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May 17, 2018faithmurri99 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I don't even know what to begin with. There's simultaneously too little and too much to say. I don't know if I'm disappointed or pleasantly surprised. I think I'm both, somehow. I'm sure that not all copies are this way, that some proofreader realized the horrible mistake that had been made and fixed it, but my copy was littered with typos, incomplete sentences, and improper punctuation. It begs the question, especially considering the glaring worldbuilding inconsistencies and plot holes: was this book proofread at all before publication? The first half of the book was so insanely boring and slow. So much could have been done in it, like clarifying the world or building the characters (like actually giving them any physical descriptions, for one thing), but instead it was used to force a completely unnecessary cringey love story in which 16-year-olds acted like they were 11 or 12 around each other. The themes of this book were in direct conflict with one another. At times, there appeared to be a level of grey morality and ambiguity which I appreciated, because it opened the door for greater discussion about what constitutes right and wrong, and whether morality is subjective—but then Shusterman introduced the Thunderhead as a morally correct entity incapable of making mistakes or errors, which implies black and white morality. So which is it, Neal? Which idea are you pushing? Which theme are you attempting to advocate? The effects of perfection, social stagnation, immortality, the potential for decadence and moral disregard for human life, and government-sanctioned ritual killing on human nature were barely explored, if at all. I absolutely loved the journal entries, though! Those were great! The world was very poorly built in my opinion. It wasn't until more than halfway that any clear understanding of what exactly the Thunderhead was was explained, and even then, I'm still confused. Also, it wasn't ever made clear how far familial relations extend for Scythe immunity. Sometimes it was those living in the household, other times it was immediate relatives. The governmental system, law enforcement, and the nature of the human condition were totally vague the entire book. People were all seemingly completely content in their lives with an AI at the helm of the whole world. There was a running joke of how there's no government, but obviously, there is, since every single society requires one. The Tonists felt tropey, contrived, and frankly, offensive. Religions likely wouldn't just disappear in the advent of immortality, and I really doubt the one that emerged would be about sound, especially given the world Shusterman created. I can think of many possible religions, and yet none were used. As a sci-fi, it was just poorly done. He threw out some fancy mumbo-jumbo and expected me to accept that this is a sciencey world? I could barely remember it was in the future until he reminded me with words like "chickenoid" and "Israebia". Citrus: Citra was really annoying. When she wasn't being a brick, she was a hollow log. She was self-centred and petty. Rowan Whitethorn: I actually really liked Rowan. It was basically solely his scenes that drove me to finish the book. Obi Wan Kenobi: Good ole Scythe Faraday was somewhat of a wooden plank, but he was pleasant and I liked him. The Dark Lord: Goddard was very tropey, and occasionally very interesting, but ultimately just tropey. (I tried to think of more funny alternative names, but I couldn't come up with any) Curie: Her physical description was literally just the leader of District 13 in the Mockingjay movie. She was interesting and I liked her. Volta: I really liked Volta. He was very thought-provoking and I appreciated him. Overall, I liked it enough, and I'll probably read the sequel, but I'm so disappointed in all the missed opportunities.