Compassion may be humanity’s deadliest weapon…
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. 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.
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…
It is such a pleasure to be finally sharing my review of Kill Them With Kindness today. I was supposed to be taking part in the blog tour but my daughter was unexpectedly admitted to hospital (she's fine now) and with other life stuff going on at the moment, I unfortunately had to delay my review. My grateful thanks to Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books for being so understanding, and to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. Many thanks too for my advance copy of the novel.
During and immediately after the Covid lockdowns, I remember there being a lot of discussion in online book groups as to whether people would want to read fiction about the pandemic. The consensus was always a resounding no but as time has moved on, many authors have at least referenced those extraordinary times in their books. However, most have shied away from having a pandemic as their main plot. Will Carver is, of course, not like most writers and while the pandemic he writes about in his new book, Kill Them With Kindness is fictional, much of this challenging, insightfully satirical novel will feel uncomfortably familiar to anyone who endured its real-life equivalent.
Imagine the conspiracy theorists were right for once and the powerful and elite really did plan to release a deadly virus into the world. However, before the small, secret group of global politicians can put their plan into action, a Japanese scientist working in a Chinese research facility accidentally figures out their nefarious intentions. Dr Haruto Ikeda is a genius and he realises he cannot prevent the release of a virus entirely; he can, however, release his own mutated virus early and beat them at their own game. Unlike the politicians, he doesn't want to make people sick, scared and compliant, he dreams of a world where people are kinder to one another. He calls his mutation of the deadly Tau virus, CompX and after testing it on himself, unleashes compassion on the world.
It works but this is a Will Carver book so was never going to be an uplifting but ultimately unbelievable, sanitised story of good overcoming evil. Instead, what follows is an eviscerating exploration of human behaviour and while there are moments of genuine compassion, a fatal combination of greed and apathy quickly threatens everything the well-meaning but naïve scientist hoped for.
The novel is set in a fictional version of our world but it's one that will be horribly familiar to all. The Prime Minister of the UK, Harris Jackson plays the part of an idiot well and his public image is that of a loudmouthed party boy whose wife sticks by him despite the stream of outrageous stories about his infidelities and screw-ups. His party may be tired of his antics but while the public supports him, Jackson appears to have the ability to survive any accusation. Although corrupt, cheating politicians are far from an unusual phenomenon, Jackson bears uncanny similarities to our own former louche, unprincipled leader – I'll leave you to figure out who!
It's not just the great and not-so-good who Will Carver holds a mirror up to and as always, it's discomfiting to recognise many of our own quirks, flaws and failings as the virus spreads and little pockets of kindness begin to be observed. These aren't necessarily grand gestures and for all his biting critique of the world, Will Carver also recognises the power of the small moments of empathy and kindness. Of course, for every selfless act, there are always the self-proclaimed social media experts with an unquestioning audience of slavish followers whose confidence in their message usually belies their actual expertise in that area. Self-absorption, stupidity, indifference and vanity, encouraged by the addictive hits of social media likes and reposts spread fake news and false information more quickly than even a virus can replicate but Ikeda begins to realise his plan is working despite the naysayers and his own mistakes in failing to recognise the inevitable human cost of any virus, even one designed for philanthropic purposes.
The potential benefits of a global pandemic are what drives Harris Jackson but when the expected avenues to make cash for him and his cohorts doesn't materialise thanks to an unexpected breakout of altruism, and when the death toll isn't enough to scare the public into complete submissiveness, he resorts to more manipulative lies and divisive, racist rhetoric to push his agenda (who'd have thought it of a politician?!) However, it's not just an outbreak of kindness or entitled, corrupt leaders which threaten the world. Horrifying images are broadcast of people succumbing to a deadly gas in China and now it's headed for Great Britain. With no means to escape, every citizen is prescribed a suicide pill and Will Carver again prods his readers into considering what they would do in the same situation. Is certain death albeit painless and following a final day with loved ones preferable to taking the risk of hanging on to hope, however improbable?
There are no easy solutions here but while we are goaded into reflecting upon our own complicity in accepting the worst from our politicians, embracing the vacuity and manipulation fed to us through traditional and social media and tolerating cruelty and destruction, Will Carver then blindsides us with those small, quiet moments of self-sacrifice and courage. In spite of everything, maybe there is cause for hope after all?
Dark, funny and moving, Kill Them With Kindness is Will Carver at his perceptive, provocative best – do yourself a kindness and read it! Very highly recommended.
Kill Them With Kindness is published by Orenda Books and available to purchase on their website. Further purchasing links can be found here, or order from your favourite independent bookshop.
The blog tour has finished now but you can still read the reviews from my fellow bloggers and instagrammers. Details are below.
Refusing to be confined to one genre, Will continues to push boundaries and experiment with form. His first foray into horror saw the birth of The Beresford. A book of the year in the Express and Spectator, it is now in development for television, along with the darkly funny Psychopaths Anonymous.
Will’s most recent book sees him move into speculative fiction with the much anticipated Kill Them With Kindness, published on 19th June 2025. He has been longlisted and shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, Not The Booker Prize, Amazon Readers New Voice Award, Fingerprint Genre-Busting Book of the Year and Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award. His books have been translated into many languages.
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