Neal Shusterman · fiction-series
Arc of a Scythe books in order
A dystopian science-fiction series consisting of a completed core trilogy and companion short-fiction collections.
Choose your route
Reading order
Only reading orders present in the catalog are shown. Optional novellas and companion works can be hidden without changing the underlying sequence.
Publication order
- 1 Scythe
Book 1 · novel · 2016
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the…
- 2 Thunderhead
Book 2 · novel · 2018
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica,…
- 3 The Toll
Book 3 · novel · 2019
In the highly anticipated finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy, dictators, prophets, and tensions rise. In a world that’s conquered death, will humanity finally be torn asunder by the immortal beings it created? Citra and…
- 4 Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe
Book 4 · short-story-collection · 2022 Optional
There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years, humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death…
