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A review by shona_reads_in_devon
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
'2042 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉'
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Scythe is a post - mortal world. AI technology has created the perfect utopia and humanity has moved beyond mortality. A select few are called upon to train to become scythes and their purpose is 'glean' the population to control population growth. Rowan and Citra are thrust into the world of scythedom and, through their training, we unearth the politics and corruption still inherent in the system.
Power still corrupts it seems.
I loved the premise of this. Such an interesting concept. And the ideas that are raised by it are treated thoughtfully and reflectively. What are the implications of immortality on art, creativity, ambition, empathy. When humanity is so altered there is little to fear, when the world is so perfect there is nothing to want? What does that do?
It was refreshing to see AI treated as an actual benefit - the Thunderhead has created a utopia and appeared to be a benevolent kind of God - like overseer.
The idea of inevitable corruption of humanity is well explored - that power does corrupt. The scythes live outside of the general human race and are not subject to the same rules that govern the rest of the world - the novel explores both sides of this - the striving for compassion and ethical practices, and the inevitable corruption of the idea and the power plays and god - complexes of such unbridled power.
Where this novel didn't hit the spot for me, sadly, is that I didn't really connect to anyone particularly. Towards the end I was invested and didn't want either Rowan or Citra to die, but I didn't really feel much for either of them. I wanted a bit more world building too - the whole Tonist cult thing was a bit odd and I wanted to understand it more. The world building felt complete only where it served the plot, which I always find troublesome because I just like to be involved in the whole world premise.
I think there are 3 of these novels. I'm not decided if I would read anymore of them.
Solid enough, made me think, but didn't deliver a whole package sadly.
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Scythe is a post - mortal world. AI technology has created the perfect utopia and humanity has moved beyond mortality. A select few are called upon to train to become scythes and their purpose is 'glean' the population to control population growth. Rowan and Citra are thrust into the world of scythedom and, through their training, we unearth the politics and corruption still inherent in the system.
Power still corrupts it seems.
I loved the premise of this. Such an interesting concept. And the ideas that are raised by it are treated thoughtfully and reflectively. What are the implications of immortality on art, creativity, ambition, empathy. When humanity is so altered there is little to fear, when the world is so perfect there is nothing to want? What does that do?
It was refreshing to see AI treated as an actual benefit - the Thunderhead has created a utopia and appeared to be a benevolent kind of God - like overseer.
The idea of inevitable corruption of humanity is well explored - that power does corrupt. The scythes live outside of the general human race and are not subject to the same rules that govern the rest of the world - the novel explores both sides of this - the striving for compassion and ethical practices, and the inevitable corruption of the idea and the power plays and god - complexes of such unbridled power.
Where this novel didn't hit the spot for me, sadly, is that I didn't really connect to anyone particularly. Towards the end I was invested and didn't want either Rowan or Citra to die, but I didn't really feel much for either of them. I wanted a bit more world building too - the whole Tonist cult thing was a bit odd and I wanted to understand it more. The world building felt complete only where it served the plot, which I always find troublesome because I just like to be involved in the whole world premise.
I think there are 3 of these novels. I'm not decided if I would read anymore of them.
Solid enough, made me think, but didn't deliver a whole package sadly.