Kill Them with Kindness

By: Will Carver

Narrated by: Ciaran Saward

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 citizens – one last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together.

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.

©2025 Will Carver (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel.' (Literary Review)

More about ideas but a good read

This is more about ideas, then plot, then characters.

I think I was listening for about 5 minutes before the main character was introduced. Until then in was an omniscient narrator telling us about this world.

I was never bored, but on the other hand I dozed off for about an hour, didn't scrub back, and didn't feel like I missed anything important.