ARC OF THE SCYTHE
Welcome to my shrine for Arc Of The Scythe!
This is a book series by Neal Shusterman, consisting of a main trilogy (Scythe, Thunderhead, and The Toll) and a book of short stories (Gleanings). It has also been confirmed that there will be another prequel book and a TV show! It is set in a future where the world is managed by a benevolent AI called the Thunderhead and where humans are effectively immortal, save for those who are 'gleaned' by Scythes in order to keep the population sustainable. The series follows two apprentices - Rowan and Citra - as the Scythedom begins to get progressively more corrupt.
I first read the series back in 2018/19 and have just done another reread in 2025 so that I could finally get to Gleanings! Oddly enough I loved it even more the second time around, especially as I had forgotten a few of the big twists!! I will leave some mini book 'review' (actually just blabbering) for each of them below (I'll avoid giving major spoilers dw!):
Scythe (#1): The chillest book in the series (though still full of drama), in hindsight it is mostly worldbuilding and getting the characters where they need to be for the next two books. I'm always so blown away by how well thought out the world is, tiny details that you would never consider are really fleshed out, especially in the journal entries between chapters!
✩✩✩✩✩ (5/5 stars!)
Thunderhead (#2): All I can say is that the cliffhanger ending is INSANE - I have no idea how I coped waiting a year for the next book the first time around. I loved the direction that Rowan took, and the couple twists that happened there, and of course the introduction of my favourite character Greyson!!
✩✩✩✩✩ (5/5 stars!)
The Toll (#3): I am obsessed with the deeper dynamic between Greyson and the Thunderhead in this book, so many small moments that make you need to close the book and silently scream. Also Jerico my beloved. The ending was not at all what I was expecting but was really satisfying! It still leaves behind a bit of tension and room for other character's stories to be expanded - I can hold out hope for these lmao.
✩✩✩✩✩ (5/5 stars!)
Gleanings (#3.5): Overall this book was a really good addition to the main series, some of the stories expanded on characters and events we already knew about and others were completely new. A couple of the stories fell a bit flat for me, but most were brilliant. The Mortal Canvas was probably my favourite, really thoughtful and beautifully written, as well as Cirrus that gave us a bit of info about what happened after the end of The Toll!
✩✩✩✩ (4/5 stars!)