kill people and be Death himself.
What if cancer and all the worlds diseases were healed and our understanding of how to heal everybody was so great that you could pretty much save anyone from practically anythclass="gr-hostedUserImg">What ...more
Human: Did you hear that?
Me: Yeah, that was just the sound of my expectations shattering on the concrete after jumping from the tenth floor.
*Sighs*
Where do I even start?
Somebody please explain the hype to me because I honestly don’t get it. Usually when I dislike a popular book, I can at least see why other people might enjoy it. This time however, I do not see it.
Okay! Before anyone bites my head off, let me just explain everything I disliked about the book.
The writing style
"Rowan let out his Human: ...more
See this review on my BookTube channel here. It's in Greek but, I plan a lot of interesting things in English as well :)
Review was originally published on my Blog Through the Chapters
I’m in minority given the high ratings and the positives reviews on this book, but I want to be honest regarding my reading experience and the truth is that I struggled reading Shythe. The premise was interesting, but it was the only interesting part of the story. You might as well read the synopsis and mark the book as “read”.
So, it is a story about a uto ...more
Review was originally published on my Blog Through the Chapters
I’m in minority given the high ratings and the positives reviews on this book, but I want to be honest regarding my reading experience and the truth is that I struggled reading Shythe. The premise was interesting, but it was the only interesting part of the story. You might as well read the synopsis and mark the book as “read”.
So, it is a story about a uto ...more
3.5
It seems to be a thing for me. I love the ideas of Neal Shusterman but I'm never sure I end up loving the books.
I'm not sure I will continue the series but if the premise intrigues you, give it a shot!
It seems to be a thing for me. I love the ideas of Neal Shusterman but I'm never sure I end up loving the books.
I'm not sure I will continue the series but if the premise intrigues you, give it a shot!
UM WHAT.
THIS WAS SO GOOD. How did I wait so long to read it?
I'll post a full review at some point - but there's so many good ones out there already. For now, I'll just say that I don't normally like futuristic dystopians all that much (Marie Lu aside because she's an absolute queen) but omg I loved this one.
The hubs and I actually read it together on audio, and we laughed are way through it -and where shocked out of our chairs more than once.
Well done, Mr. Shusterman. W ...more
THIS WAS SO GOOD. How did I wait so long to read it?
I'll post a full review at some point - but there's so many good ones out there already. For now, I'll just say that I don't normally like futuristic dystopians all that much (Marie Lu aside because she's an absolute queen) but omg I loved this one.
The hubs and I actually read it together on audio, and we laughed are way through it -and where shocked out of our chairs more than once.
Well done, Mr. Shusterman. W ...more
Jul 05, 2018
April (Aprilius Maximus)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2018
This book could very easily be a standalone so i'm very curious to see where the next book will go!
A world where natural death is obsolete thereby requiring a dedicated use of "Sycthes" (who are the only ones authorised to kill) and while most Scythes honour the process, there are a few bad apples who use their powers for evil....more
And so the killing ensues. Mass killings, done in the name of upholding the law and on I read until, subconsciously, gradually, I found myself falling into a state of despair. It took a good 2 hours before realizing I didn't really need to read this book (why would an
you can read this review and more on my blog!
Scythe was insane. I don’t think I’ve ever read something so dark and brutal and strangely addictive (that may just be because I don’t read horror). So if you’re like me and not a fan of horror movies/books, rest assured that this is definitely on the milder side.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be great for fans of the genre; it definitely has the entice and thrill.
I’ve been at a weird position practically since the start of 2018 where dystopians are so not me anymore. It wasblog! ...more
Nov 19, 2018
amy ☂︎
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who crave a slow and painful death
Shelves:
dnf
ok. so here's the deal.
i think my main problem with this book were the characters: citra and rowan are literally so bland, there's nothing remotely interesting about either of them. i'm just glad i didn't get to the romance part yet because JESUS CHRIST i don't know if i could've handled it.
also, the whole concept of the book might sound good but i feel like it was executed kinda badly?? some of the things are just way too far-fetched and unbelievable to me. i don't know. i liked th ...more
i think my main problem with this book were the characters: citra and rowan are literally so bland, there's nothing remotely interesting about either of them. i'm just glad i didn't get to the romance part yet because JESUS CHRIST i don't know if i could've handled it.
also, the whole concept of the book might sound good but i feel like it was executed kinda badly?? some of the things are just way too far-fetched and unbelievable to me. i don't know. i liked th ...more
Aug 05, 2018
Angelica
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
action,
cool-tittle,
own-it,
did-not-see-that-coming,
reviewed,
interesting-story,
four-star,
release-2017,
read-2018,
funny
How dare this book mess with my fragile emotions!?!
I was so stressed while reading this book! UGH! This sequel is going to kill me and you are all invited to my funeral.
When I first picked up this book, I must admit, I didn't like it.
The premise was interesting and the writing was fine. I just didn't care for it. I read the first 90 or so pages and almost gave up. Then I decided to use one of my Audible credits and listening to the audiobook. I started it from the beginn ...more
I was so stressed while reading this book! UGH! This sequel is going to kill me and you are all invited to my funeral.
When I first picked up this book, I must admit, I didn't like it.
The premise was interesting and the writing was fine. I just didn't care for it. I read the first 90 or so pages and almost gave up. Then I decided to use one of my Audible credits and listening to the audiobook. I started it from the beginn ...more
Hello, Internet Police?
Yes, I would like to block and report myself for sleeping on this book for so long.
I am so mad at myself for not reading this book earlier. I mean, it's only been all over my Goodreads timeline since it was released in 2016! I'm sure you've all heard the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover", well yeah, DON'T! Learn from my mistake because I was hit with instant regret the second I picked this up.
The world of Scythe is one of the most incredible, thought-provoking, anof ...more
Yes, I would like to block and report myself for sleeping on this book for so long.
I am so mad at myself for not reading this book earlier. I mean, it's only been all over my Goodreads timeline since it was released in 2016! I'm sure you've all heard the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover", well yeah, DON'T! Learn from my mistake because I was hit with instant regret the second I picked this up.
The world of Scythe is one of the most incredible, thought-provoking, anof ...more
Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing: 4/5
Scythe was a rather unsettling book set in a dystopian world where all forms of death had almost been eradicated due to advancements in technology and society was controlled by a complex computer system called, 'Thunderhead'. To control population growth, there were Scythes tasked with 'gleaning' (which means killing) people as they saw fit to meet a certain quota. If someone died by, for example, jumping off of a high place, they could easily be revived again and carry on living. However,/> ...more
Scythe was a rather unsettling book set in a dystopian world where all forms of death had almost been eradicated due to advancements in technology and society was controlled by a complex computer system called, 'Thunderhead'. To control population growth, there were Scythes tasked with 'gleaning' (which means killing) people as they saw fit to meet a certain quota. If someone died by, for example, jumping off of a high place, they could easily be revived again and carry on living. However,/> ...more
So this review is about 35 months late. Whose fault is that I wonder? 🤔
(s)
You know that moral compass that you thought was ingrained in your psyche and like pshhh, you can totally differentiate between right and wrong. Yeah, well, get ready to have that tested.
Scythe takes place in a synthetic, dystopi ...more
(s)
You know that moral compass that you thought was ingrained in your psyche and like pshhh, you can totally differentiate between right and wrong. Yeah, well, get ready to have that tested.
Scythe takes place in a synthetic, dystopi ...more
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Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movi
...more
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Arc of a Scythe
(3 books)
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“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.”
—
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“Hope in the shadow of fear is the world's most powerful motivator.”
—
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