Review: The Office of Mercy - Ariel Djanikian

In America-Five, there is no suffering, hunger, or inequality. Its citizens inhabit a high-tech Utopia established after a global catastrophe known as the Storm radically altered the planet. Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Wiley works in the Office of Mercy, tasked with humanely terminating—or sweeping”—the nomadic Storm survivors who live Outside. But after she joins a select team and ventures Outside for the first time, Natasha slowly unravels the mysteries surrounding the Storm—and the secretive elders who run America-Five.

My thoughts:

Do not go in waiting for a non stop action book where someone fights the big bad and comes out victorious, because good always wins. No, this book was different, more thinking, more slow, more grey. 

It's the perfect society, everyone is happy. The oldest people, The Alphas are over 300 years old. You can live forever as they grow new organs there. Babies are grown, not made. Sex is better had in "The Pretend". Everything is very logical, and clean. People are content.

Does this make it better, no. They live in their bubble ever since the world ended. Some people survived on the outside but those are being killed tribe by tribe. The people of america 5 are so caught up in the philosophy and logical thinking that they do think their way is right. Their way of killing the tribes because they are suffering, they are hungry, always on the move, what kind of life is that? Not to mention they die fast. I did get this whole concept, yes everything is better in the safe haven, killing others is merciful. But also truly evil, just go out and invite them in and give them meds and be happy. But that would not be logical, that would mean less for those inside. There is where the conflict is. Natasha the lead character comes in contact with the tribes after a sweep and starts to think that this does seem pretty messed up. 

I liked it because I understood their way of thinking, and I hated their way of thinking. It was an interesting world. It's not the whole oh we are right (and therefore not evil), no because they truly wanted to do good. They wanted to be merciful.

Conclusion:

A different kind of dystopia.

Cover

meh

Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 28th 2014 by Penguin Books (first published February 21st 2013)
Dystopia / post apocalyptic
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