Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Read Dates: March 27, 2020 – September 11, 2020
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Source: Owned paperback

Goodreads — Amazon

“… There’s too much violence afoot. I long for the simple, straightforward days, when we scythes had nothing to fear but the sharp blades of our own conscience. Now there are enemies within enemies.”

Citra, Rowan, Scythe Curie, Grayson, and some other unexpected enemies are back again in the second installment of the Arc of a Scythe series. Rowan runs rampant, killing and destroying the corpses of the corrupt scythe. Citra is settling into life as Scythe Anastasia, gleaning alongside her mentor, Scythe Curie. The scythedom becomes more and more divided with each passing day thanks to the sympathizers of the late Scythe Goddard. Grayson finds himself mixed up with “unsavories” who lead him down a road he never thought he’d travel. Everyone is navigating new lives under new circumstances. So when the unthinkable happens, no one is ready for it… and it may just be the thing to bring the entire scythedom to it’s knees… dragging Citra and Rowan right down with it.

Alright… well… this is going to be a fairly short review for a couple of reasons. 

1: I don’t know if you noticed… but it took me nearly six months to read this one. So I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details from the beginning. (Thank goodness for my notes.)
2. I just didn’t really enjoy this one a whole lot. It had it’s good and interesting parts and then there were the moments when I was a bit bored waiting for the next bomb to go off. 

So let’s begin… 

First off, I think Scythe Anastasia’s character was done excellently by the author. The way she chooses to glean with mercy and fair warning, the treatment she gives the victim and their families… it just fits her and I so enjoy the way it rattles members of the Scythedom. In fact I enjoyed the way she continued to rattle leadership of the Scythedom by challenging some of their teachings and customs. It reminded me a lot of my old job. People can become so set in their ways that they would rather continue taking 10 extra steps to do something that can be done in 2 and be done just as effectively and efficiently. When technology/the world moves, you sort of have to move with it. 

Anyway… back on track. So someone is trying to kill Anastasia and Curie… cue Grayson Tolliver, saving their lives. However, he soon becomes suspected of being the one trying to end their lives. *rolls eyes* Here we go again with the accusations… just like the first book, eh? 
Elsewhere Rowan is just straight up murdering the bad scythes in his forbidden black robe and going by the name Scythe Lucifer. *shivers* It’s grand. Maybe that makes me a little crazy but, hey… I have a thing for Rowan. Go figure, right? 
But the real focus of this second novel in the series… is the Thunderhead. The Thunderhead is beginning to feel. Real emotions. He’s always had his own thoughts and ideas about the happenings around the world both outside and inside the Scythedom. But the Thunderhead finds itself rooting for specific people. He doesn’t even necessarily disagree with what Rowan has been doing. So what happens when an AI who is made to be impartial and experience no emotion becomes aware and starts to feel?

I have to admit, I so enjoyed reading the Thunderhead’s little “journal entries” throughout the story and watching it become conflicted not only with itself but with humanity. The first book was all about how perfectly the Thunderhead ran the world and how impartial it was, always following it’s own rules. Book two gives the Thunderhead a little character… a little resolve… 

If you were looking for a story full of Rowan and Citra secretly meeting up and being all cute, this is not the book you’re looking for. That’s another thing that was refreshing about this story. I expected to be met with all kinds of Citra and Rowan forbidden romance crap. Living dangerously in order to run out and see each other in secret. But, nope! It was a nice change of pace from all the other predictable YA books with a subtle romance story line.

HOWEVER. 
I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t impressed. Mind you, the bombs that were dropped were wonderful. But then I feel like the bombs were so big that I expected the action to continue.. but it just didn’t. It would be another 100 pages before something exciting happened again. Now, everything you read is relevant to the story. There’s no real filler content to go through. But the up and down of the action was a bit of a rollercoaster for me that I was just kind of “eh” about and I couldn’t care less if the ride kept going or just stopped and let me off. Ya know what I mean? 

That being said… the end of the book was a giant cliffhanger. Soooo many possibilities as to where this story could go… so I just went ahead and ordered the third/final book in the series… it will be here Monday. I know I know… but I can’t help it. It’s just ONE MORE book. I can do it. Do I have high hopes? No. But that usually allows for me to be pretty at peace by the end of the book no matter what happens. 

I’ll report back once I’ve finished it. 

I realized earlier that I never wrote a review for the first book. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. I probably meant more like 3.5 if I’m being honest. It’s a cool concept for a story and it’s world but it’s just kind of falling flat for me so far. It’s enjoyable in it’s own way but it’s nothing to write home about. At least the books are consistent? 

Until next time!