The Toll
Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 2019
The Toll is Neal Shusterman’s third novel in the Arc of a Scythe series. With Endura gone, the world is changing under the ever-tightening hand of Scythe Goddard. Citra and Rowan have seemingly disappeared forever. Relationships between scythes and Tonists have quickly escalated to extreme violence. The Toll has emerged as their pacifier. The world is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Thunderhead. It is up to the world, in all of its splendor and ugliness, to decide in which direction it wants to go. There are those who will greedily surge towards power and those who will claim it without planning to do so. Scythe Goddard is the first kind and The Toll is the second. In a new world torn apart by greed, uncertainty, and religion, who will prevail? Will humanity ever return to its previous state, or is the future careening in an unalterable direction?
The Toll is an unquestionably grand finale to the Arc of a Scythe series. Neal Shusterman’s diction is admirable, his characters are dynamic, and the plot flow from Thunderhead toThe Toll is inventive despite being a tiny bit predictable. The plot also leads to the question of what makes a society righteous, and what lines should or should not be crossed to improve society. What undermines The Toll is the way it is written. In Scythe and Thunderhead, Shusterman tossed readers puzzle pieces of the plot. The pieces were well-timed and well-rationed, and their purpose became apparent within a reasonable amount of time. In The Toll, the puzzle pieces are still being tossed, but the length of time before they make sense deters the reader, and a few pieces seem to have no real purpose at all. Readers and authors both know how hard it is to finish a series with the same vigor, promise, and skill as it began. Those who delighted in Scythe and Thunderhead may find The Toll a bit disappointing, but still enjoyable.
D. K. Nuray
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