Wow, ok, Gleanings, one of my most expected books of the year. I was so happy to get into it, because honestly, I will never be ready to let go the world of the Arc of Scythe. In this book, we have some very interesting stories about this world, and about some things that happened before, during and after the trilogy.

The "origin stories" we get in this book are AMAZING. We get to find out how some loved and some hated Scythes became what they were during the trilogy. I was really invested in these stories, and they became my favorite from this book.

We also get some additional stories of things that happened before or during the trilogy but where our main characters didn't have anything to do with Rowan or Citra (or they might have been related, but you know, Rowan and Citra weren't really available all the time to know what was happening everywhere). These stories are really good too. I loved getting to find out more about how some other cultures worked in this world, and how Scythes from other countries lived and worked in their own societies. I also found these stories, co-written with some other author, were really in harmony with Neal's writing style and never leave the essence of the Arc of Scythe world.

And finally, we have the post The Toll stories. These weren't many, and I found these to be the less impressive. I expected more post-The Toll stories honestly, and the ones we got are interesting, yes, but I wish the author had really showed some of our favorite characters to see how their life went after the end of the trilogy. I get now that he really wanted The Toll to end there.

Honestly, if you're a fan of this world, you'll really like this book. It might not have what you're expecting, but it has something amazing in it anyway.

This is my ranking of the stories in this book:
1.Formidable
2.A Martian Minute
3.The Persistence of Memory
4.The Mortal Canvas
5.Anastasia’s Shadow
6.Cirri
7.A Dark Curtain Rises
8.A death of many colors
9.Unsavory Row
10.Perchance to Glean
11.Meet Cute and Die
12.Never work with animals

*arc from NetGalley*
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Pub date: November 8, 2022
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If you are a fan of the Arc of the Scythe books, you are NOT going to want to miss out on these stories! 🤯 I was mind blown in over half of them (mind you, I read the final book the month it came out and the other 2 a year before that so it’s been a while and I could be forgetting some things that were mentioned in those), but wow were these stories amazing.
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The Halloween story to start with had me hanging on to everything happening. And CARSON OMG WHAT A STORY I LOVED IT! My favorite story in the book honestly. Also Penelope was a phenomenal. The wit on that girl.
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I don’t want to say too much as to not ruin anything for anyone excited to read these stories. But again, if you’re a fan of the Scythdom, preorder this bad boy NOW!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I am a huge fan of Arc of a Scythe and was super excited to hear of this! I'd suggest to anyone who wants to read it to do a re-reading of the series because I know I missed details. Still, I thought there were SO many clever stories in here, it was great.

First line: Slicing through the air with effortless aplomb, the moment you take your first swing, you wield your axe like you are a master in the art of gleaning.

Summary: In a collection of short stories we dig deeper into the stories of the Scythedom.

My Thoughts: I was beyond excited when I saw that there was a new book coming out in the world of Scythe. I absolutely loved the trilogy and a chance to return to it was too good to pass up. I remember getting the first book just as the pandemic started and having to go buy a copy of the second book because I could not wait for it to be returned to the library. It was such a different world than anything I had read before. I was immediately hooked.

I really enjoyed the stories in this collection. I believe my favorite one was the story of the scythe and the dog. I tried to explain it to a friend but I don’t think I did it justice. But all the stories were neat little looks into what happened before, during and after the time of the Scythe trilogy. The imagination and storytelling is worth every moment of reading. I wish I could go back and reread the trilogy again for the first time. This is a definite must read for anyone who loved the series just as much as I did.

FYI: A few spoilers but not so obvious that it ruins the trilogy for first time readers.

This collection of short stories includes several new characters, as well as old characters and their origin stories. Each story has its own personality. Some of them are quirky and funny, others serious and profound. I really enjoyed learning more about some of my favorite (and not so favorite) character's backgrounds and entrance into the Scythedom. I also appreciated getting new looks into the Thunderhead and the role it played in the ending of The Toll. Sprinkled with some romance (clean, some LGBTQ romances), some of the stories were light and refreshing. A story for every mood, there is a little bit of everything an Arc of the Scythe fan could want.

In particular, one story brought tears to my eyes as we ponder what would happen if death really were eradicated. The theme of "When nobody dies, nobody lives" was strong with it and I was deeply moved. Another story was just so weird I was left shaking my head thinking, "Wait, what?!" Others were so fun I longed for more from it and hoped my book would morph into a longer version of the short story. I liked that you never knew what type of story or character was coming next. The unique touches the guest authors brought to some of the stories was very entertaining, too! Overall, this was fun to dive into and made me reminisce on my high school days when I first read Scythe. If you're a fan of this trilogy, you would probably love this! If you haven't read the trilogy, you won't understand much so start with the trilogy first.

After reading the three books within the Arc of the Scythe series, I really loved this anthology. It was really interesting to see more of this dystopian world, including characters that Scythe Anastasia and Rowan wouldn't have been able to interact with. We were able to see what happened to Kohl Whitlock's sister after his death - the one that also changed Rowan's life, Ben Tetranova after his sister went missing on Endura, Goodard's experiences on the Mars colony, and Marie Currie's biggest life moments. A few of the stories focused on distinct scythes and their methods. One of my favorites involved a scythe who attacked on All Hallows Eve, determined to convince this town that scythes are real rather than made up by the Thunderhead to scare them into line. Others involved a scythe focused on art students in the first generation after immortality was created, two Spanish rivals, a nitpicking scythe and her often deadish niece who meets her love after he accidently falls on her, a scythe who gleans during the collective dream, and a scythe who gleans people to stop them from being dog owners.

My favorites were the two that starred Currie because I loved her in the series and really enjoyed seeing how she rose to fame and where she ended up. I also really enjoyed reading about Goddard sabotaging the space colony, now that it was revealed in the last book. The only one I didn't really enjoy was the dog one because it was a little too out there for me.

Overall, a really enjoyable collection that really adds to the series! I highly recommend it if you're not emotionally ready to let go after "The Toll"

Thanks to Net Galley I got an early copy of the book. I am a big fan of the Arc of the Scythe series and wanted to see what this one was about. This is a collection of short stories set in the world of Scythes. The timeline of the stories is not linear. Some stories are set before the stories in the books, some during, and some after but not in that order. There are many new characters but also characters that you know and love. Additional authors were enlisted for the stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of this, though some stories I liked better than others. You must read the series before trying this one, otherwise you will not fully understand the concept.

I definitely recommend this to fans of the series. (less)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A few years ago, I read a book called Scythe. And I absolutely loved it. In the following sequels, the world-building continued and I was in awe of how the author had made such a unique dystopian world. I loved the heroes and hated the villains, but something about The Toll (the final book in the trilogy) left me unsatisfied. So I was overjoyed when I realized there was anthology coming out about one of the most interesting dystopian worlds there is.

And I was left wanting once again on the same note as before. Is it too much to ask that I get a story about Rowan and Citra? Preferably a happy one? I need SOME closure!

Besides that, I did really enjoy the anthology. There were some stories (like the "Never Work with Animals" one) that almost made me put the book down, but most of the other ones were excellent. The world was expanded on further and once again, I was astounded by the intricate and unique choices made by the authors. These are short stories, and yet I came to know and care about each of the characters introduced.

My favorite ones were "A Martian Minute" (love the twist, but saw it coming) and "A Death of Many Colors." I honestly wish there had been more stories in the anthology (and not ones that waste space like "Never Work with Animals"—please!). It reminded me why I fell in love with the Arc of a Scythe series in the first place.

I am pleasantly surprised by this short-story anthology.

Most of the stories were enjoyable, and it's an excellent addition to the Arc of Scythe. The Anthology enhances the world history, gives us background on some of the characters, tells us the fate of some of the minor characters, as well as just gives us a comedic relief with random funny bits that happened to a few particular Scythes.
I didn't like 3 stories - the artist one, the dream/pantehr one, and the poem one. The story with the dog felt a bit dragged out, although I thought it was a funny story.
Out of the other 9 stories, my favourite had been about the Mars Colony and the Spanish one.

Despite some of the stories being co-written, I didn't feel a change in the writing style - the writing style was consistent (well, except for the Poem story and the last story which mostly consisted out of a Dialogue)

My biggest problem had been the fact that most stories featured minor characters from the main series and it was hard to remember who they were, and it was hard to remember particular plot-points and worldbuilding details. I've read the first book on release, in late November 2016. Since then I've read over 300 books. Why am I supposed to remember two (or was it more?) very minor characters from that novel?
I've read the last book also on release date, almost THREE years ago. Again: why am I supposed to remember the plot-points, worldbuilding and characters?
The book didn't do a good enough job to remind us of the worldbuilding, past plot-points, where the characters stood and what was their connection,

A worthy addition to this fantastic, fantastic series that I always recommend to everyone who loves dystopian fiction as much as I do! Full of action, intrigue, and solid world-building, this novel keeps you on your toes - you will never be bored and will keep reading until the very last sentence - and then you will read it again!

I loved the Arc of the Scythe so I was very excited to see this collection was coming out. It's a great addition to the canon, filling in stories of familiar characters and adding new ones. I loved it.

I really love the way that these stories may not have changed the trilogy, but enhanced your reading. I really appreciate everything about the different takes and perspectives. Honestly, its been quite some times since I finished the triology so I want to reread them again. I have a feeling that this will spark many rereads.

Great addition to the already wonderful Scythe series. I enjoyed reading the side stories and back stories about some of the original primary and secondary characters on the first three books.

Thank you Net Galley for the Arc. I was so pumped when I saw there was a new Scythe book coming out. Seriously everyone should read this series. There were a few stories in here that were so strong and gave me that same feeling of "OH MY GOD IT ALL MAKES SENSE" that I got from the original trilogy. Shusterman is such an amazing storyteller, and I honestly wish he didn't have any collaborators on this. The stories that I thought were weakest were the ones with guest authors, but even those were still strong enough to justify a 4-star rating.

This outstanding compilation of short stories augments characters we have met in the Arc of the Scythe series. Early experiences of Faraday, Curie, Goddard, Lucifer, and Xenocrates are there. The disaster on Mars is more fully explored. Post sinking of Endura is touched on and so much more. As with many of Shusterman’s works, readers will be left thinking about the implications of the post-mortality epoch in time. Shusterman co-writes several of the short stories with others but his hand is clearly on the steering wheel. I was especially impressed with the thought-provoking chapter called “Mortal Canvas,” written with David Yoon (City of Orange & Version Zero). Libraries with Arc of the Scythe in their collections must add this one but readers should not read it until they have finished the books that started it all.

The dystopian world (or... worlds...) that we all know and love revisited.

AND we get to learn more about some of our favorite characters from the Arc of a Scythe!! I was so excited when very early on is a story of a <spoiler>young Curie & Faraday!</spoiler> If you're just concerned about which characters get a story in this, well I'll just say... <spoiler>pretty much all of them.</spoiler> Even <spoiler?Goddard... err Carson</spoiler> gets a bit!

Written in the same vein as the rest of the arc, this anthology is a treat. Giving more insight into what makes the characters tick as well as some... tied up ends ;)

If you've read the trilogy, you MUST read Gleanings. A perfect addition to my favorite YA science fiction.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc. I am beyond thrilled to have been give the opportunity to read and review a book from one of my favorite series!

Coming back to this series felt so comforting. It reminded me how much I enjoyed the original trilogy and the characters. I loved how each story, while completely unique, felt so continuous in the grand scheme of the book's universe. The individual stories entertained me and made me think and made me want to reread Scythe. So worth the read!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the Digital Advanced Copy!

This is a fascinating look at the world of Arc of a Scythe on a wider scale. We get to see the world outside of the main storyline, which we get glimpses of throughout the series, but Gleanings offers insight into what a mundane day might look like in a world without permanent death. The stories feature both familiar and new characters, easing you back into Arc of a Scythe. I loved this book. I think it’s a perfect companion to the series and it gives you a sense of closure if you were wondering about a few characters after the main story ended. Neal Shusterman teams up with a number of authors to create unique narratives that I found captivating. If you’re a fan of Arc of a Scythe, I absolutely recommend you pick up Gleanings!

3.5 stars

First and foremost it’s really important to have read the Scythe series prior to this book. This is a great short story book to revisit all your favorite characters and the world of Scythe
I enjoyed an most of the stories, some were a tad less impressive but still good in the overall scheme. I think lovers of Schusterman will love this.

A collection of stories that add to the larger picture of the Scythe world while leaving us wanting more.

“Gleanings” complies short stories that take place both before, during and after the events of the original trilogy and while some work better than others it was fun to head back into a world I enjoyed so much.

There’s a few of these stories that I wish were much much longer namely some of the prequel type stuff we get a taste of here and there. It’s hard to give too many details without spoiling but the events that lead to the ultimate creation of the big name Scythes could have been its own novel. There are two big standouts that come to mind with the latter being stronger and I felt satisfied with that in both content and length however the latter I would have loved to spend more time in just because the consequence of that triggered something so much bigger in the world as a whole.

There’s a few pieces that highlight minor characters that were interesting choices to follow and again one stands out as the highlight taking place between book 2 and 3 and the lengths some were willing to go in those moments where all hope seemed lost and the other gave us some insight into the loss of mortality in a literal sense and another which is a bit more unsavory.

The relationship between this world and death has always been an interesting one and this expanded a bit on the rules of gleaning and what it means to be close to scythes however the romantic in me was hopeful for a story that featured certain characters that I enjoyed so much the first time however that ending, and the question of its meaning for future books, makes me wonder if I just have to hold out hope for a little longer.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**