SOPHIE LI

Note: While this is a spoiler-free review for Thunderhead, it would be VERY difficult to avoid spoilers for Scythe. If you haven’t yet read Scythe yet and are wanting to read this book, check out my review here.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

Citra was now Scythe Anastasia, practicing as a junior scythe under Scythe Curie. As a scythe, she found it more and more difficult to relate to her family who she used to be close to. She spent her days perfecting her style of gleaning, choosing to glean with compassion, rather than the cold-hearted joy of the new order scythes.  On the other hand Rowan, as Scythe Lucifer, took matters into his own hands by eliminating corrupt scythes from the face of MidMerica. I loved watching Citra and Rowan grow, as they shed their innocent childhood selves and learned their roles in the scythedom and the world.

I liked the secondary characters, from Scythe Curie to Scythe Faraday, to new characters who were introduced and older characters who resurfaced. One of my favourite aspects was getting to know the thought processes of the Thunderhead himself. While the Thunderhead was mysterious and distant in the first novel, his reasoning and personality was revealed in this book, and I was able to understand the rational behind his actions. 

Without giving anything away, I was impressed by the villain whose identity was not revealed until later on in the novel. They were skilled, calculating, and truly villainous. In my opinion, great villains are those who are convincing, unpredictable, powerful and intelligent, and the villain in this book embodied all these traits.

If I have a small complaint about this novel, it was that Citra and Rowan feel slightly distant here, especially as the cast grew significantly and new points of views were introduced.

As Scythe Lucifer wreaked havoc across MidMerica, Scythe Anastasia and Scythe Curie were confronted by the new order scythes who are becoming more and more prominent. There was a lot of action in this novel, though the story took on a slight political tone as well as the mechanics of the scythedom was revealed.

I find that the second book in a trilogy often suffers from the “sagging middle” syndrome, but this was not the case here. The plot was strong with as many twists and turns as the first book (WHAT just happened in the last chapter of the book?! I am STILL trying to wrap my head around it lol!) The stakes escalated; there was much more on the line than just the lives of the characters we know and love. 

Compared to the first novel, the pacing was slower. However there was always enough action and intrigue to keep me hooked.

The world expanded in Thunderhead as the history, the secrets, and the inner workings of the scythedom were revealed. As in the previous book, there was very little description about the appearance and superficial aspects of the world, however this wasn’t the focus of this series either.

I enjoyed the writing. The omnipresent narrator was more prominent in the second book, offering insight into the POVs of secondary as well as minor characters.

The audiobook was awesome. The narrator did a great job in portraying the different characters’ voices. I would definitely recommend it for all the audiobook fans out there.

Thunderhead was an awesome sequel. I loved the characters, and the plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat. I definitely cannot WAIT for the third book to come!

4/5 fishies!

What are your favourite sequels? Do you know any trilogies that have an awesome second book?

Psst!!! My 2-year blogiversary Q&A and giveaway is still happening!! I’m taking any burning questions that you may have about reading, writing, blogging, and pretty much anything (but be reasonable!)  Click here (or the happy fishy below) to check out my Q&A post.