* * * * *Scythe had always intrigued me from the second I heard the premise. And it did not disappoint.
I've been meaning to get to this book for so long and I'm so glad I finally read it! This book is genius. It's gripping, jaw-dropping and breath-taking. It has this nice undertone of philosophical ideas which fascinates me and I flew threw it.
Scythe takes place in a dystopian world where everything is perfect. Humans have completely conquered death- no more disease, deaths can be revived and old age can be turned back, making us immortal. But, to keep population numbers down, Scythes are appointed to go around and glean people at random. Scythe follows Citra and Rowan who become apprentice Scythes who have to learn the art of killing.
This book was a beautiful blend of action, corruption, intrigue and philosophical ideas. The characters were amazing and their character development was beautiful and smooth. Every single word of this novel was gripping and breath-taking and I'd recommend everyone to pick it up immediately.
SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I have to start by saying that my favourite aspect of this entire book was the philosophical questions and ideas it brought up. I'm a massive fan of philosophy and this book was really fascinating to consider the morals around life and death. It raised questions of a perfect world and what the consequences of that would be: if there was nothing left to improve, what would we dedicate our lives to doing? If our lives were immortal, what would do with all that time? What kind of ethics surround being able to end someone's life? I found all these deep undertones so fascinating to explore and it made me really enjoy the journal extracts we got throughout the book- especially Curie and Faraday's. They were so wise and inquisitive and the beauty of their words sunk into my skin and made me think which I absolutely loved.
Now that my little tangent is out of the way...
I really loved both Citra and Rowan as our protagonists. They're both quite different but that worked really well and both of their journeys throughout this book felt very natural and smooth.
From the beginning, I leaned a little more towards Citra being my favourite despite Rowan being closer to my own personality type, but I loved how both of their character development went in opposite directions. Citra started the book the most outwardly defiant and ruled by her emotions but, through her training and study with both Faraday and Curie, she became more reserved, resourceful and focused. Rowan, on the other hand, started very reserved and controlled but, when forced to train with Goddard, became very dark and edged nearer to a monster than the compassionate boy he once was. These transformations were beautiful but both of the characters kept their hearts in the end and they've grown so much.
I loved Faraday the second he stepped onto the page. He was so wise and reminded me of a mix between Dumbledore and Dr. Ford (Westworld). He took on both Rowan and Citra after seeing their defiance against the Scythes and I loved the whole section with them training with him. Citra and Rowan built this great bond with Faraday as well growing closer together (as I prayed they fell in love because I'm a hopeless romantic).
We have the first test at the Vernal Conclave and it was so interesting to see all the Scythes grouped together and debating about the politics of their world. The first test was actually a bit easier than I thought it'd be and yet they both failed. I was surprised as to why Citra lied to the question of what the worst thing she'd done was. We later found that it was because she'd pushed a girl in front of a van, effectively killing her but... the girl was only deadish. I don't feel like it was a big deal because, in this world, kids seems to kill themselves a lot because it's not permanent. Look at Tyger... he's like a professional at splatting but just keeps getting revived so I don't know what the big deal was and why Citra couldn't admit that she'd made someone deadish.
But then Rowan did the sweetest thing and failed purposefully so Citra didn't have to go through it alone and... my heart!! He's so sweet and that just makes how he's later manipulated and made into a weapon so much more tragic.
After seeing the bond and camaraderie that Citra and Rowan obviously have, Scythe Goddard and his disciples propose that whoever wins has to glean the other. We'd seen snippets of Goddard and his disciples performing mass gleanings before this and you know he's sadistic from the very first page he steps onto. The High Blade agrees and this is what sets up the path for the rest of the book. And really, it's all Rowan's fault because he purposefully failed his test and made their bond clear to the conclave.
And then we get the bomb that Faraday had gleaned himself! I gasped out loud at this because it just didn't sound like something Faraday would do! It was all so sudden and out of nowhere and it only starts to make sense when it's revealed that Citra and Rowan are released from the apprenticeship because of his demise. I'd always liked Faraday but this was where I truly admired him because he'd sacrificed his life to save them, doing the only thing he could to stop them from having to glean each other. If only he'd known it hadn't made the slightest bit of difference...
Citra and Rowan get offered new apprenticeships and let's just say, Rowan drew the short straw. I was really happy that Citra had Curie as a mentor because I'd grown to love Curie from her journal entries and I wanted to learn more about her story. Poor Rowan, on the other hand... I was terrified for him. I just knew Goddard would twist Rowan into a monster and I was scared to watch it happen.
Through her training with Scythe Curie, Citra begins to suspect that Faraday's suicide was a murder which I was so happy with because I'd been considering the same thing myself. She begins to look through the Thunderhead data and tries to track down any footage or accounts of what happened on the day Faraday supposedly gleaned himself. I loved how proactive Citra was being and how she didn't wait for things to get done but decided to do it herself.
Meanwhile, Rowan is going through the horrors of training with Goddard. I kept finding myself anxious to get to Rowan's chapters because I was fearing for his well being! I knew that Citra would be okay so I was fine with leaving her for a while but I kept wanting to check to see if Rowan was okay. And I was right to be worried.
They nullified the healing and pain nanites in Rowan's blood and then beat him to a pulp! What kind of training is that?! Rowan is trained so brutally and forced to observe and help out in mass gleanings which makes it harder and harder for him to hold onto his humanity. Goddard is manipulating him the entire time and I just wanted to strangle the guy- he's crazy! Goddard talks multiple times about how he wants to get rid of the quota so he can glean as many people as he likes. Now, I don't know about their dystopian world but, in the Age of Mortality.... that's a sure sign of a psychopath!!!!
They force Rowan to kill people and, despite the fact that they'll simply get revived afterwards, they slowly turn Rowan into a killing machine. But, despite everything, you can still see glimpses of resent and humanity in Rowan and those were the parts that kept me hoping and rooting for him.
Citra and Rowan have their second test at the Harvest Conclave and I was anticipating this so much! I couldn't wait for them to come face to face and see how much each other had changed. And I was so satisfied with what we got.
The second test was to fight another opponent and obviously Citra and Rowan were gonna be pitted against each other!! But it was so good! Citra immediately realises that Rowan is purposefully trying to lose and I get just as offended as she does! How dare Rowan think that the only way for her to win is for him to go easy on her?!? I loved how Citra then began to purposefully lose as well, the whole thing backfiring on Rowan. Honestly, I was grinning like an idiot through this whole sequence and I laughed like crazy when Citra moved so that Rowan was on top of her in the dominant position and said "What's the matter, Rowan? Don't know what to do when you're on top of a girl?" This kind of sass is why I love Citra!!
Rowan realises that Citra can beat him at anything- even at losing- and disqualifies himself from the test by snapping her neck and killing her. It broke my heart how he knew it was the only way to turn her against him. Rowan wants Citra to win the final test and knows that he has to make her hate him so it's easier for her to glean him in the end.
Goddard throws a party to congratulate Rowan (because it was just typically for Goddard to actually be impressed with the stunt Rowan pulled). We find out that Esme is Xenocrates' (the High Blade's) illegitimate daughter which clicks a lot of things into place. This whole time I'd been wondering why the hell Esme was so important and it turns out she's just blackmail without even knowing it. I should've seen it but, damn, it shocked me! It also explains why Xenocrates is always going along with Goddard's plans- they're holding just the right amount of leverage over his head.
Rowan asks Goddard about Faraday's gleaning and whether he had anything to do with it. Goddard quickly gets irate and denies everything but, honestly, at this point, I was pretty convinced that Goddard was guilty. I'm actually happy that it turned out to not be as predictable as Goddard murdering Faraday.
Citra gets arrested for Faraday's murder and I was furious!! Out of everybody, Citra definitely didn't do it! When they convict her, she splats which was quick thinking but... was there a point to it? I know Curie manages to smuggle her away before she's fully revived but Citra didn't know that would happen when she splatted so why splat when you know they'll just revive you?
The Thunderhead takes the opportunity to talk to Citra as, in death, she's no longer tied to the Scythedom. It tells her that she'll play a vital part in the future and gives her the name of who killed Faraday- Gerald Van Der Gans. I had no idea who this was but was suspecting that it might be the true name of a Scythe- specifically, Goddard's real name.
When Citra is revived, Curie helps her escape and tells the story of how she and Faraday used to be lovers. I loved this backstory and it was so tragic that they had to be split up and punished for being together. I hope that one day they can make their ways back to each other for good.
Citra is officially a fugitive and Curie gives her the address of Faraday's murderer. Citra makes her way to the address with stealth and, honestly, a bit of blind luck. I had a good feeling by then that Gerald Van Der Gans was Faraday (mainly because I love Faraday and was desperate for him to still be alive) and it was a shame Citra went for the shoot-first-ask-questions-later-approach. When she realises it was Faraday, she helps to nurse him back to health and we learn the truth about his 'death'.
He'd faked his own death and gone into a sort of retirement so that it would get Citra and Rowan out of the apprenticeship and out of the fate of one having to glean the other. It was so heart-breaking to see him realise that his death hadn't changed anything- that his decisions had landed Rowan in the hands of Goddard.
Meanwhile, Goddard slips further down the crazy spectrum and goes to massacre a huge selection of the Tonist cult. Volta is forced to glean a classroom full of children and it was heart-breaking to see him recount the story to Rowan afterwards. Volta was the best of Goddard's disciples and he decides to glean himself after what he's done. I think Volta was a vital catalyst in Rowan's next decision which made it all so much more powerful.
Rowan tries to save as many people as he can before turning on Goddard and his disciples, killing them like the bad-ass weapon he is! He burns the whole building with Goddard and the others' bodies inside so they can't be revived. This was absolutely epic and it was relieving to know that Rowan wasn't manipulated by Goddard enough to believe in his crazy notions. I'm glad Goddard is gone for good.
And then, it was the Winter Conclave and the final test! I was so excited by this point. My heart was in my throat with anticipation and it was as brilliant as I was expecting.
The final test involved the apprentices having to kill one of their loved ones and honestly... this didn't seem as bad as I thought it would be. Hear me out!! If the family member is going to be revived immediately, it doesn't even matter that they've been killed. I know it's all about the emotional trauma of doing such a thing but, with revival happening straight afterwards, it lost some of the effect. I think it's worth temporarily killing a loved one, knowing they're gonna be revived, because you know that becoming a Scythe would give them immunity for as long as you live so... it's definitely worth it.
The next day, the apprentices go up to find out who gets to become a Scythe. Unsurprisingly, Citra gets picked and is then ordered to glean Rowan. This was the moment the entire book had been leading up to and I was so ready for it to be amazing and it didn't disappoint!
I knew Citra wasn't going to glean Rowan but I was racking my brain, trying to come up with a way to get out of it. My only idea was that she might turn on the High Blade and glean him instead but... no. It was much better.
Making it look like an act of rage, she punches Rowan and his blood gets on her new ring, automatically granting him immunity which was brilliant! I love how Rowan just grinned, immediately catching on to what she was up to despite her denying to the Scythes that she did it on purpose. Citra orders him to escape and he tells her he loves her which was so cute and satisfied my hopeless romantic side completely. I also love how Citra just replied "same here." It made the moment even more perfect somehow.
Rowan escapes, going to the car Citra had ordered him to, and he finds Scythe Faraday!! I'm so excited because, if anyone cam truly get Rowan back and help him with his monstrous urges, it's Faraday.
We ended with a journal entry from Citra (or Scythe Anastasia Romanov) and this was the perfect way to end everything. I love how she raises the philosophical questions that had been the undertone of this entire book and it was great finding out that Rowan has become Scythe Lucifer- taking down corrupt Scythes.
It looks like the next book will have Citra and Rowan mainly separated but I like how they're journeying on independent roles. Citra will likely try and change things within the Scythedom whereas Rowan is being a weapon on the outside, killing all the corrupt Scythes with fire.
This book was everything I'd hoped it would be and more and I'm so excited to jump into the next. It's brilliantly addictive.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe
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