Scythe

Simon & Schuster

Scythe
Neal Shusterman
2016

The Summary
"A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery.

"Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death.  Now scythes are the only ones who can end life--and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

"Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe--a role that neither wants.  These teens must master the 'art' of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

"Scythe is the debut of a thrilling new series by National Book Award-winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price."

The Good
Scythe was incredibly compelling.  I'll be honest, it's one of those books that I just couldn't put down.  I mean, on the one hand, it's like a train wreck:  something very bad is happening, but it's hard to look away.  On the other hand, it's an breathtaking story with endearing characters, a fascinating setting, and an intriguing plot.

As the story goes on, it's easy to become attached to Citra and Rowan.  You're right in the middle of their story from the moment Scythe Faraday selects them as apprentices, so you quickly become invested in their lives and caught up in their world.  I was particularly fascinated by how their world worked, because everything down to the smallest detail is micromanaged by the Thunderhead, a "cloud" system in which the collective knowledge of all humanity is stored.

Neal Shusterman creates a unique story with Scythe, because he doesn't immediately offer readers a dystopian world event if that's what we eventually get.  It wouldn't be a stretch to say dystopian is a popular genre in YA literature (think:  Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Cinder, City of Ember--and I'm sure there's more); however, Shusterman doesn't start with a terrible world.  In fact, in Scythe the world is perfect in every way.

There's no war, no disease, no hunger, no inequality, no aging, no natural death.  Humanity has reached the zenith of its evolution:  it is perfect.  Yet beneath that veneer of perfection, you have the Scythes who help keep the human population in check--and you have a world that, for all its perfection, is stagnating.

What does humanity have left to achieve if everything has been done already?

Scythe is one of those YA novels that causes readers to ask some very hard questions about the life and death, humanity's relationship to technology, and what would really happen in a Utopian society.  It's an exciting, spine-tingling thrill ride, but it's also an intriguing examination of human psychology because it made me wonder, "What is really the purpose of life when life never ends?"

The Bad
It's a bit of a long book, admittedly; however, it captured my attention so completely, I don't think I put it down for two days.

The Ugly
I'll be honest, I thought this book was pretty intense.

Although death is everywhere in this book, it seems like such a distant concept as people can no longer really die.  You have revival centers where, if someone unexpectedly dies, they're brought back to life.  Diseases are nonexistent, aging is a thing of the past, and horrific accidents are merely an inconvenience.  There's blood and gore and horrific things that happen, yet they're only temporary--and it's really difficult to digest this cavalier attitude about death.

Besides which, I think I was spooked by the way people lived.  I don't mean the general prosperity or lack of disease or the utopia the Thunderhead has appeared to create; rather, I was a bit perturbed by a general disrespect for life.  In one of the journal entries between chapters, which are shared by the various Scythes readers meet, I stumbled across one that really made me think:

"If you've ever studied mortal age cartoons, you'll remember this one.  A coyote was always plotting the demise of a smirking long-necked bird.  The coyote never succeeded; instead, his plans always backfired.  He would blow up, or get shot, or splat from a ridiculous height. 

"And it was funny.  [...]  Because no matter how deadly his failure, he was always back in the next scene...

"I've seen human foibles that have resulted in temporary maiming or momentary loss of life.  [...]  And when it happens, people laugh, because no matter how gruesome the event, that person, just like the coyote, will be back in a day or two, as good as new, and no worse--or wiser--for the wear. 

"Immortality has turned us all into cartoons."

Human life has been downplayed, made into something laughable.  More importantly, it's not seen as a finite, precious thing; rather, it's a indefinite commodity that can be wasted.  Immortality has created a type of stagnation in human culture.  There's nothing new to discover, nothing new for which to strive, nothing new to create--so what's really left?

Scythe brings up some very interesting questions about life and human emotion and immortality, specifically what it could mean and what it could bring.  It's entertaining, yes; however, it also makes you think and it makes you wonder.  It feels distinctly dystopian, even though humanity is arguably faced with a Utopian society; it makes you wonder what's the real price tag for a perfect world.