Thunderhead
2018
- death--fiction.
- murder--fiction.
- science fiction.
- young adult fiction / science fiction
- science fiction
- death
- young adult fiction / social themes / death & dying
- young adult fiction / thrillers & suspense
- murder
- fiction
The story
HUMANS LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES. I CANNOT. **I MAKE NOT MISTAKES.** The Thunderhead is the perfect ruler of a perfect world, but it has no control over the scythedom. A year has passed since Rowan has gone off grid. Since then he has become an urban legend, a vigilante snuffing out corrupt scythes in a trial by fire. His story is told in whispers across the continent. As Scythe Anastasia, Citra gleans with compassion and openly challenges the ideals of the "new order." But when her life is threatened and her methods questioned, it becomes clear that not everyone is open to the change. In the thrilling sequel to the Printz Honor Book *Scythe*, old foes and new enemies converge. And as corruption within the scythedom spreads, Rowan and Citra begin to lose hope. Will the Thunderhead intervene? Or will it simply watch as this perfect world begins to unravel? This description comes from the publisher. *Thunderhead* is the second book in the Arc of a Scythe, the first of which is *Scythe*.
What it’s like
Spare, clipped prose with a cool, sardonic voice that turns clinical language about death into something eerily polite, and the page itself feels orderly until the ordered world starts to crack. Chapters move in brisk, cliffhanger-ending bursts, alternating between two viewpoints as a near-utopian society of gleaning and immortality tilts toward dread: lamplit meeting halls, rain-slick cities of gleaming towers, quiet rural hideouts, and the occasional blunt, startling act of killing rendered in matter-of-fact detail. The vibe is cool, propulsive unease, a thriller built on moral questions more than gore, best for late-night reading when you want to keep turning pages. Violence is frequent and sometimes graphic, with murder described plainly and with some suspense, but it stays more brisk than gruesome. It suits readers who enjoy dystopian YA with a philosophical edge, sharp dialogue, and a mystery about who can be trusted, rather than anyone seeking something gentle or cozy.
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