School of Deaths: The Scythe
Christopher Mannino
Suzie always thought that a Grim Reaper was just a story tale, left over from the Middle Ages. When she finds herself wasting away in the human world, she doesn’t know what to do next. When she finds herself in the Land of Deaths she is determined to get home as soon as possible, but that soon changes.
The blurb left me a bit wanting. It basically promised me more than it could offer. The concept was good, but the classes just didn’t live up to expectations. Actually, it reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, except that there wasn’t any real bad guys. Just distant dragons, and the fact that ‘Mentals were treated badly.
Suzie is not particularly bright, as far as I can tell. She frustrated me with her naivety and inability to deal with people. And the romance that eventually happened? Sigh. I just couldn’t love it. I wasn’t convinced. Maybe because her character sometimes came across as very young, and sometimes came across as a teenager.
A million years is a long time… And something about that says to me that Deaths shouldn’t just ferry human souls. We’ve been around as ‘humans’ for around 6 million years. But I suppose the whole concept of this novel steps away from what is possible, so that should be ok…
I didn’t understand the motivations of many characters. In fact, I didn’t understand the big deal about there being a female Death, except that apparently all female Deaths are bad! Or maybe it is just adapting to it. Seriously guys, get over it. I know you aren’t all from the 21st century, but surely you aren’t all bastards?
I read this in one sitting. I always find that ebooks leave me unhappy and not feeling like I’ve really read something with substance. As interesting as the concept of this novel was, I just didn’t feel like it was executed well enough for me to give 4 stars. 3 stars from me. I have hopes for the sequel, but I’m not sure I’ll be volunteering to read it.
I received this novel as part of a tour.
