arc of a scythe – Cannonball Read 17

That rare beast, a great final book.

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3) by Neal Shusterman

December 30, 2019 by narfna Leave a Comment

That was a really good ending. I am incredibly satisfied by it. It did what my favorite endings do, which is to manage to surprise me with things that feel inevitable. I am going to hold off on the five stars, after sleeping on it. I’m not quite sure why, though. Maybe when I do an eventual re-read (I most definitely need to, to see the whole arc), I’ll up it to five stars, which I will confess was my first instinct. I don’t really […]

One of the few instances where the sequel surpasses the original.

February 10, 2018 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is an extremely suspenseful, and surprisingly thoughtful science fiction novel. Honestly, I’m kind of at a loss as to what else to say! But mostly that’s because my brain feels like it’s just been squeezed through some sort of bladed juicer and now I’m expected to have coherent thoughts. I think this series is one of the few where I’m so intrigued by the ideas behind the story, and the plot developments, that I’m actually okay with the characters being somewhat empty vessels. It’s […]

Fascinating YA sci-fi dystopia, needs a little work on the characters.

February 27, 2017 by narfna 8 Comments

Various internet peoples have been telling me to read Neal Shusterman for years now, and with Scythe he finally published a book whose premise I couldn’t resist, so here we are. If the rest of his books are as well thought out as this one was, they’re definitely getting moved up my TBR. Scythe takes place several hundred years in the future, after humanity has conquered mortality and disease*, and humans are functionally immortal. But having humanity immortal but still procreating creates an obvious problem. […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

Help Our Mission