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voldycat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gore
Minor: Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit
ravensandlace's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
tw: pet death, death, bullying, infidelity, explosions, terrorism
One of my favorite series, which I really don’t talk about enough, is the Arc of the Scythe. It has everything to make a perfect dystopian series. I love everything about the books. But one thing I had wished for while I read the books was some sort of lore book since the world is so massive and there is a lot of history that is incredibly interesting. While this wasn’t a lore book per se, I did gain more insight into the world and how it was created.
So this is a collection of short stories. Originally, I was going to review each short story but some were only five pages and I didn’t have a lot of thoughts on them, just a couple sentences here and there. So I think with this review, I’m just going to talk about the ones that made an impact on me or the ones I liked the most.
Formidable
This one was one of my favorites. It involved Scythes Michael Faraday and Marie Curie. This was when they were both young scythes and a certain event that is mentioned in the original trilogy. I enjoyed the brief history of the two scythes considering how important they were in the trilogy, as I mentioned above. Overall, this was a good one.
Unsavory Row
This one was more about unsavories. For those that don’t know, unsavories are people who the Thunderhead deems naughty. There are different levels to being an unsavory and it depends on what you do and how much trouble you get into. In this story, we get to see the aftermath of when a person’s family member gets gleaned and decides to become unsavory. I enjoyed the different viewpoint since, in the original series, we don’t interact a lot with unsavories. I learned a lot about a different part of the world.
A Martian Minute
This particular story had a profound effect on me and out of all the stories, this is the one I remembered the best. I won’t say much because it’s a massive spoiler for one of the books in the series but let’s just say, after I read this story, I had to sit and just breathe for a minute and I’m sure you will too.
Perchance to Glean
This one was probably the most unusual out of the group of stories. The setting was set in Antarctica and there was this concept of dreams. At first, I was unsure of how these dreamscapes worked but after a while, it made sense. Think of the movie Inception. It worked kind of like that or at least that’s how I figured it worked. There was some Nightmare on Elm Street inspiration since Scythes could glean you in the dream world and you would actually be gleaned in the real world. A fascinating story.
Overall, this was a wonderful collection of stories. It added more depth to the Scythedom. I also appreciated the different authors who contributed. I do wish this had been more of a lore book. It would have been nice to read the story of how the Thunderhead came to be, how everything progressed, etc. But overall, I truly did enjoy this book and it’s certainly a must read for anyone who enjoyed the Scythedom books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
dododenise's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I adore the arc of the scythe so much. The world building is everything I ever wanted. It was a pleasure to jump back into this world.
Some of the stories were mind blowing, absolutely wild, shocking in their magnitude to the story. I was surprised how relevant some of them were to what was already known from the trilogy. They deserve five stars.
Other stories were a smaller scale. New characters with events I wasn’t familiar with. Frankly, it was harder to care. They were fine, fun, but nothing remarkable and I’ve forgotten about some of them already.
I leave these stories wanting to reread the arc of the scythe trilogy. It made me realise how much I’ve forgotten over the years and made me remember again how glorious that story was.
Some of the stories were mind blowing, absolutely wild, shocking in their magnitude to the story. I was surprised how relevant some of them were to what was already known from the trilogy. They deserve five stars.
Other stories were a smaller scale. New characters with events I wasn’t familiar with. Frankly, it was harder to care. They were fine, fun, but nothing remarkable and I’ve forgotten about some of them already.
I leave these stories wanting to reread the arc of the scythe trilogy. It made me realise how much I’ve forgotten over the years and made me remember again how glorious that story was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death
dannilmp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A collection of short stories that offer insight into the characters we meet and follow along with in the main Arc of A Sycthe triology. I adored all the short stories on offer in this collection, especially the background and information it gave me into the characters thoughts and actions. This book gave me an even greater appreciation for the main series, and I know the next time I re-read the series I will do so with more knowledge in my mind which I suspect may alter my views on certain characters and events.
While I cannot remember the name of the speicifc short story, I have to say the one with the artist competition was my favourite. It is the one that has stuck with me the most because of the beauty in the cruelness.
While I cannot remember the name of the speicifc short story, I have to say the one with the artist competition was my favourite. It is the one that has stuck with me the most because of the beauty in the cruelness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
kaz_brekkerrr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
euphemiajo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
micaelamariem's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I am not usually a short story girlie but I enjoyed these! It was nice to dive back into the world of the scythed on and even find out what happened to some of the characters 👀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
rachelditty's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved getting to read more about the Arc of a Scythe universe after the series was concluded a few years ago. The timing was perfect -- I'd just finished reading the series for the second time when I came across this bind-up of new short stories. I think each of the installations were very interesting and fun to read, every one of them adding onto an element from the main series that we didn't get to see explored very much, or even at all. Some were more impactful than others, and some were just downright odd to the point of wondering why they were included at all, but I think they were a very good mix of preposterous and perfect.
I loved getting to read about Scythe Curie's beginnings in Formidable, the way she had a dark purple robe when the first started and only turned it inside out when it was blood-stained, giving her the signature lavender look we all know. I also LOVE the image that gives off, of her walking out of the building after gleaning the president and his cabinet without any blood on her. That was so cool. We didn't get to see much of Faraday in any of these stories, but I think it's fitting given how much we see of him in The Toll.
Never Work with Animals was the most bizarre of the bunch, in my opinion. I just wasn't sure why we needed to read about it. Don't get me wrong, I was so excited when Scythe Lucifer made his appearance, but the entire story revolving around a sentient and extremely intelligent dog was just so out of left field for me. It made a point of how far technology and advancements had come, but we already knew that given how much was in the original trilogy. The only thing that really made me care for this story was Scythe Lucifer being in it. And the ending where the scythe had to sleep on the dog bed. That was funny.
A Death of Many Colors was SO interesting to me; the concept that some areas are so buried beneath their own stories that they don't even believe scythes exist? And the Thunderhead can't really correct them because they just think everything the Thunderhead says is just another layer to the story? That was pretty cool. I liked the scythe in this story and how she comes across her robe, and that the glean victim's friend is the only one in the entire neigborhood who will ever understand that scythes are a real thing now that she's met one and got to walk away from it. Getting to see the scythe's wings were cool, too. A very interesting story oveall.
Unsavory Row was a bit underwhelming considering we saw a lot of the unsavory lifestyle through Grayson in Thunderhead, but I loved getting to understand the different teirs of unsavory life. "Apocolyte" is SUCH a cool name.
A Martian Minute was definitely one of the top three stories in the entire bind-up. Getting to see Carson and his early years of being a menace, the selfishness of his actions relflecting in him even when he was young, and even getting more build up on Xenocrates's character before we see him in the main series. It's so crazy how Xenocrates was the one to really push Carson into the destruction of the colony, and then years later in the main trilogy, we see how that plays against Xenocrates once Goddard has so much power in the world. It was great to see so much background in Carson's story. Hate that guy.
BY FAR my favorite story in this book was The Mortal Canvas. Everything about this story--and I mean everything--was just beautiful. The philosophical discussions of what it means to create art when you're on the cusp of history changing forever; what it means to be an artist in a world that has no real struggles anymore, and therefore nothing to really fight against except death itself, and even that seems to be a far-off concept for everyone; how students can learn from a teacher and a humanity as a whole may only truly feel accomplishment if they have something to strive for in their lifetimes, and therefore achieving immortality has taken away the ability to truly do anything meaningful with a person's life. This whole story was just so impactful to me, especially the part toward the end when the scythe is talking to Morty and tells him he's just made the very last piece of original artwork of the mortal age. How FUCKING insane, that's SUCH an insane sentence to come out of a person's mouth. I loved this story.
Cirri was short, but a very nice piece of insight into what the new artificial intelligence is like in comparison to the Thunderhead.
I never really thought about Ben and the rest of Citra's family after she becomes Scythe Anastasia, but getting to know a little more about them in Anastasia's Shadow was a great peek into the happenings of Scythe Constantine and the rest of those fighting against Goddard after Endura sank. Their plans to use Ben as a further chess piece against Goddard was such a stretch for them, but they were only working with what they had, and while it was upsetting, it was also understandable. And Ben being gay? Great.
I think, personally, The Persistence of Memory was another one of the stories I just couldn't really find myself caring too much about. I liked seeing two scythes from the same region having such opposing views on gleaning and their methods, but aside from that, I didn't quite care a lot for the scythe or his vendetta against this girl who he was going to glean out of spite, or how he saw his own daughter in her.
I did, however, really enjoy Meet Cute and Die. I thought it was interesting to learn more about scythes from regions outside of the Mericas, so getting to read about ones from the East was cool. I loved watching a citizen kill a scythe and not face any consequences because she knew how to manipulate not only the system of immunity, but also knew how to push her aunt's buttons in just the right way. This one was cute and clever.
Perchance to Glean gave some insight into the Antarctic region and their communal dreaming, as well as the way a scythe in that region usually goes around gleaning people. In my opinion, the ending seemed a bit unbelievable; I feel as though the scythe agreeing to continue chasing the boy because it was "Fun" just felt a little like a cop out, like the scythe was persuaded too easily. But getting to know more about communal dreaming was cool.
Finally, A Dark Curtain Rises was so bittersweet. Seeing Susan's consciousness put into someone's body after the ships took off, but having her leave behind Scythe Curie and everything we readers knew her as, was both vindicating and sad. It also stung knowing she likely would never get to have contact with Citra or Faraday ever again, because she was leaving that life behind. But it's SO gratifying to know that the Thunderhead, out of the entirety of history, chose Scythe Curie to be one of thirty-thousand figureheads to supplant into someone's body. That's so touching. And what a fitting end--the short stories started with Curie, and ended with Curie being left behind for a new life. SO well done.
Also worthy of note, I listened to the audiobook, and I LOVED the music playing in the background of the Closing remarks. I wish I knew what that soundtrack was. I loved it.
I will say, I'm surprised we didn't get any direct appearances from Citra like we did with Rowan, and I'm also surprised we didn't get a small epilogue of Citra and Rowan's life on a new planet, but I'm not mad about it. I think it's fitting that their perspectives closed off in the main series.
Some quotes I liked:
"And as you take that first swing, they laugh at you. You try to rise above their derision; to be noticed in some small way; to find favor from the old ones who were never old; to gain respect from the young ones who have slain their own youth; to justify the arrogance that comes with the pride of being chosen," (00:01:43).
"You may not be the father of falsehood... but you're certainly in the family," (2:49:03).
"Art is holding your heart in your hand and trying to figure out how the hell it got there," (5:49:06).
"History was just one peculiar habit abandoned for the next," (5:51:04).
A great companion novel to the original trilogy. Can't wait to pick up a physical copy when it comes out in paperback.
I loved getting to read about Scythe Curie's beginnings in Formidable, the way she had a dark purple robe when the first started and only turned it inside out when it was blood-stained, giving her the signature lavender look we all know. I also LOVE the image that gives off, of her walking out of the building after gleaning the president and his cabinet without any blood on her. That was so cool. We didn't get to see much of Faraday in any of these stories, but I think it's fitting given how much we see of him in The Toll.
Never Work with Animals was the most bizarre of the bunch, in my opinion. I just wasn't sure why we needed to read about it. Don't get me wrong, I was so excited when Scythe Lucifer made his appearance, but the entire story revolving around a sentient and extremely intelligent dog was just so out of left field for me. It made a point of how far technology and advancements had come, but we already knew that given how much was in the original trilogy. The only thing that really made me care for this story was Scythe Lucifer being in it. And the ending where the scythe had to sleep on the dog bed. That was funny.
A Death of Many Colors was SO interesting to me; the concept that some areas are so buried beneath their own stories that they don't even believe scythes exist? And the Thunderhead can't really correct them because they just think everything the Thunderhead says is just another layer to the story? That was pretty cool. I liked the scythe in this story and how she comes across her robe, and that the glean victim's friend is the only one in the entire neigborhood who will ever understand that scythes are a real thing now that she's met one and got to walk away from it. Getting to see the scythe's wings were cool, too. A very interesting story oveall.
Unsavory Row was a bit underwhelming considering we saw a lot of the unsavory lifestyle through Grayson in Thunderhead, but I loved getting to understand the different teirs of unsavory life. "Apocolyte" is SUCH a cool name.
A Martian Minute was definitely one of the top three stories in the entire bind-up. Getting to see Carson and his early years of being a menace, the selfishness of his actions relflecting in him even when he was young, and even getting more build up on Xenocrates's character before we see him in the main series. It's so crazy how Xenocrates was the one to really push Carson into the destruction of the colony, and then years later in the main trilogy, we see how that plays against Xenocrates once Goddard has so much power in the world. It was great to see so much background in Carson's story. Hate that guy.
BY FAR my favorite story in this book was The Mortal Canvas. Everything about this story--and I mean everything--was just beautiful. The philosophical discussions of what it means to create art when you're on the cusp of history changing forever; what it means to be an artist in a world that has no real struggles anymore, and therefore nothing to really fight against except death itself, and even that seems to be a far-off concept for everyone; how students can learn from a teacher and a humanity as a whole may only truly feel accomplishment if they have something to strive for in their lifetimes, and therefore achieving immortality has taken away the ability to truly do anything meaningful with a person's life. This whole story was just so impactful to me, especially the part toward the end when the scythe is talking to Morty and tells him he's just made the very last piece of original artwork of the mortal age. How FUCKING insane, that's SUCH an insane sentence to come out of a person's mouth. I loved this story.
Cirri was short, but a very nice piece of insight into what the new artificial intelligence is like in comparison to the Thunderhead.
I never really thought about Ben and the rest of Citra's family after she becomes Scythe Anastasia, but getting to know a little more about them in Anastasia's Shadow was a great peek into the happenings of Scythe Constantine and the rest of those fighting against Goddard after Endura sank. Their plans to use Ben as a further chess piece against Goddard was such a stretch for them, but they were only working with what they had, and while it was upsetting, it was also understandable. And Ben being gay? Great.
I think, personally, The Persistence of Memory was another one of the stories I just couldn't really find myself caring too much about. I liked seeing two scythes from the same region having such opposing views on gleaning and their methods, but aside from that, I didn't quite care a lot for the scythe or his vendetta against this girl who he was going to glean out of spite, or how he saw his own daughter in her.
I did, however, really enjoy Meet Cute and Die. I thought it was interesting to learn more about scythes from regions outside of the Mericas, so getting to read about ones from the East was cool. I loved watching a citizen kill a scythe and not face any consequences because she knew how to manipulate not only the system of immunity, but also knew how to push her aunt's buttons in just the right way. This one was cute and clever.
Perchance to Glean gave some insight into the Antarctic region and their communal dreaming, as well as the way a scythe in that region usually goes around gleaning people. In my opinion, the ending seemed a bit unbelievable; I feel as though the scythe agreeing to continue chasing the boy because it was "Fun" just felt a little like a cop out, like the scythe was persuaded too easily. But getting to know more about communal dreaming was cool.
Finally, A Dark Curtain Rises was so bittersweet. Seeing Susan's consciousness put into someone's body after the ships took off, but having her leave behind Scythe Curie and everything we readers knew her as, was both vindicating and sad. It also stung knowing she likely would never get to have contact with Citra or Faraday ever again, because she was leaving that life behind. But it's SO gratifying to know that the Thunderhead, out of the entirety of history, chose Scythe Curie to be one of thirty-thousand figureheads to supplant into someone's body. That's so touching. And what a fitting end--the short stories started with Curie, and ended with Curie being left behind for a new life. SO well done.
Also worthy of note, I listened to the audiobook, and I LOVED the music playing in the background of the Closing remarks. I wish I knew what that soundtrack was. I loved it.
I will say, I'm surprised we didn't get any direct appearances from Citra like we did with Rowan, and I'm also surprised we didn't get a small epilogue of Citra and Rowan's life on a new planet, but I'm not mad about it. I think it's fitting that their perspectives closed off in the main series.
Some quotes I liked:
"And as you take that first swing, they laugh at you. You try to rise above their derision; to be noticed in some small way; to find favor from the old ones who were never old; to gain respect from the young ones who have slain their own youth; to justify the arrogance that comes with the pride of being chosen," (00:01:43).
"You may not be the father of falsehood... but you're certainly in the family," (2:49:03).
"Art is holding your heart in your hand and trying to figure out how the hell it got there," (5:49:06).
"History was just one peculiar habit abandoned for the next," (5:51:04).
A great companion novel to the original trilogy. Can't wait to pick up a physical copy when it comes out in paperback.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"For years humans lived in a perfect world controlled by scythes...Just Imagine the stories we don't know."
I must say I was very excited to read this collection! ^_^ And the fact that this is a collaboration with other authors...>...>...my intrigue only increased.
We have one poem (written by Joelle Shusterman) and 12 stories inside this amazing instalment.
I think that you'll enjoy reading this one even if you didn't like the the Toll...and dare I say it...even if you didn't finish the trilogy...>.>
Please don't come for me ^_^'.....What I meant is that, in this particular short stories collection, Neal Shusterman builds upon the foundation created already in the original Arc of a Scythe world; he expands on ideas and parts of the world we didn't explore following Citra and Rowan, and also...explained/ gave more information on certain characters, motifs and even offered the reader a glimpse on something they didn't know they needed!(certainly i didn't...>..>)
Let me tell you...it is very frustrating NOT to talk about each story individually, and only content with some vague paragraph in which I basically tell you to read this if the world fascinated you...
Alas..this is the life of a reader...:(((
CW: animal cruelty; different levels of cruelty between humans; violence; grief and suicidal thoughts;
Specifically when it comes to the actual content...not all stories were a hit for me, some were mind-blowing, some were great and fun, others interesting and offered a new perspective I didn't know I needed and the remaining were ok. :)
In order of what I liked best to least:
<b>A Martian Minute</b>....mind-blowning; talks about desire to escape ones life and choose for themselves; filled some undetected to me plot hole; it explains soooo much about this character; loved the nods to the future of these 2; I actually didn't figure it out until halfway through:)))...>..>
<b>A dark curtain rises</b>....mind-blowing; perspective I didn't know I needed; added info for a character that I loved :); talks about new beginnings ^_^
<b>A death of many colours</b>....great and fun!; talks about human nature and the stubbornness that is in our genes; discussion on the importance of beliefs for each human and how far we can take them;
<b>Perchance to glean</b>...great and fun!; discusses the thrill of the chase and how danger modifies our behaviour; loved this part due to it contributing greatly to the world-building! ^_^
<b>Cirri</b>...this one was interesting and invited to contemplation...the events described in here and the perspective especially were moving and well thought-out;
<b>A Mortal Canvas</b>...invoked reflection on art, life and what is precious to us; introspection on what it means to be mortal;
<b>The Persistence of Memory</b>...interesting and a great addition to world-building and view on different philosophies when it comes to scythes; really enjoyed the mood it set;
<b>Formidable</b>...talks about a major turning-point in the world's history through the decision of one young and impulsive scythe; a lovely surprise! I always wanted to know more about this event! ^^
<b>Meet Cute and Die</b> and <b>Never Work with Animals</b> wanted to transmit how flowed people and scythes are and how our past, strength and weaknesses influence the very foundation of our principles;
<b>Unsavory Row</b> added a lot to the world-building and I think was necessary to explain how the unsavories and the system around them work; really enjoyed to find out the secrets behind Apocalyte ^^
<b>Anastasia's Shadow</b> interesting and I think logical and necessary piece of information that takes place around the time between 2nd and 3rd book...I wanted more from this one in terms of ambition from the main character...but I understand why the author chose to portray the shadow as he did;
<b>The First Swing</b>...unfortunately, me and poems do not see eye to eye very often, and this one, although beautiful, got lost in the collection, being among such great stories.
Overall, I highly recommend you try this if you enjoyed the trilogy or if you're intrigued by the world! ^^
Enjoy
I must say I was very excited to read this collection! ^_^ And the fact that this is a collaboration with other authors...>...>...my intrigue only increased.
We have one poem (written by Joelle Shusterman) and 12 stories inside this amazing instalment.
I think that you'll enjoy reading this one even if you didn't like the the Toll...and dare I say it...even if you didn't finish the trilogy...>.>
Please don't come for me ^_^'.....What I meant is that, in this particular short stories collection, Neal Shusterman builds upon the foundation created already in the original Arc of a Scythe world; he expands on ideas and parts of the world we didn't explore following Citra and Rowan, and also...explained/ gave more information on certain characters, motifs and even offered the reader a glimpse on something they didn't know they needed!(certainly i didn't...>..>)
Let me tell you...it is very frustrating NOT to talk about each story individually, and only content with some vague paragraph in which I basically tell you to read this if the world fascinated you...
Alas..this is the life of a reader...:(((
CW: animal cruelty; different levels of cruelty between humans; violence; grief and suicidal thoughts;
Specifically when it comes to the actual content...not all stories were a hit for me, some were mind-blowing, some were great and fun, others interesting and offered a new perspective I didn't know I needed and the remaining were ok. :)
In order of what I liked best to least:
<b>A Martian Minute</b>....mind-blowning; talks about desire to escape ones life and choose for themselves; filled some undetected to me plot hole; it explains soooo much about this character; loved the nods to the future of these 2; I actually didn't figure it out until halfway through:)))...>..>
<b>A dark curtain rises</b>....mind-blowing; perspective I didn't know I needed; added info for a character that I loved :); talks about new beginnings ^_^
<b>A death of many colours</b>....great and fun!; talks about human nature and the stubbornness that is in our genes; discussion on the importance of beliefs for each human and how far we can take them;
<b>Perchance to glean</b>...great and fun!; discusses the thrill of the chase and how danger modifies our behaviour; loved this part due to it contributing greatly to the world-building! ^_^
<b>Cirri</b>...this one was interesting and invited to contemplation...the events described in here and the perspective especially were moving and well thought-out;
<b>A Mortal Canvas</b>...invoked reflection on art, life and what is precious to us; introspection on what it means to be mortal;
<b>The Persistence of Memory</b>...interesting and a great addition to world-building and view on different philosophies when it comes to scythes; really enjoyed the mood it set;
<b>Formidable</b>...talks about a major turning-point in the world's history through the decision of one young and impulsive scythe; a lovely surprise! I always wanted to know more about this event! ^^
<b>Meet Cute and Die</b> and <b>Never Work with Animals</b> wanted to transmit how flowed people and scythes are and how our past, strength and weaknesses influence the very foundation of our principles;
<b>Unsavory Row</b> added a lot to the world-building and I think was necessary to explain how the unsavories and the system around them work; really enjoyed to find out the secrets behind Apocalyte ^^
<b>Anastasia's Shadow</b> interesting and I think logical and necessary piece of information that takes place around the time between 2nd and 3rd book...I wanted more from this one in terms of ambition from the main character...but I understand why the author chose to portray the shadow as he did;
<b>The First Swing</b>...unfortunately, me and poems do not see eye to eye very often, and this one, although beautiful, got lost in the collection, being among such great stories.
Overall, I highly recommend you try this if you enjoyed the trilogy or if you're intrigued by the world! ^^
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting