The third installment of the Midnight Dragonfly series barrels along at breakneck speed, a paranormal thrill ride from start to finish.
Gifted teenage psychic Trinity Monsour is still reeling from the death of her boyfriend at the hands of a clairvoyant psychopath and finds that the emotional trauma has blocked her premonitions. She has feelings of impending doom connected to a boy named Will, but try as she might, she can’t get the fully formed vision that might help her protect him. When Trinity faces threats and assaults from someone who clearly doesn’t want her digging into the matter, she finds herself rescued yet again by the enigmatic Dylan Fourcade. While she struggles to sort out her complicated feelings for him, the two work to unblock Trinity’s visions and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Will. Moving along at a breathless pace, this installment in the series exists almost entirely in the realm of visions, psychic connections and near-death experiences, forsaking much of the firm grounding in the ordinary and the character development that made the initial volumes so engrossing.
Nonetheless, fans of the series will devour this offering and look forward to the promise of additional titles, perhaps ones that crank up the paranormal factor even higher as the powers of other characters are increasingly revealed and explored. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-64704-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
Categories: TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
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Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN DYSTOPIAN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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Death proves impermanent in this sequel to Scythe (2016).
In a world run by the (almost) all-powerful and (almost) omniscient artificial intelligence Thunderhead, only the Honorable Scythes deal permanent death to near-immortal humans. Yet a growing contingent of scythes, feared and flattered by society and operating outside the Thunderhead’s control, are proving rather dishonorable. No longer apprentices, 18-year-olds Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch realize “the scythedom is…high school with murder” as they watch their fellow scythes jockey for power and prestige. Citra now gleans as Scythe Anastasia, questioning the status quo but also opposing the homicidally enthusiastic “new-order” scythes and their dangerous demagogue. Self-appointed as Scythe Lucifer, Rowan hunts other scythes whom he deems corrupt. Meanwhile, the existentially troubled Thunderhead questions its role as both creation and caretaker of humanity, sworn not to take life but fearing that its utopia will otherwise collapse into dystopia. Nationality and race are minimally mentioned—ethnic biases and genocide are considered very gauche—yet a population that defies death, aging, sickness, poverty, and war risks becoming bleakly homogenous, alleviated only by “unsavories” and scythes. This sequel digs deeper into Shusterman’s complex world and complicated characters, offering political maneuvering, fatal conspiracies, and impending catastrophe via a slowly unfurling plot and startling bursts of action.
Fear the reaper(s)…but relish this intelligent and entertaining blend of dark humor and high death tolls. (Science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7245-7
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN DYSTOPIAN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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