Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Rating 10.5/10
Welcome back everyone, today I will present you with my ramblings about a book I absolutely loved. I am of course talking about Scythe by Neal Shusterman. This book takes place in a futuristic utopian world where humanity has defeated things such as disease, hunger, pollution, government, and death. Instead, the world is run by an artificial intelligence system called The Thunderhead. Due to a need to prevent overpopulation, an organization has been put together responsible for this job. The Scythes are tasked with killing, or gleaming. These Scythes are outside the Thunderheads control and entirely self-governed. In this world, two young people are picked to be apprentices to a Scythe. Whatever could go wrong?
I absolutely loved this book I loved everything about it. Between writing this and reading the book I have looked for a flaw, but couldn't find one. This book has an amazing plot, fantastic characters, and a complicated world that I haven't seen anywhere else before. Most importantly when reading Scythe you think. You think more about what it means to be human and to be mortal than you expect. At least I have found myself contemplating the nature of life more than I had before. The structure of the book demands it.
Let's start with the characters. Our two main narrators are sixteen-year-old Citra and Rowan. They are picked for the role of Scythe Apprentices because in their own way they stood up for what they believed to be the right thing to a Scythe who came into their life. Despite this, they are very different people who have very different circumstances. Citra is clearly deeply connected to her parents and her brother, while Rowan considers himself invisible. My poor cinnamon rolls both go through so much in this book that the ending actually made me cry.
I loved that right from the beginning you knew these people live by different rules. In the first chapter it is stated: “When it came to the human race, there was no more left to learn.” (11) what would living with that mindset be like? I can’t even imagine. Part of the beauty of being human is that there is so much to learn, so much to explore, and so much to do. Here we get to see what happens to humanity when all that drive and curiosity is taken away. Through the eyes of Citra and Rowan, we get to experience the realization that despite everything humanity isn't as perfect as advertised.
Finally, there is the Scythom itself. It’s a necessary organization, but its existence contradicts everything people like me understand to be right about the sanctity of human life. But when you can't die it is death that becomes sanctified. Scythes are the only real threat left to people and as such enjoy a mythical status. My question is where did all the serial killers go? We of course (SPOILER) have one in the Scythom and he is terrifying, but what happens to the rest of them? I don't believe that that particular tendency has been bred out of people so what happened? Anyway, going back to the topic, The Scythes are the only truly free individuals left in the world, only bound and limited by tier consciousness and each other, and observing the conflicts that arise feels more jarring for the world it's set in. The alienation of the Scythes experience from the rest of the world makes complete sense.
Finally, relationships. I love relationships of all sorts. Observing the interactions between Citra and Rowan is a study in complicated, especially as the book progresses. Scythe Faraday and the relationship with his pupils are equally complex and deep. These people care about each other more deeply than they expected, and more deeply than they probably thought they could. Scythe Curie soon joins our complex web of relationships and she is a magnificent addition. The internal conflicts Citra and Rowan face make them so much more than they thought they could be, and even though they have a difficult road ahead of them I am so happy that they got the chance to truly experience life and not just skim the surface as they would have had Faraday not found them.
Overall this book is everything I wanted and didn't know I needed. I recommend it to anyone who likes a fast-paced adventure, and to anyone who wants to stay up half the night thinking about a book. Mr. Shusterman, I bow to you, and to your dark and humorous creation.
