The ‘most original writer in Britain’ (Daily Express) returns with a mind-blowing, high-concept new thriller.
‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review
The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly.
And it’s coming.
The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.
Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them… nice.
Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind.
But governments don’t want a population in agreement. They want conflict and outrage and fear. Reasonable people are harder to control.
Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end.
But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all…
Book Info: 300 pages. Publisher: Orenda Books. Publication Date: 19 June 205
My Thoughts:
As much as I adore Will Carver and think his books are absolutely brilliant, each time I read one I forget that I then have to review it and that is nearly almost impossible for me to adequately describe the chaos and sheer brilliance of his writing.
Firstly, none of his books fall into the normal category or genre box and Kill Them With Kindness is no exception. This is a hybrid political satire expertly blended with speculative fiction, add in a sprinkling of sci-fi, a dollop of humour, and a fistful of strange facts and you’ve got a “Classic Carver”. If that doesn’t entice you to read this then I give up!
The subject of Kill Them With Kindness might seem a little familiar to you. A terrifying airborne virus has been unleased worldwide, originating from a tiny village in China and killing millions with no immediate vaccine. Symptoms include coughing, headaches, respiratory problems and those with underlying health conditions are more at risk of death. Masks are mandatory, the world is in lockdown and people are scared.
The World Leaders have combined forces to deal with this cataclysmic catastrophe but the British PM, a philandering buffoon (sound familiar?) seems to have his own agenda.
Once again the author has taken an uncomfortable and often taboo subject, turned it on it’s head, but not before taking the reader on a very disturbing, but thought-provoking journey with so many subtle (and lots of not-so-subtle) digs at humanity and the world around us.
If you enjoy your books with a very tongue-in-cheek nod to real life events and people, then you will adore this book.
