Thunderhead

Neal Shusterman

Jan 2018 · Arc of a Scythe Book 2 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“Intelligent and entertaining.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Even better than the first book.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the chilling sequel to the Printz Honor Book Scythe from New York Times bestseller Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Humans learn from their mistakes. I cannot. I make no mistakes.

The Thunderhead is the perfect ruler of a perfect world, but it has no control over the scythedom. A year has passed since Rowan had gone off grid. Since then, he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent.

As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the “new order.” But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change.

Old foes and new enemies converge, and as corruption within the Scythedom spreads, Rowan and Citra begin to lose hope. Will the Thunderhead intervene?

Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel?

Ratings and reviews

Rowan and Citra have different ideas on how to fix the Scythedom. While Rowan prefers to wipe out the scythes who cheat the system, Citra prefers to work from the inside and influence scythes to follow the old ways. But both are earning a name for themselves and have enemies watching their every move. And if either of them lets down their guard, those same enemies won’t hesitate to end them. But the Thunderhead sees everything, even if it cannot interfere in Scythe affairs. But it can certainly use humans to navigate around the system parameters it was given. The only question is, is it too late? The first book focused on building the world of the Scythes. Having readers learn the political atmosphere that surrounded them. In Thunderhead, readers’ views of the world are expanded by showing the strengths and weaknesses of the Thunderhead system that maintains the world. Instead of reading journals of the Scythes in between chapters, readers are allowed snippets of thoughts from the Thunderhead as it explains its actions based on its programming. And readers are shown that it might just have the capability for emotions. I found it fascinating how the Thunderhead operated and drew conclusions. And all the while there is that hint of humor bubbling beneath the surface. Without having to lay down the foundations of world-building, the second book in Arc of the Scythe was faster paced. The narrative has expanded to include Scythes from previous novels along with Rowan and Citra. The story also takes a step further into showing the corruption that can occur despite the fact the world remains a near perfect place. The underbelly of human society is exposed. The Unsavories, people who have committed acts that have labeled them as trouble. And one such Unsavory, Greyson Tolliver, may be the only person who can save the Scythes. As I read the last page of this book, I was speechless. The villainous arc that took place within these pages was disturbing and so anger inducing that I can’t wait to read the next. I need to know if justice will be served and what is going to happen to the characters. Neal Shusterman has effectively hooked me into this world of death and political upheaval.

This series started out promising. I lobed the world Shusterman set up, I loved the characters he was writing. The first book had its issues, but they were outweighed by the positives...the second one does not have this saving grace. I don't know when this just became the latter half of the Hunger Games trilogy, but thats exactly what it is. It is really bad, hackneyed, and annoying to read. If you liked the first one, consider the series done there and save your time.

This series has always been intriguing to me, and this second installment is simply beautifully written. The world Neal has created is a nice break from all the dystopians that have been making up a majority of sci-fi novels. The internal conflict of an AI is very well done. It is clear that the concepts explored have been pondered and researched extensively, which helped to create this mastercraft novel. I cannot wait for the third book. 9/10

About the author

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com and Facebook.com/NealShusterman.