This trilogy was of those surprise!sci-fi books I’ve mentioned in a previous review. I had exactly zero idea what exactly the book was about when I picked it up. I was doing Whatever-you-want-a-thon in June, and reading one of the hosts favourites gave extra points. As I had previously got this on Audible, I decided to give it a try and I absolutely loved it.
So here we go with bulk reviews. Each book review will contain spoilers for the previous book, but I’ll try not to include spoilers the that particular book’s review. 🙂
Book 1 – Scythe ****
BINGO: Gateway
In a dystopian world completely governed by a benevolent AI, where death has been conquered and is even reversible, an independent group of humans known as scythes has been tasked with “gleaning” a quota of people every year for population control.
The book starts with Ronan and Citra being chosen to apprentice under Honorable Scythe Faraday for a period of a year, at the end of which one of them will become a scythe. But not every scythe is quite so honorable, and things are not quite as they seem.
Full of unexpected twists, this book was a wonderful surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It’s also a very mild dystopian sci-fi, which I think would make it a great gateway into the genre.
Book 2 – Thunderhead *****
BINGO: Machinery
This book picks up one year after the event of Scythe. Honorable Scythe Anastasia is now a Junior Scythe and a bit of rising star, while the now infamous Scythe Lucifer has gone vigilante and remains at large, pruning the world of corrupt scythes. Both wanting to enact change, but going about it in completely different ways.
In the meantime, in this book we get to dive into the Thunderhead’s mind and feel his pain as it, limited by its own rules, cannot interfere and must watch powerlessly as the Scythedom descends into chaos. Or will it?
This book is full of political intrigue and it was definitely my favourite in the series. I loved how it allowed for broader world building as we are no longer limited to the the scythes’ points of view. The concept of unsavouries and the inner workings of this dystopian society were fascinating to me. I’m also a sucker for the good AI, so there was never a doubt I’d love this.
Book 3 – The Toll ****
BINGO: The Wilds
The final book in he Scythe trilogy picks up 3 years after the end of Thunderhead, and I really don’t want to spoil anything for you so I’m just going to talk about my likes and dislikes without giving too much information.
I chose this book for The Wilds because a large part of it takes place in an untouched archipelago, which is a concept I found extremely interesting. The idea that something could hide in plain sight, and how it was dealt with was just great.
I also loved that we had a character that was so gender-fluid that I don’t think I really understood what the term meant before reading this book. I loved every minute we spent with the Thunderhead, as usual.
The only thing that disappointed me was the ending. I’m not going to spoil it, but all I can say is that it felt anti-climatic to me. I didn’t think this is what the series was building up to, and I felt some threads were left a little unresolved.
Regardless, I still feel like it’s a good book, and recommend the trilogy as a whole.
Also, this post will count for 3 squares on BINGO, which I think it’s okay, as there are 3 books.
- Scythe will count as GATEWAY
- Thunderhead will count as MACHINERY
- The Toll will count as THE WILDS