The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)

by Neal Shusterman

The explosive conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Arc of a Scythe series.

It's been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding finale to Neal Shusterman's internationally bestselling trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

• ISBN13: 9781481497060
• Publish Date: 5 November 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 640
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

The way Shusterman wove together the storylines of The Toll was masterful. It was done in such a way that I was always completely absorbed by each of them. I especially enjoyed Citra’s story. There was such change in her as a person since she was chosen to become an apprentice. Over the course of the three books, I really fell in love with her. I do wish Rowan had been a little more prominent in this book, but I loved the parts with him I had. Grayson’s arc, too, was fascinating. In the second book, he was sort of swept along, but in this third book, he really came into his own.

I loved most of this book, but one thing kept me from giving it a full five stars. The ending. In my opinion, it was wholly unsatisfying, which is a difficult thing to discuss without spoilers. For one thing, it felt like the villains conclusion was rather anti-climatic. Nor did I feel like the storylines of Grayson, Faraday, Rowan, and Citra were totally finished. I was hoping for some kind of epilogue for them, and for the world itself because the novel felt like it ended before we really saw the whole conclusion.

But I did love the book nonetheless, and there was plenty to keep me turning the pages!

[KitsuneBae]

You have to plow through the boring beginning before you're rewarded with a fantastic plot.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

When I jumped back into the Arc of a Scythe series a few weeks ago I didn't anticipate blowing through the last two books so quickly! Thunderhead was only a 3.5 star read for me, seeming a bit too long and drawn out, but the ending left me needing to know what happened next. I snagged the audiobook of the final installment and finished it in just a couple days.

The Toll follows separate timelines - the one that continues after Rowan and Citra's disappearance as well as the current timeline three years later. Immediately I was happy to see Faraday back in the spotlight after wondering for most of Thunderhead where he'd gone. His journey in particular was fascinating and heartbreaking and cemented him as probably my favorite character in this series. I also loved Grayson's story! Seeing him as the head of a religion he never really believed was definitely interesting.

Of course, Citra and Rowan needed an ending I did enjoy seeing the rest of their story unfold. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat to see how they would end up from the moment they were found at the start of the book! It would have been nice to see them together a bit more, though. Honestly, they aren't my favorite characters, but I was happy to see Citra continue to fight for what was best for the Scythedom, humanity, and herself. Her character growth has certainly been amazing.

Despite enjoying the characters' arcs all come to their conclusions, I still felt that this book, like the one before it, was just too long. I know most people adored it, but I wish the story had been a tiny bit tighter. I'm not sure why there are even more main characters being introduced in the final book of the series but that was one of the issues I had. Grayson is a great character, but the I didn't need the Tonist plot line to be quite so involved. I loved the way everything ended, but the journey meandered a little too much.

I can't say much more without spoilers, but I definitely enjoyed this series! I did have some issues with The Toll, but overall I was happy with how it wrapped up the series. If you've been searching for a good dystopian series and haven't picked this up yet, you definitely should!

[Berls]

The first half was good but frustrating with all the time jumping, it really confused me. But as the story progressed there was less time jumping and it became less confusing. And the action / intensity really picked up. I loved Jerry - a great new character. And there were so many unexpected twists. Overall, I'm really happy with how the trilogy concluded.

I had expected more... It's definitely not bad, and I enjoyed most of the book, until the ending. Maybe I just don't get it.

[shannonmiz]

Neal Shusterman is some sort of literary god, that is all.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

4.75 Stars wow. W...wow. No words rn. So many feels.

RTC

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

This will probably be a super unpopular view of the conclusion of this series.

1) It's too long.
2) The pace is too slow.
3) Not enough Rowan and Citra.
4) Too many new characters/POVs.

Am I happy with the series ended? I guess. It ended fine, but I don't feel that the key threads introduced in book one carried through all three books to lead to a completely satisfying wrap up.

[HekArtemis]

I like the end of the book, for the most part. It was a little bit unexpected. Of course we could all guess what would happen to the Scythedom as a whole, if not the method. But we all knew it would happen. I really liked what Faraday chose to do afterwards, and that others followed his example in that. But I also didn't like Faraday through most of this book otherwise, so... eh.

I liked what Rand chose to do in the end too, I guessed she would do it, considering her actions throughout the book, so it made a lot of sense. I also enjoyed the little snippets of Thunderhead interacting with the Iterations. Greyson and Thunderheads final scene together was super sad.

I had a lot of problems with this book though and the more I think on it, the more I find and feel. Over all... I didn't really enjoy this book much and was rushing it to get it over and done with. Sad because I loved Scythe and Thunderhead.

The Toll was full of filler. You could probably cut 400 pages of the 600 and you'd have a good story and miss nothing for it. At no time did I feel excitement or anticipation (I felt anticipation for months before I started reading it, but none while reading it). The focus on certain characters was just annoying and pointless.

This book was disappointing, I had been so excited to read it, and... oh well.

And this,

"I will never understand how you binaries are so attached to your birth plumbing. Why should it matter whether a person has ovaries, or testicles, or both?"
"It doesn't," Greyson said, feeling a little flustered. "I mean ... it does matter for some things ... doesn't it?"
"You tell me."
Greyson couldn't look away from that gaze. "Maybe ... it doesn't matter as much as I thought?"

I do love my scifi with a heavy dose of anti-science claptrap. Sigh. No, I am sure reproductive differences don't matter at all. A person with testicles will totally fall pregnant for you one day, if they just feel like a woman hard enough. And in a world that appears to have no gender roles, no sex based problems or oppression, the only difference between men and women must be biology. So where does gender even fit anyway? Good job Shusterman, virtue signalling at it's worst and finest.