A review by adastrame
The Toll by Neal Shusterman

5.0

Finally, the conclusion to the Arc of a Scythe series. This book is, like all books in the series, extremely well written an a joy to read. I love how it uses "mystical" religious writings to establish its lore. And this is where it all comes together, and this universe becomes ever bigger.

I particularly enjoyed reading about how a seemingly ridiculous idea has grown into a full-fledged religion, including the most un-prophety prophet one could imagine. Even beyond the tonists, this book has so many interesting things that give you food for thought. The Thunderhead seems like a benevolent ChatGPT, and it makes one wonder if this is a future we're heading into - but I think ours will be much darker.

What could have been better was the pacing (again) - the story focuses a lot on some aspects of the story, but others, the ones you really want to know about, are few and far between.

I greatly enjoyed reading this series, as it evident from me having read this 600+ page book within two days.