I had so many people recommend I read this that I really couldn’t put it off anymore. Well, I mean, I suppose I could, but these people are writers and readers, which means not only are they creative, but they probably already know the best ways to make me disappear and get away with it, so …

Scythe is book one in the Arc of a Scythe series that answers the probing question of what does life look like once humanity achieves immortality?

And I’ve gotta tell you, it ain’t pretty.

People don’t die; they go deadish, until they can be revived at a local center. There are nanites in everyone’s body that adjust their mood, if necessary, and their pain and discomfort, etc. Too many wrinkles on your face? No problem. Just turn the corner, back to whatever age you’d like.

As you can imagine, this raises some questions … like how long before there’s so many people on Earth that we skitter out of orbit and collide with Mars?

Thankfully, people have thought of this, which is why the Scythedom was born: to kill just enough people to combat overpopulation, like in the Age of Mortality, so that humanity can go on its pleasant way.

And because of this, everything was rainbows and sunshine and a sweet, idyllic paradise for everyone else except for the few who were sacrificed for the overall greater good.

Ha, yeah, no. Because, surprise, the Scythedom is run entirely by people, and people universally suck. Some more than others.

❧ The world-building is terrifying in its flawlessness, and in 100 years, we’ll probably learn that Neal Shusterman is a wizard who was trying to warn us.

But did we listen? No. Because we were too busy playing our tablets and trying to catch imaginary monsters on our phones (because we want to be the very best, like no one ever was, obviously).

It takes no stretch of the imagination at all to see how we go from today (what is less-than-lovingly deemed the Age of Mortality) to the future presented in Scythe.

All the futuristic things are presented realistically, and they fit very neatly together in a way that’s not at all far-fetched. Of course we would have all this technology, spearheaded by the Thunderhead, which is really just the next evolution of the cloud.

Probably the most terrifying thing about this book is simply how easy it is to believe.

I’m not sure whether that says more about the state of our world or Neal Shusterman’s incredible talent as a writer, but whatever it is, I loved it.

❧ Rowan’s character arc is everything, and I can’t decide whether I’m furious or astonished or whether I should just be flipping tables right now.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, Citra is great. She’s got everything you could hope for in a female lead. But Rowan is where it’s at. His character journey is just … Phew, I need to sit down for a few minutes.

I can’t really talk about anything specific because spoilers, but just read it and sit down and cry with me, okay?

I’ll make sure the cookies and chocolate are ready, and I have a spare place in my pillow fort.

I also may have cheered for him just a teensy bit in the end, and I’m pretty sure that makes me a bad person, but my doctor says eating dark chocolate is 100% effective against curing evil. Or something like that. That’s what I’ve heard.

❧ Okay, I know the Thunderhead is just an AI, basically, but it seems cool and we should be BFF.

Because it has personality. The best sort, because these silly humans are so dang frustrating, and who can’t relate to that? You try so hard to steer them in the right direction, but do they listen? *sigh* It’s so hard to be a highly intelligent, sentient AI these days, am I right?

❧ In between each chapter are excerpts from Scythes’ journals, and they’re just ridiculously cool and I love the idea.

It’s a great way to world build and get to know the characters without it being crammed in my face every other paragraph. It felt intimate and close, and sometimes a bit scary, but hey, that’s life.

❧ The Big Bad Scythes™ are so. freaking. dramatic.

I’m torn between loving it and being jealous.

It’s so hard to take them seriously because they are so over the top and extra with everything, and not even good at hiding their evil.

But then you remember they’re essentially ninjas with a robe full of pointy things whose only purpose is to end you, so maybe it’s a teensy bit serious?

I had a really hard time buying why they were allowed to even exist and no one cut them off at the knees. Or the head. Or anywhere vital, preferably.

❧ And then there’s the ending. OMG THE ENDING. *flails*

This is a spoiler-free review, so I can’t actually say anything here except that it was brilliant. And it gives me hope for an exceptionally bleak future. Which Neal Shusterman wastes no time at all destroying in the sequel, of course.

Have you read Scythe yet? Or any of Neal Shusterman’s other work? Also, the most important question of all: what color would your scythe robes be? (Mine would totally be sapphire, but with no gems, thank you. Maybe silver embroidery, just because I can be extra too, okay?)