The Toll Arc of A Scythe Series #3 by Neal Shusterman
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Web ID: 11775896Laced with political ideology.
I loved the first two books & read them both in about four days. This third book introduced a gender fluid character whom served zero purpose whatsoever to the plot other than being an innuendo to gender theory. Nobody wants to read a fantasy novel to hear about real-world fantasy problems. Jericho was a character where the narrator spent literal pages upon pages describing its vapid gender identity when it did nothing but distract from the actual story. Very disappointed as I really loved the first two books. Aside from the political propaganda, the ending was pathetically underwhelming with a fair few loose ends & overall the story felt very rushed in the last 150 pages. Definitely felt like the author just wanted to finish the book which I felt the same towards the end.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing series
I want more of these characters!! The whole series was fantastic and the world was amazing. I want to time jump to see what happens after the ending!! So good and worth the read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A wonderful ending
"The Toll" by Neal Shusterman is a dystopian book that takes the reader on a journey through a world where death has been conquered and nobody can die. The story follows the journey of Citra, Rowan, Grayson (The Toll), and Faraday as they venture into the new world and face many problems that require sacrifices. The main conflict is between the characters who hold different views on the value of life and death. Some see immortality as a blessing, while others see it as a curse. The story explores the themes of power, sacrifice, and morality, and raises important questions about what it means to be human. One of the central themes of "The Toll" is the importance of sacrifice. The characters must make difficult decisions and sacrifices in order to maintain the balance of society and keep the world from spiraling into chaos. This is exemplified in the character of Sable, who sacrifices herself in order to ensure the future of the world and prevent the spread of a virus that could destroy humanity. Through her sacrifice, Sable demonstrates the power of selflessness and the importance of putting others before oneself. Through sacrifices, Citra and Rowan prove themselves to be believable and credible characters. The characters learned a lot about themselves and their immortality through sacrifices. They learned that people can change when given power, and they both worked toward bringing peace and tranquility by removing the unjust and corrupt scythes. I enjoyed Citra’s story the most out of all the scythes. After finishing the book, she left me wondering about the true meaning of life. Some scythes took advantage of immortality and unchecked power and decided to corrupt the system. Scythe Anastasia proved to be trustable when she gave up her power to Faraday and became herself, Citra Terranova. Overall, "The Toll" is a thought-provoking novel that will leave the reader with much to think about. This book is one of the greatest, if not the best, endings of a series. If you’re a fan of dystopian societies, "The Toll" is definitely worth a read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
My expectations were too high
““Can we … do that?” Nietzsche asked. “We’re scythes; we can do anything we please.”” Scythe is one of my favourite books of all time and I was hooked for the entire series. I love the characters. I can’t get enough of the history, mythology and practices of all of the scythes, both those I love and those I love to hate. I’ve probably spent too much time deliberating about what colour my robe would be, who I’d choose as my Patron Historic and what my gleaning MO would be. I had so many questions going into this book and I got answers, even when they didn’t look anything like I’d expected them to. I’m satisfied with most of them, with the exception of probably the biggest of them all, where we left Rowan and Citra. This book was well written, like the rest of the series, and I couldn’t put it down. So why aren’t I absolutely thrilled right now? I think part of it was that for much of the book I like like I was treading water, waiting for the big finish. Characters who I absolutely adore barely spent any time together when I’d looked forward to them bantering their way through the pages. I hurt for Faraday and, like Munira, I couldn’t make it better; the Faraday in this book didn’t feel like the Faraday that made me fall in love with the scythedom. I couldn’t spend time with one of my favourite scythes because of the events of the second book. Greyson, who wowed me in the second book, seemed more like a puppet going through the motions for most of this one and I missed the Greyson I thought I was going to hang out with here. I desperately wanted a huge showdown with the Big Bad. Okay, so it’s starting to sound like I hated this book, but I didn’t. It was still a four star read for me, so pretty impressive. I think it’s just a case of my expectations being so unreasonably high and, as a result, reality had no hope of growing tall enough to reach them. Even though I’ve only recently reread it, I want to read Scythe again to renew my first love. Yes, of course I sent a test email to Loriana’s email address. No, it didn’t work. Favourite no context quote: “And what was that old mortal-age saying? Curiosity was a cat killer?” Content warnings are included on my blog.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
So many twists!
Wow! What an ending. This book felt much longer than the previous ones (because it was longer), but so much-so many story arcs happened. Between the scythes and the tonists and ancient history rearing it's ugly head, there was so much despair, but in the end, hope. I teared up several times. The characters were wonderful. We got to see more of Citra, Rowan, Grayson, and Faraday made appearances again, but we were also introduced to some wonderful new characters who I was sorry to say goodbye to by the end of the story. And the Thunderhead's solution to the world's problems and bringing everyone together for a final showdown was surprising and fitting as well. So many pieces came together, making this a thrilling conclusion to an impressive trilogy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Wow, fully engrossed until the end! I love it
This was such a well written ending in my opinion- both and ending in the series and an ending in the book. I especially liked how modern it was. Taking concepts we are grappling with ourselves in the world and giving us the reader, albeit fictional, new ways to see things. I teared up at the end …
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Heartstopping Novel
The novel The Toll is anything but boring. The Toll is the third and final book in the Scythe trilogy by Neal Shusterman. All three books are fascinating, and my interest was held within the pages the entire time I was reading. The Toll is a science fiction novel, set in the far away future, and its attention to detail and storytelling is the best I have ever read. The book is set around a few main characters, including Scythe Anastasia (Citra Terranova), Scythe Lucifer (Roman Damsich), The Toll himself (Greyson Tolliver), and presumed dead Scythe Faraday (Micheal Faraday). The perspective of the book jumps between the characters above, and tells each of their stories, adding action and intrigue, without taking it overboard, and then intertwines their stories in the end. The Toll contains an all knowing being, a man whose hunger for power has consumed him, and a scythe who decided what he wanted is what the world needed. It includes showing politics (future politics that is) and even showing people having religion based bias, or religion based freedom, The Toll includes a lot of great elements, but isn’t the type of book for the faint of heart. The Toll is a book not for the weak stomached. I’d say it applies to all those who love science fiction with gore, or someone who is interested in a book that will show a detailed prediction of what the future could be like. The Toll is about death and consequences. Neal Shusterman manages to squeeze in a bit of romance, to show how someone's love for someone else can affect decisions they make, and how far they are willing to go. However, not every page was filled with action, some had mystery or were building things up for the ending. The Toll is a great read, and very lively. Including elements of mystery, romance, action, and science fiction. Not to mention the prestigious writing by Neal Shusterman. It really is an immensely good read, keeping you submerged in the action and being swept away by the storyline. So, in the end, I would recommend taking some time to sit down and read The Toll, a breathtaking, and heart-stopping novel.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Nicely wrapped up
What an awesome way to end a series! Loved how everything was tied up neatly (even if some of these things didn't turn out the way I would have wanted). I was able to close the book and feel complete. This book explores lots of characters and we get to know a lot more about them. The one part that took a star off the review was the character of Jeri. It seemed like a political point was needed to be made by the author and that was the only reason for this character to be thrown into the whole story. Almost every time the character shows up in the story, he/she makes sure you know that they are gender fluid. I'm sorry but I have nothing against this type of story but find it upsetting when you are reading a story that has nothing to do with this, never has had anything to do with this but the author feels the need to throw it in there and constantly remind you of who they are. If they wanted to make that point, Jeri should have been in the story all along from book 1 or at least 2. Otherwise just leave that character out. That said, I still walked away from The Toll sated and ready for more of what Shusterman has to offer.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com