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A review by jenbsbooks
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
4.75
Once upon a time, I loved finding a good series, committing to several books in a fictional world. Now, with a TBR a mile long, I'm more picky. There are so many series where I've read the first book, but don't choose to continue on. It says something when I see a series through to the end (even if it is just a trilogy). And this series is AudibleExclusive, so I had to PAY for it, which I did (there was a great sale).
This is such an interesting world Shusterman has created. The elimination of disease, injury (can still happen, but repairable), death ... and the issues this new world has (overpopulation, marriage "to death do us part" not really an option) and the introduction of Scythes and their service. The nanites which in addition to physical repairs, can change metabolism (weight loss) and emotion (depression). The Tone cult. Gender fluidity.
The unexpected humor ... "short people, they have no reason to live" or "no soup for you" ...
There are a TON of characters, and different settings, and the story switches between the various storylines and it can be a little hard to keep track of everything. All 3rd person/past tense for most (some Thunderhead is more present tense/first person). Single narrator throughout the series (Greg Tremblay) and he does a good job.
I have yet to read the short stories - Gleanings, but it's next on my list ...
For 600+ pages, this went pretty quickly.
This is such an interesting world Shusterman has created. The elimination of disease, injury (can still happen, but repairable), death ... and the issues this new world has (overpopulation, marriage "to death do us part" not really an option) and the introduction of Scythes and their service. The nanites which in addition to physical repairs, can change metabolism (weight loss) and emotion (depression). The Tone cult. Gender fluidity.
The unexpected humor ... "short people, they have no reason to live" or "no soup for you" ...
There are a TON of characters, and different settings, and the story switches between the various storylines and it can be a little hard to keep track of everything. All 3rd person/past tense for most (some Thunderhead is more present tense/first person). Single narrator throughout the series (Greg Tremblay) and he does a good job.
I have yet to read the short stories - Gleanings, but it's next on my list ...
For 600+ pages, this went pretty quickly.