I think it's important to know that I loved Scythe. Loved it so much that I told everyone I know to read it and it is one of my favourite books of the last few years. So going into Thunderhead I had big expectations. The problems with expectations is that they are often not realistic or even sensible.

Plot
There is quite a bit of political posturing and plot in Thunderhead. Much like in Scythe the internal politics of the Scythdom continue to spiral out of control. There was a point just past halfway where I got bored. It was a lull; and normally I'd have just powered through that lull. Instead, because I'm so behind in reading other books I actually read a couple books instead of powering through Thunderhead. That was probably a mistake in terms of continuity. However, once I got back into it a week or two later I found that only a couple pages ahead of where I had stopped was a massive plot twist in which the story just cascades down from. So if you hit a small glitch in your excitement with Thunderhead just keep going because it doesn't last long.

The Thunderhead
Almost all of the snippets or journal entries at the beginning of the chapters are the internal thought of the Thunderhead. As an AI that 'runs' the whole world I expected the Thunderhead to be very practical and have no emotional responses at all. Except that it does. Neal Shusterman has taken the idea of an AI made from human construct and really challenged how it would be. The idea here is that it would be flawed because it was created by humans. And that it can be 'tricked' by the humans who set-up the server connections... This was a hard thing for me to really accept until near the end of the book when events really allowed me to see (not just be told) what that might look like. Shusterman is brilliant at making readers eat up his logic by showing them a scenario in which his logic works.

Characters
I don't want say a lot here for fear of spoiling something. But let's just say all the characters we've come to know, love and hate in Scythe are back in Thunderhead (in some way shape or form). Much of the story is told from Scythe Anastasia's (Citra's) point of view.

Cliffhangers
Yep, you guessed it. Just like Scythe, Thunderhead ends with a major cliffhanger. This kills me as I am now dying to read the next book (not out yet at time of this writing) and makes it hard to get into new books for me sometimes. I get why it's done this way. Marketing hype is a hard thing to generate if people aren't dying to know what happens next. But sometimes I wish for the 'sort of ending' that we always got with Harry Potter or Narnia. Just sayin'.

Overall
Definitely this deserves a spot on my print bookshelf and this series continues to be one of the best in the last couple years, in my opinion. I love how sophisticated it is; while still being a teen novel. I wish there had been books like this when I was a teen! I think this shows how much we have changed as humans in just the last 20 years. We are able to be a little more critical of society; and we've certainly learned a lot (good and bad) about social media and mob mentality. Thunderhead does a good job of taking the society we know now and making his Scythe/Thunderhead future relatable.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Pure science fiction. Surely book two of a trilogy in every way. A little bit of everything in this series including cringe worthy moments where I feared for humanity and for my sanity as a reader. The depth of ideas in this series is remarkable, and I know the writer has done some interviews in which he explains that some of his early attempts at world building did not go well, but I think readers can be glad that Neal Shusterman tried again. There is a character in this book that I think might go down as one of the greatest villains in some time. It will be an agonizing wait for book three, because this is a book that stays in your thoughts when you are done reading it.

I absolutely loved Scythe and this sequel definitely didn't disappoint! The whole mythology behind these books is so fascinating and dark, I love it.

I was jumping up and down with excitement (I get really excited about certain books) when Simon and Schuster provided me with an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Scythe and Thunderhead definitely did not disappoint. It was even better than the first one! Since most of the characters and their stories were already established in Scythe, this second book focuses more on world building, politics and the Thunderhead itself.

One of the best parts of this novel were all of the inner monologues from the Thunderhead, the AI who governs/ looks/monitors earth and it's inhabitants (kind of like Big Brother but less harsh). This AI has a personality and as the novel progresses, you see more and more of the human qualities that it is not supposed to possess. The Thunderhead is very heavily regulated on what it can and cannot interfere with and you can see the struggle that it has with this, especially towards the end.

The addition of Greyson Tolliver to the all star roster was a good one. His character was really complex and his story was so intricate that it constantly had me on edge. I'm soooooo curious to see what the Thunderhead has in store for him next.

Quite frankly, that ending left me gobsmacked. Absolutely fantastic and frustrating all at the same time! Where do we go from here?!?!?!?!? Great great book with such an interesting world with complex characters. The third book can't come soon enough for me.

Major spoilers below!
---
HOLY SHIT Y’ALL. This whole week has been GRUELLING, because the only opportunities I had to read this were on the train to and from work. WHICH ARE VERY SHORT PERIODS OF TIME. Which made it so hard to only be able to read this in small, gruelling sections. Especially once you get to the end. So it took me ages to read Scythe because I’m an unreliable library user and forgot to renew it, thus letting it slip into the hands of the next person on the request list. Which meant I could not read Thunderhead nearly as quickly as I would have liked. ANYWAYS, I can’t believe how much better Thunderhead is than Scythe. Like, it’s as if Scythe was just a wee little introductory chapter into a giant, way better and way more riveting story. Don’t get me wrong, Scythe was good. But Thunderhead was AMAZING. I especially loved that instead of scythe journal entries between chapters, we got little snippets of Thunderhead entries instead, which 100% add to the story and make it so much more intense. Thunderhead functions as its own character this time, which is so interesting by itself alone. Yet it still has that mysterious enigma surrounding it, like you don’t quite know what it is capable of doing. Because it is capable of doing ANYTHING. Which means there are no limits. Which is terrifying. Whenever I read an ebook, I always make notes. Usually I start off making a lot, and if the book is going well, they dwindle as the story progresses, because I am so invested into what I am reading I cannot possibly be distracted by something as trivial as forming coherent thoughts. I had no notes whatsoever for Thunderhead. Which means not once could I pull myself from what I was reading to make any.

Nearing the end of Scythe, I really had no idea whether it would be Rowan or Citra that would win the scythehood. When it was revealed that it was Citra, thus becoming Scythe Anastasia, I was thrilled. I was especially more thrilled that Rowan was on the run. Because I love a good character on the run from the government plot. I especially loved Scythe Curie way more in this book, and would definitely choose her over Scythe Faraday as a mentor any day. I loved (as much as one can love) the way Citra chose to glean people, and I’d like to think that if I were a scythe, I would do something similar. While I didn’t necessarily understand at first why some of the new characters were being introduced (more specifically, their respective chapters), I was intrigued as to what kind of role they were going to play in the grand scheme of things because you just knew that they were going to. I didn’t find either Greyson Tolliver or Tyger particularly riveting, but their purpose was so mind-blowing (especially Tyger) that I don’t even care. Texas sounds terrifying. Even more so than it does today.

Let’s talk about some of the plot twists though. I was blown away when Scythe Rand made a reappearance. You can imagine what kind of explosions went off inside my head when later, Goddard was also shown to be still alive, and even more terrifyingly, was out for revenge and control of the world (probably, eventually). At one point, I wondered if I thought that bringing characters back to life was a lazy plot device, especially since there was such emphasis on their deaths, but they functioned way more than a mere plot device. I did think the relationship between Rand and Tyger was a little odd, but as it plays into her (semi-) character development later on, it was a minor concession. The concept of using Tyger’s body as a host for his soul/brain/whatever for Goddard was a simple yet gruesome reminder of how dark this series really is. It took me a while to get used to the concept of gleaning during Scythe, but by Thunderhead it was becoming just a natural thought for me even though it’s a terrible concept. But then every once in awhile, the author throws something like that in there that makes you restart all over again and reminds you that yeah, this is murder. I couldn’t believe that Goddard and Curie had to face off for High Blade, and I am ever so grateful that Citra stepped in with her inquest. At that moment, it really makes it obvious that she is not just any old character, she is not an ordinary scythe, and she is going to put a stone into the mechanics of the scythedom. It really proves how clever and smart of a human being she is.

I loved the idea of Endura and its function as a sort of paradise for scythes. I didn’t really understand the Land of Nod, but I can tell that it’s going to be a huge part of the next book (there’s gonna be a next book, right?!) so I’m not worried. The entire time we were in Endura, I had absolutely no idea what might possibly happen. Not even an inkling. This just proves how good the author is at keeping you on your toes, and especially proves that any normal ol’ detail (such as how Endura breaks down a lot because it doesn’t have the support of the Thunderhead) can have significant impact on the later plot so you better pay attention and take note. I also had zero idea how Citra and Rowan were going to get off the island, so it felt like I was completely in the dark in a completely fantastic way. I am however sad that it appears Scythe Curie has died along with the rest of the scythes on Endura. I really am interested to see how long it takes Citra and Rowan to be released from the chamber, and what state the world will be in at that point. I hope that maybe Curie will be another character that arises from the dead? Fingers crossed. Also, the fact that the fall of Endura was the Great Resonance blew my freaking mind. I wouldn’t have seen that coming from a mile away (another example of PAY ATTENTION TO ALL THE DETAILS, PEOPLE).

One of my favorite parts of this series in general is all the scythe patron names that are thrown in. I will admit I had a good chuckle at Scythe Beyonce. I also really liked how throughout the book, we can see Citra transform from being Citra Terranova to Scythe Anastasia, and how it’s both noticeable and not noticeable, especially after she’s been Anastasia for awhile and Rowan comes in and calls her Citra again. I would be interested in what scythe name Rowan would call himself (other than Scythe Lucifer), but I don’t think his character will be going to a place where he will become a proper scythe. I think that part of the plot has come to an end with no returning.

This wasn’t so much of a review as it was just a giant list of all the things I loved about this book – and I do love this book a lot. It’s incredibly different than any plot I’ve ever read, and a really interesting perspective on the concept of society and its obsession with perfection. One thing I would really like to see perhaps in a future book (I feel like this is gonna turn out to be a trilogy, but I guess we’ll see) is a map of what the world looks like with the new borders. We are given an idea with the place names of where things are located but just a general one. I have so many questions for the author that I want to shout them to the sky – but I expect I’ll have to wait for the next book to get some answers, and frankly, that sounds terrible. Even if you are on the fence about Scythe (and even I was a little), please read Thunderhead – I haven’t read a sequel this good since Catching Fire and it is so totally worth your time and readership.

I’m so glad I had the privilege of reading this ARC.

This is a highly anticipated sequel to Scythe, and it did not disappoint. There weren’t quite as many twists as in the first one, though there were many unpredictable surprises.

The Thunderhead is the primary focus of this book. The Thunderhead is the future of “the Cloud” in the way that it holds all of our information. It is constantly monitoring the world and can make decisions, but it can’t communicate with the Scythedom.

I really liked that parts of the world other than the scythes were explored in this book. There is a new character, named Greyson, who is an ordinary boy, but then he becomes an unsavory (a group of criminals who behave in unsavory ways). I enjoyed seeing more of the scythe world that surrounds Citra and Rowan.

One of the great things about the scythe world is that there are many more possible plots for future books. There could be more books around these current scythes, but it would also be interesting to see what happened at the end of the Age of Mortality (aka our modern world) and how the scythedom was formed. I hope there’s a third book on the way!

In the first book, we're introduced to a Utopian world where an Artifical Intelligence called the Thunderhead takes care of everything. It provides enough food and shelter for everyone. It created technology that revives people when they die. People can turn back their age and live forever unless they're chosen by a Scythe to be gleaned. We follow two competing apprentices as they discover what it means to be an honorable Scythe. What they didnt expect was the corruption that has divided the Scythdom.

The writing was easy to follow, but it didnt quite make up for all the unnessecary points of view and scenes. It did expand the world, but it also made it harder for me to get invested in the characters. I still thought Greysons perspective added a lot to the story. I loved Citra and her mentor Curries relationship. The two main characters different beliefs and personality made for an interesting contrast. I liked how Citra took charge at the Scythe Conclaves, and even though Rowan wasnt being morally ethical I was still rooting for him.

I dont understand why Scythes were created. I know that once natural death was conquered they still needed a way for people to die, but the Scythes dont glean enough to control the population growth. Maybe they're just suppose to slow it down a little bit. If thats the case then why even revive people or let them turn back their age more than a couple times. The chances of being gleaned are so small that it doesnt even inspire people to make the most of their lives. The concept was intriguing, but I wish the Scythes purpose was explained better. Also the part where they said they found all the bodies doesn't make sense.

Besides the fascinating Utopian world, I enjoyed this for different reason than the first book. The plot was more compelling and I loved getting to know the Thunderhead better. The ending was intense and unexpected. Unlike the nicely wrapped up first book, this sequel has a huge cliff hanger. Its making me want to read the third book so I can find out how the heck they're going to fix this huge mess. Plus I want to know whats going on with the research their mentor was doing. If you want a twist on the usual dystopian then definitely give this series a try.

To me, it felt like this novel suffered from Second Book Syndrome. What is this syndrome? It's basically when the second book doesn't live up to the expectations of the first book in the series. It's typically characterized by an increase in angst instead of action, a dragging in the plot, and the characters are pretty stagnant. All of those things happened in this book. I found the story to be tedious in length because not much happened. Scenes that could have been high impact didn't deliver the punch and there was a lot of filler. I don't really want to read about how Citra and Scythe Curie are wandering around, trying to figure out who is after them. I don't care about all of these other characters you are introducing that I know will explain some twist in the story but don't actually matter. There was just this lack of connection between me as the reader and the main characters in the story. Even though the author took the time to write from the perspectives of a bunch of characters, it still didn't allow me to empathize with them. Just like in Scythe, the author included excerpts from journals of other Scythes ... but more often, there were excerpts from the thoughts of the Thunderhead itself. I thought that was really interesting, and it was a nice touch because it allowed the reader to watch the Thunderhead transform emotionally. However, there could have been more done here. Some of the excerpts of the Thunderhead were overly redundant and could have been taken out. I think the reason that this novel suffered in my eyes is because the plot was just a rehashing of the time-old tale of new vs old clashing. There was nothing very new introduced in the novel and with a lack of growth on the part of the characters and a slow pacing, this novel really didn't deliver the punch I wanted. The last 50 pages of this novel were definitely eventful, and as is the norm with Second Book Syndrome, the story ended on a cliffhanger, which now means I'm going to have to read the next book in the series. Despite all of the shortcomings, I still find myself invested in the concept of this series and interested in how the author plans on resolving the conflict in the story. For those reasons, I'm giving this a 3/5 stars.

I had mixed feelings about Scythe. I appreciated it because it made me think a lot, but I didn't love the writing and found the first half of the book slow moving. Unfortunately I had similar feelings about Thunderhead, only it didn't make me think as much.

Thunderhead and Scythe are set in a world in which humans have perfected technology and achieved immortality. Government has been replaced with an all-knowing “cloud” called the Thunderhead who maintains world order and essentially controls everything. The only thing outside the control of the Thunderhead is the Scythedom. Scythes are people who have been tasked with “gleaning” or killing people in order to somewhat maintain population growth. Scythes are supposed to be humble and just, but over the years the Scythedom has split in to two factions: the new-order scythes who envision a different way of doing things, and the old-guard, who want to maintain the original ideals of the Scythedom.

Scythe introduced us to all the different Scythes and their opinions on the best ways to glean. I liked Scythe because it introduced a lot of ethical issues concepts and it really got me thinking. It was mostly an introduction to the world Shusterman has created and sets us up for a much larger story. Thunderhead delves more into the story of the struggles and conflicts between the two Scythe factions and the fight to keep the Scythedom honest and ethical.

I’m thrilled to get an advanced reader copy of this book, but unfortunately I was disappointed with Thunderhead. The story definitely progresses in this book, but like the first book, I didn’t love the writing and I found it another slow moving story. My copy was 500 pages and I feel like I got a lot of info I didn’t care about. Like in the first book, each chapter is separated by a short note, but instead of excerpts from the Scythes journals, it’s brief thoughts from the Thunderhead. I thought Shusterman introduced some more interesting concepts in these excerpts, but they weren’t really developed any further in the actual plot and I found them less meaningful.

The Thunderhead is supposed to be a perfect artificial intelligence, but it’s terrifying how emotionally sentient it is. It becomes evident that the Thunderhead is just as prone to love and anger as humans, which is terrifying in an all-governing robot. Shusterman explores some ideas about what it might be like to live in a society governed by an all-knowing computer, but I found the main plot of the story, which was the continued clashes between the new order and old guard, to be a bit repetitive. Side note: the synopsis on goodreads is not very accurate. Citra does not risk going deadish to talk to the Thunderhead in this book.

The story still follows Rowan and Citra, but expands to include the viewpoints from other Scythes as well. It was constantly changing viewpoints, which I somewhat liked, but also found distracting. Again, the last 100 pages of the story were very eventful and went in a totally different direction than I was expected, but it wasn’t enough to redeem the first half of the book for me. Overall I found it slow moving and it didn’t make me think as much, which is what I enjoyed most about the first book.

Still a 3-star book though and it ends of a pretty big cliffhanger, so I’ll probably keep going with the series because I do really want to know what’s going to happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for setting me up with this advanced copy of Thunderhead to read and review.
.
.
For those who don’t know, (where have you BEEN all year?!) Thunderhead is the second book in the Arc Of Scythe Series. In Scythe, there is no conflict or disease, and the only way people die is by being killed by a Scythe. In the first book, our two protagonists become apprentices and we follow them as they learn how to take a life and as they discover the corruption behind their system.
Thunderhead was an absolutely SOLID sequel. For fear of revealing spoilers, I won’t say too much about the plot of this continuation. But I will say that it was beyond action-packed and constantly had me guessing.
In this second book we follow the same protagonists (as well as some new characters), as they take opposite stances on how to fix their corrupt system. The stakes become impossibly higher, and I absolutely loved the connection between Citra and Rowan as they disagree and take action against the Scythedom in opposing ways. Even though they are acting against the Scythedom by differing means, they still worry for and protect each other. Their relationship could easily have been written as a sappy YA romance, that could have outshone the plot but instead it definitely reads as more of a strong and loyal bond of friendship, which I absolutely adored. If there is anything that weakens a dystopian story for me, it is when the Romeo and Juliet type of romances seem more significant than the ongoing war or other conflict.
This series raises serious ethical questions that will make you reevaluate your own morals and priorities. It’s a dystopian series whose name should (and, I am sure, will) be as well known as The Hunger Games and Divergent. Fans of Scythe will not be disappointed by this sequel and to anyone who hasn’t started the series yet: this is definitely the perfect time. I rated it a 4.5/5 stars, and cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy on January 9th 2018.

The most accurate word I can think of to best describe my feelings upon finishing this book is shaken. Neal Shusterman has once again written a book that had me riveted from the very beginning and kept me guessing until the final page. My only regret was not being able to read it quicker.
All the character you know, love and despise come back to play in this marvellous sequel, as well we get to see some explosive introductions of a few new faces. I loved how much more fleshed out existing and side characters became, adding new depth and motivators. Can’t wait to add the physical copy of this to my library so that I can lend it to my friends.

This is a solid sequel, something that seems to be rare. Like the first book, we still get to follow Citra and Rowan, only both have drastically different roles. I liked that they still acknowledged that they have feelings and attachment to each other, without devolving into sappy romance or drama. Instead, their bond feels like it has been tested through the horrors of the last book, and strengthened by their survival. Both show concern, and a relentless desire to protect each other, but I never felt overwhelmed by a romance subplot, and thankfully, there is no love triangle to be found in this series!
Instead, this book focuses on humanity as a whole, and how our ethics operate. It very much depends on the established rules and history of the first book, which if you found hard to swallow the first time, you will not enjoy this time around either. I personally loved the idea of a deathless world, even if I can't picture how revival works. It forces humanity to really evaluate what morals are important. This dilemma is shown through the Thunderhead, or the governing AI of the future. I always picture the Thunderhead as Siri, but in this book, Siri is on the verge of godhood. The Thunderhead picks people out for missions, finds ways to sneak around its limitations, feels betrayal, and begins to wonder what it could be without humanity. This is not an evil AI though, and you understand why it feels the way it does. Humanity does make a lot of bad choices and they can be hard to watch. It was fun world building that the Thunderhead can anticipate people's needs better than the Matrix, and allows for those who want to rebel to do so in a safe space, alongside those who want to be abused for pleasure. My only objection would be that the Thunderhead should still be able to watch and speak to unsavories, if only for security and anti-terrorism reasons. A lot of the danger in the book would be negated if the Thunderhead just pretended to ignore unsavories, and let them think it wasn't watching. But then the ending would not be as satisfying, and I'd imagine even Siri wants to block people sometimes.
This book is filled with questions to ask yourself about the nature of life, death and scientific progress. Should some procedures be allowed? What is the point of life without death? Are we a self-sabotaging species? If governing bodies are corrupt, how do we fix them? There is even a small bit of allegory included for our age of Trump and Brexit, in which an overly qualified woman runs against a crowd pleasing mad man in MidMerica while the rest of the world faces equally concerning choices.
Very thought provoking, and still entertaining. The end feels earned, with information given to the reader throughout the book that helps unravel the plot. The villains were definitely creative in their attempts to kill scythes beyond using fire, and some of the abuses of science were legitimately horrifying. A lot of it gave me memories of the horror movie Get Out, so you definitely get some excitement along with your ethics.
Great book, can't wait for the next one!