THE TOLL By Neal Shusterman
I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Toll by Neal ShustermanSeries: Arc of a Scythe #3
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 11/5/19
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 637
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Citra and Rowan have disappeared. Endura is gone. It seems like nothing stands between Scythe Goddard and absolute dominion over the world scythedom. With the silence of the Thunderhead and the reverberations of the Great Resonance still shaking the earth to its core, the question remains: Is there anyone left who can stop him?
The answer lies in the Tone, the Toll, and the Thunder.
Short and Sweet Review
It has been three years since Endura sank taking most of the scythes and Citra and Rowan with it, now Scythe Goddard is in charge and he won’t let anyone forget it. The only way people are surviving is by adapting and trying to avoid getting in the way. The only hope they have is that the thunderhead is still talking to Greyson and maybe a few people come back from the dead.
This book has a different tone than the previous two and I attribute that to our past narrators of Rowan and Citra being gone. We follow Greyson and see him become the toll a figure that can talk to the Thunderhead and relay messages, scythe Faraday is on an island trying to figure out the message past scythes left, and we see scythe Goddard and his reign of terror. This book reminded me of Avengers Endgame, with Goddard being Thanos and everyone else is an Avenger trying to figure out how to get things back to normal and get their friends back. Although it was a bit weird for me to read from the other perspectives and not see Citra and Rowan for a while I’ve come to appreciate it because we really get to see how desolate things have become in the three years since Endura has sank. I did like seeing the return of Citra and Rowan it was like they were ready to finish what they started and that meant taking Goddard down. I also enjoyed Greyson and Faradays plot lines and following them for a majority of the book. The ending was different than what I was expecting but it was still good.
Overall, this was a satisfying end to this series and I’m excited to read Gleanings and see what more this world has to offer!