1/27/25 Finished Thunderhead, Started the Toll

 Hello Feasyheads,

Sorry I was not able to post on Friday. I hadn't gotten hold of Thunderhead yet, anyway.

For the weekend summary:

I checked out a hard copy of Thunderhead on Saturday, and began reading it. On Sunday I read the bulk of it, and completed it. This morning I got The Toll, which thankfully was available on Libby for no wait.

Thunderhead is the second book in the Arc of a Scythe series, and it did not disappoint. Neal Shusterman's unique touch to his books, which in Scythe was journal entries after each chapter, was replaced with the Thunderhead's thoughts. It gives us an insight to the complex mind of the Thunderhead, and added a great deal to the story.

The corruption at the hand of Scythe Goddard became much stronger in Book 2. There is simply no limit to the evil Goddard has in stock. He sank the entire island of Endura, where the grandslayers and so, so many scythes lived just to take control and pin it on Rowan.

In The Toll is really where the perfect world began to topple upside down. The Tonists have actually had a key role to play in this, and you learn a great deal about them.

So for my rating of Thunderhead. It reminds me a lot of Catching Fire. The worlds in both are beginning their upheaval now, several key characters starting to appear. Thunderhead is very appropriately named in my opinion. We start to see how impactful the Thunderhead is to everyone, and the role it does (or doesn't) play in the corruption of the Scythedom. It describes itself as both child and parent, created by the humans, summing up all of their knowledge, and yet leading, comforting, and teaching the race as a whole.

With Greyson Tolliver, we get to see more flaws in the perfect world, especially dealing with Unsavories, the petty criminals who don't really commit many crimes, because they can't. 

Citra (or Scythe Anastasia) stays with Scythe Marie and she becomes almost a mentor for Anastasia, and they develop a close bond.

Rowan is still facing some challenges with who he is, and what he is doing. I've lost count of how many times he's found himself at the clutches of his enemies and yet escaped. He could be the next Houdini!

I give this book a 9 out of 10. I love the writing style and the plot, and the addition of the insights of the Thunderhead on everything make this book very intriguing, and one you find yourself dwelling over days later. A perfect sequel.

I want to discuss my theories for The Toll next. The small bit at the end of the chapter is no longer a journal, but Scythe leaders addressing each other as well as writing from Tonists about the holy Toll. However, there have been discussions between the Thunderhead and an iteration, who seems to be more power hungry than the Thunderhead. I'm not really sure what that could mean, but here are two theories I have: the iteration is a dark part of the Thunderhead's backbrain, perhaps left by the creators, or it somehow has to do with the "failsafe" the founding scythes put in case of corruption.

Anyways, that's all for today.

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night/3:00 AM,

Uncle Wally