An anthology collection for the die-hard Scythe fans

In 2016, Neal Shusterman elevated the YA dystopian genre with the release of Scythe. Thought-provoking and entertaining, Scythe and its sequels serve up adventure, romance, and challenging ethical dilemmas in a world post-mortality. Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe succeeds in similar measures, although the stories will likely only be truly captivating for adamant fans of the Scythe series.

Gleanings is set in the same world as the previous installments, although it doesn’t exactly pick up where The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) left off. The YA dystopian collection is non-linear, with some narratives providing origin stories, others diving into new characters, and others enlightening us about events following The Toll.

Thou shalt kill. It’s the commandment to ensure scythes keep the human population under control in a world where death has been conquered. It’s called gleaning, and this act of scythes is a major focus in each of the books–but it’s the heart of this anthology collection. Gleanings is concerned, like its predecessors, with the ethics of killing for a supposed “greater good.” But it also highlights even more the performance of gleaning in this society, the identity shift that comes from becoming a scythe, and the unwieldy-yet-powerful nature of memory in a society where life goes on… and on… and on.

Gleanings begins with a poem by Joelle Shusterman (Neal Shusterman’s daughter) titled “The First Swing.” It paints a compelling picture of the scythedom–describing it as a kind of puppetry and servanthood–and nicely leads into stories that challenge what scythes stand for.

Following the poem are stories, all written by Neal Shusterman, but some co-written with others. Co-writers include Michael H. Payne (“Never Work with Animals”); David Yoon (“The Mortal Canvas”); Jarold Shusterman and Sofia Lapuente (“The Persistence of Memory”); and Michelle Knowlden (“Perchance to Glean”).

Some stories don’t contribute too much to Shusterman’s beautifully-conceived dystopian world. “Never Work with Animals” and its almost-too-silly premise at least offer some fun ridicule of corrupt scythes. And “Cirri” demonstrates Shusterman’s struggle to ground his stories in their sci-fi elements. While the Thunderhead (the artificial intelligence from which Cirri branches off) is a necessary and interesting facet of the dystopian series, I always find it more compelling when Shusterman focuses on the human emotions and struggles within a world that’s saturated by AI.

Still, others in the collection did well to further flesh out Shusterman’s setting, characters, and themes. You’ll find further world-building for the setting in “Perchance to Glean,” while “A Martian Minute” delivers an exciting origin story. But mostly, I enjoyed how Gleanings gave its subject (scythes and their objective) a lightly derisive and mocking treatment.

“The First Swing” sets the stage, but other stories follow up with dissonant pictures of the scythedom. “The Persistence of Memory” and “A Dark Curtain Rises” especially and poignantly underscore the failures of the scythedom, as well as the understanding: No one wins when humanity is pit against itself. Fittingly for a series called “Arc of a Scythe,” Shusterman wraps up this arc in a satisfying way–from a reverent treatment of scythes and gleanings in Scythe to a more nuanced portrayal in Gleanings.

It’s a requirement, I think, to have read and enjoyed the Arc of a Scythe series before picking up this collection, for it necessitates context for Shusterman’s setting and characters. This one’s for the die-hard Scythe fans: Dig into Gleanings and enjoy further entries in Neal Shusterman’s unique world.

Our thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader’s copy. Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe will be published on November 8th 2022. You can pre-order the novel here!

These are short stories from the world of the Arc of a Scythe series. They include a story of a man and his dog, the origins of Scythe Goddard, Ben Terranova's experiences being trained as a scythe before his sister's body's discovery, and insights into the Cirri's workings.

3.75 stars!

Gleanings is a collection of short stories. Some were fantastic and contributed to Shusterman's stellar worldbuilding. Others seemed a bit sloppy.

For example, the authors kept using the characters' names in every single line instead of alternating with some pronouns. Many of the stories were coauthored, so maybe that's why they seemed less polished than Shusterman's usual work.

The best thing about this book, and all Shusterman books, is the author's ability to imagine, on a massive scale, what types of societal changes would occur given new technologies. He follows his ideas to their logical conclusions, and he fleshes out those conclusions with captivating and believable stories.

OH man I loved all of the Scythe trilogy but I'd forgotten a lot of the details of this, so I think some of these stories didn't quite hit the way they would have if I'd read them freshly after [book:The Toll|43822024]. I mean most of them aren't set post-Toll, but just to have the world-building fresh in my memory. But, regardless, I still really liked this anthology overall. I think my favorite was "The Mortal Canvas," which I think really gets to the heart of what this series' views on what mortality brings to art.

Anyway, if you're a fan of the Scythe books I'd def recommend this. If you're not a fan of the Scythe books, I'd recommend that you become one.

Thank you SO MUCH for Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this advanced copy.

Gleanings by Neal Shusterman was a perfect anthology to complete the whole series.

Arc of Scythe was an unforgettable series, with its own utopian worldbuilding, Neal Shusterman focused on the dystopian side. After asked, "where is the humanity?" over and over again in the original series, we finally got an unexpected "way out" of the main conflict. But, some questions remained unanswered.

Glad thing, Neal Shusterman and many co-authors written anthology to answer all of the question for the original series. It was so nice, since some anthology just "adding" the plot, not "complete" it.

After read Gleanings I was back to the Scythedom era. It was nice and thrilling to be back to that era again. Also every stories had their own plot twists, so I would never get bored while reading this.

I am so excited Neal Schusterman gifted us with more stories in the world of the Thunderhead! These stories did not disappoint and I loved so many things about the collection. From poetry and novellas to short stories and different co-authors, this collection had me riveted every step of the way. Different timelines, different POVs (including first person), new characters, prequels, and beyond. I honestly adored all of these short stories, but my favorites were the ones that featured familiar faces (like Formidable!). I won’t go into details – for me, it was better when I was surprised about who showed up. One of my favorites from the collection was a story that gives us more context to the society that came before the Thunderhead took over, and what that society and government looked like. The origin stories in this collection are amazing and not to be missed. Origin stories for familiar faces and new characters. New scythes rise. You see how some existing scythes came about. And it is all spectacular.
Gleanings is not to be missed! Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley of this book.

Arc of a Scythe is one of my favorite series ever written, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all Neal Shusterman books I've read.

I enjoyed this glimpse into the backstories of different Scythes. The short stories gave them enough time to tell their stories that wouldn't need a whole novel. The excellent world building makes me want to reread the original trilogy. I think one of Shusterman's strengths is showing the humanity in all the characters. The scythes' stories had so much depth.

Gleanings of course did not have the magic of the originals and couldn't stand alone, but fans of the series will love this look behind the robes.

Gleanings is a collection of 13 stories from the Scythedom. Some stories are prequels, others co-occur with the trilogy timeline, and others are sequels.

All the stories are different, they show us the good and the bad of Scythedom. I love the concept of new settings and perspectives, also the new characters: scythe or human, and the return of characters that we already know.

If you are a fan of the saga and want a little more, you have to read this anthology, some stories disturbed me, others that I loved, some are creepy, others have adventure and others have social comments, but they all have in common that they expand the world and make you think.

The Arc of the Scythe series has been on my TBR list for some time, and never have I been more sorry that I still haven't read the rest of the books than I am now.

Wow, this set of stories from the world of the Scythedom is a stunner.

Rife with cautionary tales, as well as political, social, and economical parallels to issues already plaguing society, it's difficult to imagine Shusterman didn't intend to place some eye-opening commentary in the hands of the readers. I find this is often the case with the more cerebral fantasy and science fiction authors and the result is a more unnerving dystopia than one might otherwise experience.

This particular addition to the series is made up by a variety of stories that follow different Scythes, touching significant moments in their lives. For some, their origin may be revealed, while for others.. we get a glimpse of their comeuppance. Herein lies one of my favorites, but that's in no way to diminish any of the others.

Gleanings is dark and sometimes surprising. Shusterman's Scythes are both beautiful and terrible, sometimes all at once, and I can't wait to go back and read the rest of the series. His writing is elegantly crafted, complex enough to really hook me, and his stories are bold. He's unafraid to paint his stories brightly with discomforting truths, yet creative enough to allow the reader just enough breathing room so they're not simply overwhelmed with the possibilities of the future.

The lines between realistic outcomes and fantasy are blurred expertly and I couldn't recommend this series more highly.

This is a book that I didn’t think I wanted but turned out to be what I needed. I loved the way The Toll ended and was very happy. Not only did this bring me back to the world of the Scythes, but this amazing insight to other scythes and their story. Truly a 5-star book.

5 Reasons to Read

Five reasons to read Gleanings!

1. Scythes!! I mean…
2. Some of the best origin stories! Get to know detailed backstories for some of your favorite, and not so favorite, Scythes.
3. Introduction to new Scythes around the world! What is important to one is not as important to another.
4. Non-Scythe stories including stories of some side characters we didn’t get to know. We’re also introduced to new apprenticeships!
5. New motivations! Each Scythe has different motivations and methods for Gleaning. Learn more about the balance of power among the Scythes and how it is different for each one.

This book was fantastic as expected! Neal Shusterman has created a world so expansive that there will always be more stories to discover.

I enjoyed getting to know more about some of the Scythes we saw in the trilogy and meeting new ones. The stories were well developed and the characters fleshed out accordingly.

I loved that the stories featured were not remotely the same and that we got to see stories of Scythes, Apprentices, and even some unsavories.

I definitely recommend this to everyone!

Never have I ever been so excited to read something adjacent to a series as this, and IT DELIVERED!! Omg well first, you definitely need to have read the series to fully appreciate this book. It’s stunning, the different stories were full of personality and it was easy and fun to read!

If you are a fan of Arc of the Scythe, this is a must read!

These stories vary from showing a peek into the early days of Scythedom, to what happened after the events of The Toll. Some showed how Scythes we know got their start, and others show how regular people cope with living in a world with Scythes. Some stories connected together, and others were completely stand alone.
It was fascinating to see other parts of the post-mortal world. I'm not usually big on anthologies, but this was a great one!
I highly recommend reading the Arc of the Scythe trilogy before picking this one up.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an early copy for review.

I loved the Arc of the Scythe series so I of course jumped at the chance to read this collection of short stories, and I was not disappointed. This is a great group of stories set in this very interesting future world. If you have not read the series, I highly recommend that you do. If you have read it then this collection is a must read.

Each of these stories was so unique and so wonderfully written. Some are about Scythes that were in the main series, but there are others that have nothing to do with the books. I think those were my favorites. As in the real world, some of the Scythes were good and some certainly deserved what they got. There is a cameo appearance of Rowan in one of the stories, but that is all we see of most of the original characters.

Some of the stories dealt with the after effects of a gleaning or of the families involved. There were a couple that dealt with what happened to family members after their loved ones were gone. One story tells how a sister went on to become unsavory. Another showed what happened to Citra’s brother, another favorite of mine.

There is one story that tells about what really happened on the failed Mars colony and how the person who eventually became Scythe Goddard was involved. That one was quite harrowing and was also a favorite.

Overall this is quite the delightful collection of stories. It was fun visiting this world again and fans of the series will love it.

This book, Gleanings, was honestly just delightful. It comes after the third book in the series. Throughout each chapter is a different, almost stand alone story. I highly recommend you read the previous three books in the Scythe series before reading this one, although you will still have enough ability to pick up a basic understanding of the world.

It was just great to go back into this world and see how people interacted with Scythes, or specific Scythes themselves, lived or became who they were. It is a great addition to this series and one that is easy to pickup.

I AM EMOTIONAL! I loved being back in this world. So nostalgic. The stories had such a wide variety about every aspect of the sythedom and beyond. Past, present, future. Like most short story collections, the writer kind of throws you right in, which can be unsettling at times but it's worth it as you read through. I think the lovers of this series will be happy with this collection.

What a great revisit to the Scythe universe! This anthology is a mix of short stories from regular people within a the world and scythes as well as going to some of the early days of the world being controlled by the Thunderhead and during the time when we are first introduced to the world. The first short story is a strong start and really set the tone for the whole book in my opinion. You see more about certain beloved characters that could potentially change how you feel! All in all a great anthology (and I tend not to go for these!)

Thank you, @netgalley, and @simonandschuster,for the eARC in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts: This book is a collection of stories about several scythes. I have yet to read the Arc of a Scythe trilogy but you don’t have to in order to understand this book.

When I read the first few stories, it felt like reading a bunch of Twilight Zone episodes. Each scythe story is unique, thought provoking, sometimes strange, intense, or sweet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. A few of the stories are connected.

If you enjoy sci-fi and dystopian fantasy, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC! I absolutely loved this book! The book is broken down into different short stories that all take place within the Arc of a Scythe universe with some of them being all new characters and others relating to characters that were in the other books. Some of the stories were more interesting and captivating than others but they were all really good if not great! I also loved how some of the stories tied back into other ones throughout the book. It was quite interesting and fun to learn some of the backstories of a few scythes from the other books and helps you get a better understanding of how their minds worked. The ending was really fantastic in my opinion and was a great way to tie the series up. If you liked the Arc of Scythe series I would definitely recommend checking this one out!

I like this author and I adore the Scythe series. I was so very excited and grateful to receive this and I gladly soaked in every moment of it! It was refreshing to enter back into the world and read these stories. I would probably read a book of carpet samples if Neal Shusterman wrote it. He is an automatic must buy day 1 author for me. I've loved his work and will continue to!