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* {{Hypocrite}}: Xenocrates lives in a log cabin to seem more humble, but the cabin is also perche atop the tallest building in Fulcrum City, flaunting his power as a scythe, this is lampshaded by Goddard.
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* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Played With. The Scythe Conclave does get some things done but Xenocrates normally ignores most things that pertain to the main characters due to time.
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* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie, Citra, and [[spoiler: The Thunderhead]] at various points.
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* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie, Citra, Goddard, and [[spoiler: The Thunderhead]] at various points.
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* DiedHappilyEverAfter: One man Faraday killed was a master fencer, Faraday challenged him to a duel and was killed several times before winning, the man thanked Faraday for letting him die fighting.
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* TheDreaded: Scythe Curie has cultivated this reputation over the years.
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* TheDreaded: TheDreaded:
** All Scythes are feared and avoided by everybody.
** Scythe Curie has cultivated this reputation over the years.
** All Scythes are feared and avoided by everybody.
** Scythe Curie has cultivated this reputation over the years.
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* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Chomsky's preference for using fire ends up backfiring when Rowan kills him and the rest of Goddard's group and the fire he started ends up preventing them from being revived.]]
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* TheMentor: Faraday for Rowan and Citra, he is later replaced by Scythe Curie for Citra and Goddard for Rowan.
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* WeaponOfChoice: Chomsky always uses a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]], inverted with Faraday who prefers to use a different weapon for each gleaning.
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* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: Xenocrates threatens Citra with [[ItsPronouncedTroPay tor-turé]], to get more information out of her, this is ultimately subverted as he doesn't go through with it.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: While non-synths have emotional nanites that eliminate suicidal thoughts, the demands of the job lead some synths to self glean. Most notably, the entire first generation of synths killed themselves.
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* DrivenToSuicide: While non-synths have emotional nanites that eliminate suicidal thoughts, the demands of the job lead some synths to self glean. Most notably, the entire first generation of synths scythes killed themselves.
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* ItsPronouncedTroPay: Scythe Xenocrates calls torture tor-turé because he doesn't know how to say it properly.
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* BackFromTheDead: Anybody who isn't gleaned or killed in space or by fire.
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* CoDragons: Scythes Volta, Rand, and Chomsky to Goddard, though Volta isn't as loyal as the other two.
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* DumbMuscle: Scythe Chomsky [[InformedAttribute at least according to Volta]]
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* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie and Citra at various points.
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* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie Curie, Citra, and Citra [[spoiler: The Thunderhead]] at various points.
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* VillainousBreakdown: Goddard starts becoming more and more unhinged and violent after [[spoiler: Citra's name is cleared.]]
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* BigBad: Scythe Goddard in ''Scythe'', the AxCrazy scythe who is trying to make the entire Scythedom follow his views.
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* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
** Scythe Currie's preferred method of gleaning is stabbing a person's heart.
** [[spoiler: Rowan impales Goddard before [[OffWithHisHead decapitating him.]]]]
** Scythe Currie's preferred method of gleaning is stabbing a person's heart.
** [[spoiler: Rowan impales Goddard before [[OffWithHisHead decapitating him.]]]]
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* KillItWithFire: Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]]]
to:
* KillItWithFire: Scythe Chomsky's preferred method of gleaning. Later Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]]]
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Citra has this reaction when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday. In fairness, she didn't realize her mentor had been faking his death and assumed that she was ambushing his killer and not the man himself.]]
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** Citra has this reaction when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday. In fairness, she didn't realize her mentor had been faking his death and assumed that she was ambushing his killer and not the man himself.]]]]
** Volta has this reaction to all of the mass gleanings he participates in. [[spoiler: Later when he gleans an entire room of children it proves to be too much and he is DrivenToSuicide]]
** Citra has this reaction when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday. In fairness, she didn't realize her mentor had been faking his death and assumed that she was ambushing his killer and not the man himself.
** Volta has this reaction to all of the mass gleanings he participates in. [[spoiler: Later when he gleans an entire room of children it proves to be too much and he is DrivenToSuicide]]
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* NeckSnap: At the Harvest Conclave test, [[spoiler: Rowan snaps Citra's neck to render her deadish. His illegal move results in her lost and his disqualification, ensuring that their tie remains.]]
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* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: Scythe Goddard is gleaned when Rowan decapitates him with a samurai sword.]]
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* DeathIsCheap: One of the major elements of the story is that humans have achieved immortality, and anyone who experiences something that should kill them in real live are quickly resurrected at Revival Centers.
* DeathOfAChild: While children benefit from some element of (literal) InfantImmorality, they aren't immune to being gleaned. Scythe Faraday breaks into tears at dinnertime after he gleaned a child. [[spoiler: Offpage, Scythe Volta massacres an entire classroom of Tonist children, which leads to his self-gleaning.]]
* DeathOfAChild: While children benefit from some element of (literal) InfantImmorality, they aren't immune to being gleaned. Scythe Faraday breaks into tears at dinnertime after he gleaned a child. [[spoiler: Offpage, Scythe Volta massacres an entire classroom of Tonist children, which leads to his self-gleaning.]]
to:
* DeathIsCheap: One of the major elements of the story is that humans have achieved immortality, and anyone who experiences something that should kill them in real live are life is quickly resurrected at Revival Centers.
* DeathOfAChild: While children benefit from some element of (literal)InfantImmorality, InfantImmortality, they aren't immune to being gleaned. Scythe Faraday breaks into tears at dinnertime after he gleaned a child. [[spoiler: Offpage, Scythe Volta massacres an entire classroom of Tonist children, which leads to his self-gleaning.]]
* DeathOfAChild: While children benefit from some element of (literal)
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* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: As an intitation, Scythe Goddard leaves the Tonist curate as a monsastery's sole survivor so that Rowen can glean the last person. Rowen decides he has enough and insteads beheads Goddard and burns the rest of his squad.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: While non-synths have emotional nanites that eliminate suicidal thoughts, the demands of the job lead some synths to self glean. Most notably, the entire first generation of synths killed themselves.
** [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday seems to end his life by throwing himself in front of a train, in order to free Rowan and Citra from having to glean the other. Turns out he was FakingTheDead.]]
** [[spoiler: Scythe Volta succumbs under the pressures of mass gleaning after wiping out a classroom of children. Afterward, he slits his wrists. Rowan's fire incidentally hid Volta's true intentions.]]
** [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday seems to end his life by throwing himself in front of a train, in order to free Rowan and Citra from having to glean the other. Turns out he was FakingTheDead.]]
** [[spoiler: Scythe Volta succumbs under the pressures of mass gleaning after wiping out a classroom of children. Afterward, he slits his wrists. Rowan's fire incidentally hid Volta's true intentions.]]
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* InTheFutureHumansWillBeOneRace: Humanity has progressed to a point where nearly everyone is a mixture of ethnicities, with genetic indexes keeping track of the percentages. Scythe Goddard nevertheless surrounds himself with scythes of distinct phenotypes, and scythe society makes sure that it gleans an even number of each race.
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More tropes
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* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Thanks to advances in medical technology and the fact that all humans are immortal from birth, anyone has the ability to "Turn a corner" and have their physical age reset to look younger than they actually are.
to:
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Thanks to advances in medical technology and the fact that all humans are immortal from birth, anyone has the ability to "Turn "turn a corner" and have their physical age reset to look younger than they actually are.
* DeathOfAChild: While children benefit from some element of (literal) InfantImmorality, they aren't immune to being gleaned. Scythe Faraday breaks into tears at dinnertime after he gleaned a child. [[spoiler: Offpage, Scythe Volta massacres an entire classroom of Tonist children, which leads to his self-gleaning.]]
* ImmortalLifeIsCheap: Outside gleaning and the occasional fire, all other potential causes of death simply renders a person deadish, until they are healed back to full health at a survival center. Several characters end up deadish throughout the series.
* ImmortalProcreationClause: Averted. Despite the lack of non-gleaning deaths, people keep on having children, sometimes having tens of them past age one hundred. Even at the end of ''Scythe'', the Earth has yet to find a way to balance the birth and death rate.
* ImmortalProcreationClause: Averted. Despite the lack of non-gleaning deaths, people keep on having children, sometimes having tens of them past age one hundred. Even at the end of ''Scythe'', the Earth has yet to find a way to balance the birth and death rate.
* SocietyOfImmortals: All humans on Earth benefit from immorality.
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* WhoWantsToLiveForever: One of the central themes of the story.
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* WhoWantsToLiveForever: One of the central themes of the story.story.
* WouldHurtAChild: Scythe Goddard [[spoiler: threatens to kill Esme so to manipulate High Blade Xenocrates.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: Scythe Goddard [[spoiler: threatens to kill Esme so to manipulate High Blade Xenocrates.]]
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A few grammar edits.
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by Neal Shusterman that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction {{Dystopia}}, the series deconstructs the very idea of a {{Utopia}} by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[LivingForeverIsAwesome conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake. Citra and Rowan must learn the ins and outs of the Scythedom and train to become elite killing machines while also confronting the cracks in their utopia.
There are a total of three planned installments in the series.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[LivingForeverIsAwesome conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake. Citra and Rowan must learn the ins and outs of the Scythedom and train to become elite killing machines while also confronting the cracks in their utopia.
There are a total of three planned installments in the series.
to:
The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by Neal Shusterman that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's its head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction {{Dystopia}}, the series deconstructs the very idea of a {{Utopia}} by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free conflict-free world.
In the far futurehumanity humanity, has successfully eradicated all diseases, there diseases. There is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[LivingForeverIsAwesome conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despiteit's its surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake. Citra and Rowan must learn the ins and outs of the Scythedom and train to become elite killing machines while also confronting the cracks in their utopia.
Thereare is a total of three planned installments in the series.
In the far future
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite
There
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* Cult: Goddard forms one around himself that's dedicated to gleaning for its own sake.
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* Cult: {{Cult}}: Goddard forms one around himself that's dedicated to gleaning for its own sake.
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* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: All Scythes select the name of a famous historical figure as an allias upon becoming ordained as a Scythe. Notable examples include Marie Curie, Michael Faraday, Volta, Goddard, Nelson Mandella, and [[spoiler: Anastasia Romanov]].
to:
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: All Scythes select the name of a famous historical figure as an allias alias upon becoming ordained as a Scythe. Notable examples include Marie Curie, Michael Faraday, Volta, Goddard, Nelson Mandella, and [[spoiler: Anastasia Romanov]].
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Fixing spoiler tags.
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* KangarooCourt: Citra is put through one when [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates accuses her of murdering Scythe Faraday.
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* KangarooCourt: Citra is put through one when [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates accuses her of murdering Scythe Faraday. ]]
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* WhatYouAreInTheDark: The final exam of all Scythe candidates is to [[spoiler: temporarily kill someone they love to demonstrate how dedicated they are to the Scythedom's purpose.
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* WhatYouAreInTheDark: The final exam of all Scythe candidates is to [[spoiler: temporarily kill someone they love to demonstrate how dedicated they are to the Scythedom's purpose. ]]
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* KillItWithFire: Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]
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* KillItWithFire: Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]]]]]
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* Adipose Rex: High Blade Xenocrates
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* Adipose Rex: AdiposeRex: High Blade Xenocrates
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* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: Highblade Xenocrates secretly broke the rules and fathered a child, and Goddard holds his secret daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation.
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* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: Highblade Xenocrates secretly broke the rules and fathered a child, and Goddard holds his secret daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation. ]]
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* RedBaron: Scythe Curie is known as "The Grande Dame of Death". [[spoiler: Rowan earns the moniker of "Scythe Lucifer" when he becomes a HunterOfHisOwnKind
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* RedBaron: Scythe Curie is known as "The Grande Dame of Death". [[spoiler: Rowan earns the moniker of "Scythe Lucifer" when he becomes a HunterOfHisOwnKindHunterOfHisOwnKind.]]
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* CompleteMonster: Scythe Goddard. He enjoys killing for its own sake, regularly indulges in mass gleanings and relies on downright sadistic methods of culling the population. He uses his magnetic charm to draw in like minded followers who regularly threaten innocent people and take advantage of their position to blackmail their way to ownership of large estates and funding. He uses live people for target practice and [[spoilers: blackmails High Blade Xenocrates to ensure that he avoids punishment for his actions.]]
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In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
to:
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality [[LivingForeverIsAwesome conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
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None
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The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake.
to:
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake. Citra and Rowan must learn the ins and outs of the Scythedom and train to become elite killing machines while also confronting the cracks in their utopia.
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The first book, ''Scythe'' was released in November 2016.
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There are a total of three planned installments in the series.
* The first book, ''Scythe'' was released in November 2016.
* The first book, ''Scythe'' was released in November 2016.
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The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws.
to:
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws. With their every need taken care of by The Thunderhead, humanity has lost its drive to improve and simply does things to avoid boredom rather than out of any enjoyment, while younger generations of Scythes begin developing delusions of godhood and enjoy killing for its own sake.
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* NecessaryEvil: The Scythes kill civilians in order to keep humans from overpopulating the planet.
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[[quoteright:314:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scythe.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:314:What does humanity do in a perfect world?]]
[[caption-width-right:314:What does humanity do in a perfect world?]]
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* BeligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler: Rowan and Citra]]
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* BeligerentSexualTension: BelligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler: Rowan and Citra]]
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* ForbiddenLove: The commmandments of the Scythedom forbid Scythes from forming any romantic attachment. [[spoiler: Curie and Faraday had an affair for seven years anyway and were punished for it.
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[''Literature/Unwind'' Neal Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction {{Dystopia,}} the series deconstructs the very idea of a {{Utopia}} by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
to:
The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[''Literature/Unwind'' Neal Shusterman]] Shusterman that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction {{Dystopia,}} {{Dystopia}}, the series deconstructs the very idea of a {{Utopia}} by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction [[Dystopia,]] the series deconstructs the very idea of a [[Utopia]] by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
to:
The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[Literature/Unwind [[''Literature/Unwind'' Neal Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction [[Dystopia,]] {{Dystopia,}} the series deconstructs the very idea of a [[Utopia]] {{Utopia}} by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by {{Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman}} that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction [[Dystopia,]] the series deconstructs the very idea of a [[Utopia]] by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
to:
The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by {{Literature/Unwind [[Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman}} Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction [[Dystopia,]] the series deconstructs the very idea of a [[Utopia]] by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peaceful, conflict free world.
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None
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction dystopia, the series deconstructs the very idea of a Utopia by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peacful, conflict free world.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, a Jedi-like order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, a Jedi-like order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
to:
The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[Literature/Unwind {{Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman]] Shusterman}} that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction dystopia, [[Dystopia,]] the series deconstructs the very idea of a Utopia [[Utopia]] by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peacful, peaceful, conflict free world.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom,a Jedi-like an order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom,
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The Arc of a Scythe is a new sci-fi novel series by [[Literature/Unwind Neal Shusterman]] that takes the teen dystopia genre and turns it on it's head: rather than yet showing yet another science fiction dystopia, the series deconstructs the very idea of a Utopia by taking the most common idea of Utopia and showing the consequences of a truly peacful, conflict free world.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, a Jedi-like order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws.
The first book, ''Scythe'' was released in November 2016.
* The Second book, ''Thunderhead'' will be released in 2017.
! The series contains examples of:
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Thanks to advances in medical technology and the fact that all humans are immortal from birth, anyone has the ability to "Turn a corner" and have their physical age reset to look younger than they actually are.
* Adipose Rex: High Blade Xenocrates
* AntiHero: [[spoiler: Rowan becomes one after his experience serving as an apprentice to Scythe Goddard.]]
* ApologeticAttacker: Happens a few times throughout the story.
** Rowan and Citra when [[spoiler: they're forced to fight each other at the second Conclave.]]
** Citra when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday in the leg.]]
* BeligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler: Rowan and Citra]]
* BenevolentAI: The Thunderhead.
* CompleteMonster: Scythe Goddard. He enjoys killing for its own sake, regularly indulges in mass gleanings and relies on downright sadistic methods of culling the population. He uses his magnetic charm to draw in like minded followers who regularly threaten innocent people and take advantage of their position to blackmail their way to ownership of large estates and funding. He uses live people for target practice and [[spoilers: blackmails High Blade Xenocrates to ensure that he avoids punishment for his actions.]]
* Cult: Goddard forms one around himself that's dedicated to gleaning for its own sake.
** The Tonists are treated as a harmless version.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The Scythe Conclaves are full of these, with lots of power plays happening behind the scenes.
* DeathIsCheap: One of the major elements of the story is that humans have achieved immortality, and anyone who experiences something that should kill them in real live are quickly resurrected at Revival Centers.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday turns up alive most of the way through the story.]]
* TheDreaded: Scythe Curie has cultivated this reputation over the years.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: Goddard and his disciples.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday.]]
* FantasticallyIndifferent: Since nobody can permanently die, society as a whole is desensitized to things like car crashes and people throwing themselves off buildings.
* ForbiddenLove: The commmandments of the Scythedom forbid Scythes from forming any romantic attachment. [[spoiler: Curie and Faraday had an affair for seven years anyway and were punished for it.
* AGodAmI: Goddard and his followers believe that Scythes are gods and should be treated as such.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Scythes, since their job involves killing people.
* GoodIsNotSoft: The Scythes. See GoodIsNotNice
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: [[spoiler: Rowan becomes one at the end of the first book, going around hunting those who agree with Goddard's views.]]
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: Highblade Xenocrates secretly broke the rules and fathered a child, and Goddard holds his secret daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation.
* InternalReformist: Scythe Faraday and Scythe Curie both try to keep the Scythedom on the straight and narrow.
* KangarooCourt: Citra is put through one when [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates accuses her of murdering Scythe Faraday.
* KillItWithFire: Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: Deconstructed. Life may go on forever and you can be revived as long as you aren't marked by a Scythe for gleaning, but humans have begun to lose their drive to create and do things, simply going through the motions of life to stave off boredom rather than out of any passion for a particular activity.
* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie and Citra at various points.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Citra suspects that Scythe Faraday was murdered and his death was made to look like a suicide. [[spoiler: Turns out he's actually FakingTheDead.]]
** A non-lethal variation occurs at the end of the book. [[spoiler: To avoid being forced to kill Rowan, Citra punches him in the face to give herself plausible deniability when hitting him with her ring hand grants him immunity from Gleaning for a year, then helps him escape while the Conclave debates what to do with him until his immunity runs out.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Everyone is immortal in this universe, so things can
* MentorOccupationalHazard: Scythe Faraday appears to suffer this trope. [[spoiler: And then he turns up alive in the last third of the first book.]]
* MurderInc.: The Scythedom are technically this, but they serve as population control so they are portrayed heroically.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Citra has this reaction when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday. In fairness, she didn't realize her mentor had been faking his death and assumed that she was ambushing his killer and not the man himself.]]
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: All Scythes select the name of a famous historical figure as an allias upon becoming ordained as a Scythe. Notable examples include Marie Curie, Michael Faraday, Volta, Goddard, Nelson Mandella, and [[spoiler: Anastasia Romanov]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Grande Dame of Death, and [[spoiler: Scythe Lucifer.]]
* ObliviousToLove: Scythe Faraday was clueless to the fact that [[spoiler: Curie was in love with him while she was his apprentice. [[EntertaininglyWrong He thought she wanted to kill him.]] Once they were both older and wiser he finally recognized her attempts at flirting for what they were and started a relationship in secret.]]
* OfficialCouple: Citra and Rowan show signs of being this, but because Scythes are forbidden from romantic attachment, nothing comes of it in the first book.
* OldGuardVersusNewBlood: The conflict between Goddard's extremists and the older generation.
* OneWorldOrder: All governments are under the control of the Thunderhead
* ParentalNeglect: The reason Rowan decided to take up Scythe Faraday's offer of an apprenticeship is because his family avoids him and often acts like he isn't there, leaving him feeling overlooked and ignored.
* RedBaron: Scythe Curie is known as "The Grande Dame of Death". [[spoiler: Rowan earns the moniker of "Scythe Lucifer" when he becomes a HunterOfHisOwnKind
* SadistTeacher: Scythe Goddard is this to [[spoiler: Rowan]] after [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday's death.]]
* SadisticChoice: Happens frequently. The most notable example is that, after the first Conclave, Rowan and Citra are informed that whichever one of them is ordained as a Scythe at the Winter Conclave will be required to glean the other as their first assignment.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Curie and Faraday are fond of pulling these on Citra and Rowan.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Goddard holds [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates' secret illegitimate daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation, using both the threat to the girl's life and the threat of revealing Xenocrates' violation of the Scythe commandments]] to force the High Blade to support his controversial attitudes and actions.
* TakeAThirdOption: How Citra and Rowan get out of the whole "one must kill the other" requirement of their exam." [[spoiler: Rowan had brutally injured her at the previous Conclave, so after receiving her Scythes' ring, she punches him in the face [[BlatantLies "ignorant"]] of the fact that by striking him with her ring, she's granted him immunity from gleaning.]]
* TeacherStudentRomance: [[spoiler: Faraday had one with Curie years before Citra and Rowan were born.]]
* TheUnfavorite: Rowan is this within his own family, hence his desire to find purpose in his life.
* UnusualEuphemism: "Gleaning" is used as a substitute for permanently killing someone.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: The final exam of all Scythe candidates is to [[spoiler: temporarily kill someone they love to demonstrate how dedicated they are to the Scythedom's purpose.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: One of the central themes of the story.
In the far future humanity has successfully eradicated all diseases, there is no war, all governments are under the control of a benevolent AI, there is no social or economic inequality, and mankind has even managed to [[Immortality conquer death itself.]] But with humanity no longer constrained by time, someone has to keep the population under control to avoid overpopulating the world and using up Earth's finite resources. Enter the Scythedom, a Jedi-like order of warriors whose sole purpose is to kill people for the future of humanity.
The series follows two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, who are chosen to become the apprentices of a high ranking Scythe. As they train for a job that neither of them actually wants, they come to realize that despite it's surface perfection, their perfect world has some very deep flaws.
The first book, ''Scythe'' was released in November 2016.
* The Second book, ''Thunderhead'' will be released in 2017.
! The series contains examples of:
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Thanks to advances in medical technology and the fact that all humans are immortal from birth, anyone has the ability to "Turn a corner" and have their physical age reset to look younger than they actually are.
* Adipose Rex: High Blade Xenocrates
* AntiHero: [[spoiler: Rowan becomes one after his experience serving as an apprentice to Scythe Goddard.]]
* ApologeticAttacker: Happens a few times throughout the story.
** Rowan and Citra when [[spoiler: they're forced to fight each other at the second Conclave.]]
** Citra when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday in the leg.]]
* BeligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler: Rowan and Citra]]
* BenevolentAI: The Thunderhead.
* CompleteMonster: Scythe Goddard. He enjoys killing for its own sake, regularly indulges in mass gleanings and relies on downright sadistic methods of culling the population. He uses his magnetic charm to draw in like minded followers who regularly threaten innocent people and take advantage of their position to blackmail their way to ownership of large estates and funding. He uses live people for target practice and [[spoilers: blackmails High Blade Xenocrates to ensure that he avoids punishment for his actions.]]
* Cult: Goddard forms one around himself that's dedicated to gleaning for its own sake.
** The Tonists are treated as a harmless version.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The Scythe Conclaves are full of these, with lots of power plays happening behind the scenes.
* DeathIsCheap: One of the major elements of the story is that humans have achieved immortality, and anyone who experiences something that should kill them in real live are quickly resurrected at Revival Centers.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday turns up alive most of the way through the story.]]
* TheDreaded: Scythe Curie has cultivated this reputation over the years.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: Goddard and his disciples.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday.]]
* FantasticallyIndifferent: Since nobody can permanently die, society as a whole is desensitized to things like car crashes and people throwing themselves off buildings.
* ForbiddenLove: The commmandments of the Scythedom forbid Scythes from forming any romantic attachment. [[spoiler: Curie and Faraday had an affair for seven years anyway and were punished for it.
* AGodAmI: Goddard and his followers believe that Scythes are gods and should be treated as such.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Scythes, since their job involves killing people.
* GoodIsNotSoft: The Scythes. See GoodIsNotNice
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: [[spoiler: Rowan becomes one at the end of the first book, going around hunting those who agree with Goddard's views.]]
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: Highblade Xenocrates secretly broke the rules and fathered a child, and Goddard holds his secret daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation.
* InternalReformist: Scythe Faraday and Scythe Curie both try to keep the Scythedom on the straight and narrow.
* KangarooCourt: Citra is put through one when [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates accuses her of murdering Scythe Faraday.
* KillItWithFire: Rowan does this [[spoiler: To Goddard and his followers. It becomes his signature mood as [[HunterOfHisOwnKind Scythe Lucifer.]]
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: Deconstructed. Life may go on forever and you can be revived as long as you aren't marked by a Scythe for gleaning, but humans have begun to lose their drive to create and do things, simply going through the motions of life to stave off boredom rather than out of any passion for a particular activity.
* LoopholeAbuse: Used by both Scythe Curie and Citra at various points.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Citra suspects that Scythe Faraday was murdered and his death was made to look like a suicide. [[spoiler: Turns out he's actually FakingTheDead.]]
** A non-lethal variation occurs at the end of the book. [[spoiler: To avoid being forced to kill Rowan, Citra punches him in the face to give herself plausible deniability when hitting him with her ring hand grants him immunity from Gleaning for a year, then helps him escape while the Conclave debates what to do with him until his immunity runs out.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Everyone is immortal in this universe, so things can
* MentorOccupationalHazard: Scythe Faraday appears to suffer this trope. [[spoiler: And then he turns up alive in the last third of the first book.]]
* MurderInc.: The Scythedom are technically this, but they serve as population control so they are portrayed heroically.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Citra has this reaction when she [[spoiler: accidentally shoots Scythe Faraday. In fairness, she didn't realize her mentor had been faking his death and assumed that she was ambushing his killer and not the man himself.]]
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: All Scythes select the name of a famous historical figure as an allias upon becoming ordained as a Scythe. Notable examples include Marie Curie, Michael Faraday, Volta, Goddard, Nelson Mandella, and [[spoiler: Anastasia Romanov]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Grande Dame of Death, and [[spoiler: Scythe Lucifer.]]
* ObliviousToLove: Scythe Faraday was clueless to the fact that [[spoiler: Curie was in love with him while she was his apprentice. [[EntertaininglyWrong He thought she wanted to kill him.]] Once they were both older and wiser he finally recognized her attempts at flirting for what they were and started a relationship in secret.]]
* OfficialCouple: Citra and Rowan show signs of being this, but because Scythes are forbidden from romantic attachment, nothing comes of it in the first book.
* OldGuardVersusNewBlood: The conflict between Goddard's extremists and the older generation.
* OneWorldOrder: All governments are under the control of the Thunderhead
* ParentalNeglect: The reason Rowan decided to take up Scythe Faraday's offer of an apprenticeship is because his family avoids him and often acts like he isn't there, leaving him feeling overlooked and ignored.
* RedBaron: Scythe Curie is known as "The Grande Dame of Death". [[spoiler: Rowan earns the moniker of "Scythe Lucifer" when he becomes a HunterOfHisOwnKind
* SadistTeacher: Scythe Goddard is this to [[spoiler: Rowan]] after [[spoiler: Scythe Faraday's death.]]
* SadisticChoice: Happens frequently. The most notable example is that, after the first Conclave, Rowan and Citra are informed that whichever one of them is ordained as a Scythe at the Winter Conclave will be required to glean the other as their first assignment.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Curie and Faraday are fond of pulling these on Citra and Rowan.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Goddard holds [[spoiler: High Blade Xenocrates' secret illegitimate daughter hostage to ensure his cooperation, using both the threat to the girl's life and the threat of revealing Xenocrates' violation of the Scythe commandments]] to force the High Blade to support his controversial attitudes and actions.
* TakeAThirdOption: How Citra and Rowan get out of the whole "one must kill the other" requirement of their exam." [[spoiler: Rowan had brutally injured her at the previous Conclave, so after receiving her Scythes' ring, she punches him in the face [[BlatantLies "ignorant"]] of the fact that by striking him with her ring, she's granted him immunity from gleaning.]]
* TeacherStudentRomance: [[spoiler: Faraday had one with Curie years before Citra and Rowan were born.]]
* TheUnfavorite: Rowan is this within his own family, hence his desire to find purpose in his life.
* UnusualEuphemism: "Gleaning" is used as a substitute for permanently killing someone.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: The final exam of all Scythe candidates is to [[spoiler: temporarily kill someone they love to demonstrate how dedicated they are to the Scythedom's purpose.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: One of the central themes of the story.
