Neal Shusterman's Scythe explores a post-mortal dystopia where everything is perfect except humanity.
Our nascent 'Cloud' has developed into 'the Thunderhead' and all of humanities problems are solved! The Thunderhead is an AI that has only our best intentions at heart! Amazon Cloud Services Rejoice! Quantum computing or some advancements in cloud technology have allowed for the elimination of human death! Go figure! Aged folk can reboot into new younger bodies! Accidental deaths simply render people 'dead-ish' until they are revived in a new bod.
Unsurprisingly, humanity not motivated by want or finite time on the planet becomes pretty boring. To add the edge back into life Scythes are created. This group of humans randomly permanently kill otherwise-immortal humans. The idea is that random death will keep folks aware that their end could come. This service is for some reason viewed as critical for the survival of the species and Scythes are the one aspect of life not controlled by the Thunderhead.
Humans have never proven good at running things for themselves.
I had a fantastic time reading this book, look forward to the second installment in the series, and was disappointed to learn I'd have to wait until November for the finale.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman via Amazon
