Medium – Audiobook
About the Book – Set hundreds of years in the future, the world has evolved to the point where there is no death, no hunger, no war and no poverty. The world is ruled by ‘The Thunderhead’, the evolved form of ‘The Cloud’, which takes care of the world and the people in it. The fact that there is no death is slightly problematic, as it means the world could become overpopulated, and so the Scythes exist. These specially chosen people work as assassins, ‘gleaning’ (permanently killing) chosen humans. Citra and Rowan are two apprentice scythes, neither of whom wish to do the job. However, they are soon pushed into a terrible competition which means that one of them will get the position of scythe and the other will be gleaned.
My Rating – 3.5/5
My Thoughts – Firstly, this audiobook had a fantastic narrator. I don’t think I would have read the book as avidly if I had to read it in paperform myself. The narrator was able to really skillfully perform as all of the characters, all with different voices, but it didn’t feel forced (or indeed, disrespectful to any race or gender). The book is an interesting premise, and although it sounds quite morbid, it actually included some really interesting thinking points about the way we treat our world, immortality and the value of life. The plot is quite twisty all the way through and I couldn’t have guessed the ending – which is always a good indicator of a book where the author has thought really hard about how the plotline will play out.
The characters are interesting, but in some ways I think the two main characters may be the weakest part of this book. They are OK, but I can’t say I really warmed to either of them – they just seemed whiny to start with and just never seemed particularly likable. The supporting characters were much more interesting, and I especially liked Scythes Curie and Faraday. They were Citra and Rowan’s mentors and were just a lot more accessible and interesting than the main characters. I have purchased the second audiobook in the series ‘Thunderhead’ so will have a listen and see how it continues. It already looks to have some elements in it that I would find more interesting, so will have a go (although not yet!)
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