The Captain’s Log – the toll (Neal Shusterman) – I completed a series!

Ahoy there me mateys!  While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the first two books in this series then ye might want to skip this post and go read them. Worth the read. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

While the second book remains me favourite, this book was a satisfactory end to the series.  Some thoughts on this book and the series as a whole:

• The reason why I thought book three was the weakest is because the worldview was expanded.  I am not saying I didn’t like what happened but ye lost the immediacy of tension by jumping around to the different points of view.  It was still a quick and engaging read though.
• I was surprised that book three took place three years after the events in book two.  And at what happened in those three years was surprising.
• Rowan was one of me favourite characters in the books and he did not have much page time in book three.  I didn’t love that choice.
• While Greyson was a wonderful character in book two, he really did not have much agency in the last book.  I expected a lot more from his storyline and what ye did get was rather substandard.
• In fact, I wish there had been a lot more time with Rowan, Greyson, and Citra.  I missed them being the central figures of the story.
• I really did love the world building in this series and it will stick with me as an interesting concept.
• I loved the Thunderhead’s role in this last book and how it works around the rules.
• There was a little too much philosophy in this book and I didn’t think it was necessary.  There were also some jokes thrown in about the current world we live in and I am not a fan of that in me fiction.
• Finding out what happened to the Nimbus agents after the events of book two was awesome!
• Jeri the sea captain was me new favourite character.  Arrrr!
• The ending had some unexpected resolutions and I rather liked Citra and Rowan’s ending in particular.
• I did not however like the resolution to the scythe problem.  Why was the “fix” the original solution all along?  There was some inconsistencies and things not to me taste.
• As entertainment, this series was a success.

I am excited to have finished a series and have no regrets about this one.  However, I do not think that this be a series I would end up rereading.  Arrrr!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Neal Shusterman – Author

To buy the book go to:

the toll – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

scythe – book 1 (Captain’s Log – YA Fantasy)

thunderhead – book 2 (Captain’s Log – YA Fantasy)

dry (Walk the Plank – YA Sci-Fi)