Book Review #14: Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe Series

Traditionally, I’ve always been a big fan of YA novels. For a long time they received a bad rap for being too simplistic or poorly written (and some people still push this narrative), but I think in general many people see the advantages of Young Adult literature. They’re often stories that entice young people to become the advantageous adult readers we want them to be. That’s what they did for me, anyway. Not all YA is well-written, but then not all books are well written, right? In my opinion, the best of YA is just as good as any other genre, and it’s silly to think it wouldn’t be just because it’s written for a younger audience.

With that said, I would put the Arc of a Scythe series in the “best of YA” category. Neal Shusterman has created such a spellbinding, futuristic world that toys with ideas and philosophies we face in present day as well as those we may face in years to come. I think this is a wonderful series to enhance a young reader’s views of actions and their consequences, the meaning of life and death, and true friendships and romances.

The series begins in a future where we are so technologically developed that no one dies naturally, unless they choose to. People are capable of living for hundreds of years, and the earth has evolved into a place where all needs are met. An AI being, the Thunderhead, sees to every need imaginable. The only need the Thunderhead cannot see to is population control. Though the earth has been optimized to support the largest amount of people it can, there is still a cap on how many humans it can support. Because the Thunderhead is an AI being, and humanity wishes humans to be in control of life and death, the scythedom is created to handle population control. This scythedom is comprised of scythes (duh), or people whose job it is to select and kill (known as “gleaning” in the novels) a portion of the earth’s population.

The narrative follows two main characters, Citra and Rowan, as they are chosen as scythe apprentices and learn the practices of the scythes. The first book follows this portion, and introduces the idea of a “new order” versus the “old order” of scythes. The old scythes are considered honorable and do not enjoy the idea of gleaning, while the new scythes think they should be able to take pride in their work just as everyone else does. Of course, taking pride means they truly enjoy killing others. This is the first major conflict presented in the series, and it is the main conflict over all three novels.

The second novel largely focuses on the battle between the two orders, while introducing new players in the game. Then, the third novel wraps up the conflict with a series of daring choices and escapes. One thing I really appreciated is that Schusterman really thought out the avenues his story could take, and rather than choose one singular avenue, he ends the story by taking the reader down several. There isn’t a singular end to the conflict, but rather a series of endings that show how each group (the old scythes, new scythes, and other players involved) ends their own conflict.

For worldbuilding and creativity, Schusterman gets full points from me. There are so many details included to help explain how this futuristic society functions, and there are some really interesting consequences to immortality that I hadn’t thought of. The idea of immortality itself is pretty novel in that the human body essentially resets its age repeatedly. Rather than living one, prolonged life, people often live several shorter ones. They get divorced and remarried, have many children, have many different jobs, etc. I thought the idea of being able to age completely and become young again (rather than staying one consistent age) added a lot of nuance to the idea of immortality here. If you could repeatedly live your life, say from early twenties to late seventies, what would you do? What might you change the second or third time? How would it impact your choices if you knew that you could just reset your life and start again?

Another cool worldbuilding idea is the omniscient AI. The Thunderhead sees all, and it is also a compassionate AI that truly cares for humanity. While the Thunderhead can see all, the scythes are completely separated from it, meaning all matter of death concerning scythes is scythe business. This makes an interesting point about humanity in that they know the Thunderhead is more compassionate and ultimately superior to humans themselves, but they still chose not to let an inhuman being be in charge of death. There’s a certain hubris there that I think is very indicative of humanity, and I appreciated that Schusterman really took the time to dive into this concept.

The major draw of the books, to me, is the excellent introduction and use of themes throughout. Schusterman covers themes of religious extremism, cult worship, new wave vs. old wave ideology, immortality, corruption, life and death, and so on. The new wave vs. old wave ideology is probably the most explored throughout the books since that’s what the main plot follows. There is a strong depiction of how both sides use propaganda to influence followers. I think the idea of positive propaganda is shown really well throughout these novels with the main character, Citra, and another character who comes later and embodies “the Toll” (a spiritual figure). We often think of propaganda as a negative thing, but when it positively influences people I would say it’s a positive force. Schusterman creates an interesting dynamic here by showcasing how it’s used on both sides.

I will say that, as an adult, it’s harder to empathize with new scythe side. They’re definitely the “bad guys”, but I think the author’s goal is to have the reader empathize with some of their ideas an philosophies for a little while, at least. They’re initially presented as flashy, bedazzled scythes who commit mass gleanings, but eventually the reader sees why some scythes advocate for New Order. These mass gleanings seem abhorrent to begin with, but there is a period of contemplation where we’re forced to think about why those are worse than regular killing, when it totals the same amount of life lost at the end of the year. For a moment, Shusterman wants the reader to be on the fence. Then, as the story progresses, we learn that although their philosophy may have some merit, it is truly abysmal in practice. I think this is a great progression for people, especially teenagers, to read because it shows how some people can become sucked into new wave ideology.

As an adult, I think the tactics are more easily seen through. We know that flashy and new doesn’t equal better. In fact, most adults are well aware that old and reliable is almost always better. For a teenager, though, I think this is a great introduction to some critical thinking. Even though the new scythes make some points that seem okay on the surface, when the story continues and the reader is allowed to delve deeper, we realize that their philosophies are only surface-level. With something so precious as life, there should be depth and thought to the methods and processes that end it.

The last thing I’ll harp on here is that I also really enjoyed the portrayal of several dynamic relationships. There are mentor/mentee relationships, strong friendships, and of course romantic relationships portrayed throughout. I liked that Schusterman really leaned into the idea of true bonds and loyalty rather than fickle, constantly changing attachments. This sets a good example for young readers, and it makes the characters and their growth all the more enjoyable.

Overall, I think this is a really wonderful YA series. I would recommend it to young teenagers and older adults alike. With so much going on, there is something for everyone to enjoy here.

The Lit Wiz