I missed the Arc of a Scythe series desperately, so it was a wonderful surprise to not only find this short story collection coming out but also be accepted to review an early eARC. Neal Shusterman is just as captivating and witty with this world. The level of detail and thought put into this world beyond the trilogy baffles me. He's created such a realistic and vibrant world that it can thrive off of the characters and atmosphere alone. I am worried about accidentally spoiling fans, so I'm choosing to leave my rankings below with the titled story. On release day, I'm planning to update my review with descriptions and analysis. I just don't want to do that now, especially because the eARC was protected.

1. The First Swing (technically a poem) ★★★★/★★★★★
2. Formidable ★★★★★/★★★★★
3. Never Work With Animals ★★★/★★★★★
4. A Death of Many Colors ★★★.75/★★★★★
5. Unsavory Row ★★★★/★★★★★
6. A Martian Minute ★★★★★/★★★★★
7. The Mortal Canvas ★★★★★/★★★★★
8. Cirri ★★★★.5/★★★★★
9. Anastasia’s Shadow ★★★.5/★★★★★
10. The Persistence of Memory ★★★★/★★★★★
11. Meet Cute and Die ★★★.25/★★★★★
12. Perchance to Glean ★★★/★★★★★
13. A Dark Curtain Rises ★★★★.75/★★★★★

By far my favorite overall was A Martian Minute, and y'all will understand why. The three five star short stories just hit my heart in a way that I still can't seem to not think about. They left me with some deep thoughts after finishing, and I had to lay back and digest them. What I loved the most about these stories is that they're an even mix of answers for many questions left unanswered in The Toll and fun, innovative takes on Gleaning. This world didn't start with Faraday or Citra—definitely not Goddard—and I love that Neal allows us to grow with other scythes and people. It made me really happy to explore the larger expanse of this world, beyond the planes of earth or not.

9/20: Thirteen wonderful stories that made me wish I could have an eternity longer with this world—these characters!!

You’ll get some answers that were left unsaid in The Toll, but also, you’ll be left with even more questions. Great right?! Lol.