Scythe

Scythe is the first book in Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy. Published in 2016, the novel received the Michael L. Printz Award and was critically acclaimed. It is currently being adapted into a television series. The novel introduces the world of the story and major themes, series protagonists Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova and the main series antagonist, Scythe Robert Goddard.

The second book in the series, Thunderhead, takes place 10 months after the events in Scythe. Citra has become a junior scythe, taking the name of Scythe Anastasia. Meanwhile, Rowan is in hiding and killing corrupt scythes. They, along with the Thunderhead AI introduced in Scythe, is concerned about toxic trends in the scythedom. Though it cannot intervene itself, it taps a young boy named Greyson Tolliver to warn Scythes Curie and Anastasia about a plot against their lives. Forced to go undercover afterward, Greyson uncovers a conspiracy within the scythedom. After surviving the attack, Scythe Curie is elected High Blade of MidMerica against Scythe Goddard. In revenge, Goddard sinks the island of Endura, though Scythe Curie, Rowan, and Citra survive. The Thunderhead, heartbroken, labels all humans except for Greyson “unsavory.”

In The Toll, the third book, High Blade Goddard allows scythes to begin killing freely. Meanwhile, the Thunderhead sends Greyson to Kwajalein Atoll, where an anti-scythe fail-safe is located. Greyson conveys a mission from the Thunderhead to a former agent, Loriana Barchok, tasking her with building spaceships to help mankind escape Earth. The Tonists come to believe that Greyson is a prophet (The Toll), someone to connect humanity with AI, leading Goddard to target him. Endura, Citra, and Rowan, presumed dead, are revived, and though Goddard frames and tries to publicly execute Rowan for causing Endura’s destruction, Citra broadcasts proof that Goddard was responsible. The mission to send humanity to the Kwajalein Atoll is ultimately successful, and Citra and Rowan journey to the new world. Meanwhile, the fail-safe on Earth is activated, making humanity mortal again, and Greyson chooses to stay behind.