This middle book of the Scythe trilogy looks at the seperation of powers between the Thunderhead and the Scythes, and when the rules can be bent a bit. It sees the Bad Guys who were destroyed at the end of Book 1 come back in dramatic and unlikely ways. And if the final scene with hundreds of mind controlled angry sharks devouring the Supreme Council of Scythes on their floating city isn't jumping the shark, I don't know what is!

I did enjoy the exploration of what happens when people really just want to be Nasty in this perfect world, and how the Thunderhead can make the world perfect for them as well. Ah, free will... ( )

I thought it was amazing. It set up a lot for the next book. My favorite character was definitely The Thunderhead itself. I loved how it tried to grapple with human emotions. I am excited to start The Toll. 10/10 - January 30, 2024 ( )

Well, that was a wonderful surprise! Honestly, I shouldn't even expect anything less from Shusterman. With so many dystopia and alt universe ya novels in the past years, he still stands apart with clever and original imaginings. ❤️ ( )

This dragged in the middle, and I was not keen on the back from the dead character, but it ended well. I'll read the next one! ( )

What a strange ride. The first half of the book suffers a bit from pacing issues. Introducing new characters and spending a bit too much time of them instead of the main characters tended to get a bit too tedious for me.

Then halfway through the book, you're hit with a huge WTF moment, that makes you question the rules of this universe. But what are the rules in a post-mortality society anyway? The return of Goddard was this WTF moment. He was supposed to be dead dead, and that was the highlight of book one. Bringing him back cheapens that... but in hindsight, also send a message about how you can seemingly never get rid of people like him. He's very much a Trump-like character, and there will always be insane, power-hungry people like him.

A lot of this book is also a setup for Book 3 (I assume), and the most interesting plot line is left open. Let's see how that ends. ( )