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With seemingly countless novels written to imagine a bleak dystopian future humanity has engineered for itself through countless follies, author Neal Shusterman has instead postulated an alternative. What if humanity eventually gets its act together? So much so, that not only have we ended world hunger, cured all disease and sickness, and reversed climate change, but gone so far as to eliminate mortality? That is the world in which this story takes place.

It is several hundred years in the future, the exact number incalculable since humanity no longer feels it necessary to record years numerically. Humanity has ceded control of its governance to an all-powerful Artificial Intelligence known only as ‘The Thunderhead� (a clever play on the idea of “the cloud� becoming so large it needed an upgrade in title). All civilian governments have been disbanded and religion is a thing of the past. Utopia seemingly has been achieved, and the denizens of planet Earth live carefree of the worries that plagued what they refer to as “the mortal age�.

Perfection achieved! The end!... Right? Sadly, no. This utopia comes with a cost. Not only has humanity plateaued and ceased striving to expand its horizons, but its new found immortal status has given rise to a new problem, severe overpopulation. Rather than prohibit breeding, humanity creates the order of “Scythes�. It is a Scythe’s job to glean (murder) a quota of people per year to maintain the population balance.

How does one become a Scythe? While their order is steeped in secrecy, youths Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch are thrust most unwillingly into the world of organized and ordained killing as they become Scythe apprentices.

While the story can at times be predictable, it is nonetheless compelling. The tale takes some unexpected and masterfully crafted turns which made it difficult for me to put down. I encourage all fans of YA science-fiction with a taste for “utopian gone-awry� novels like “Brave New World� or �1984� to place “Scythe� at the top of their reading list. As you drink deeply from this dark tale, the only regret you’ll have is having to wait more than a year for the third novel to appear on shelves� after-all, it’s not like we have all the time in the world. We are mortal after-all�