{"product_id":"rising-thunder-a-prequel-to-scythe-first-blades","title":"(12\/01\/26 PREORDER) Rising Thunder: A Prequel to Scythe (First Blades)","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover Thunderhead’s origin—the fragile moment before the world changes forever and the hidden forces that set the storm in motion—in this long-awaited prequel to the New York Times bestselling and Printz Honor–winning Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd of course, as every school child knows, December 2042 marks the end of the Age of Mortality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat no one has ever fully understood is how the world reached that moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs death begins to seem optional, humanity looks for ways to bend the rules of existence. Twi-life centers begin storing the nearly-deceased, while eco-nihilists destroy civilization’s icons and threaten to end the human race entirely. Public opinion fractures. Systems strain. The world feels…unstable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBehind the scenes, two powerful and diametrically opposed artificial intelligences set out to optimize, stabilize, and protect—each with its own idea of what that means. But in a world already tipping toward transformation, the consequences could be catastrophic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, in an obscure online chatroom, a small group of teenagers from around the globe debate both the glorious and the terrifying prospects of the future, never realizing that they stand on a very literal cutting edge—and that their conversations, their choices, their very existence matter far more than they realize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause when humanity stands on the brink of immortality, someone must decide what survives…and what must be cut away.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54461898031379,"sku":"9781665972086","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0815\/1652\/7891\/files\/9781665972086.jpg?v=1784574025","url":"https:\/\/www.monsterasbooks.com\/products\/rising-thunder-a-prequel-to-scythe-first-blades","provider":"Monstera's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}