The Office of Mercy

January 7, 2013
In this thoughtful debut, Djanikian explores the disconnect between a utopian vision and its dystopian implementation. America-Five is one of several self-contained habitats built in an attempt to survive in an overcrowded and deprived world. Once the habitats’ settlers set off the Storm, the world’s population dropped from a staggering 59 billion to mere hundreds of thousands. Three hundred years later, population is tightly controlled both within and outside the settlements, with each habitat’s Office of Mercy benevolently killing members of the starving, scrounging outside tribes to ease their suffering. Natasha Wiley, a young citizen assigned to the Office of Mercy, knows empathy will only get in the way of her necessary work, but when she comes into close contact with one of the tribes, her reaction sets off world-changing events. Despite the emphasis on human emotion, Djanikian’s approach is more cerebral than emotionally satisfying, and readers may respond by trying to poke holes in the intriguing premise rather than enjoying the ride. Agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Brick House.

December 1, 2012
A fascinating view of a post-apocalyptic America, penned by a first-time novelist. Natasha lives in America-Five, one of the domed, indoor settlements created by survivors of what is referred to as "the Storm," which left the world decimated. Those housed inside the Dome live in a world without want or even death. Food, shelter and health care are provided to the carefully cultivated generations that dwell inside, while those who live on the "Outside" struggle with the elements, as well as hunger, danger and disease. But the elders of the America settlements have seen fit to provide their laboratory-generated succeeding generations with a guidebook that explains the colony's ethics. They believe in killing what they refer to as "Tribes" in order to prevent their suffering. Natasha works in the Office of Mercy, the division in charge of staging and carrying out "sweeps," which is what America-Five calls the mass killings. When a group of tribesmen destroy some of the sensors used to launch sweeps, Natasha's immediate supervisor, Jeffrey, taps her for the mission to reset the sensors. That means Natasha must venture outside the Dome, risking contamination from an uncontrolled atmosphere but also seeing firsthand the people she's been tracking all of her adult life. Something takes place on that mission that causes Natasha to reassess her beliefs, and it affects both her view of the tribes as well as the philosophical position of the Dome's leaders. Djanikian's fictitious world combines both the horrifying consequences of ethnic cleansing with the bright new hope of how much one person can do to change history. Both believable and chilling, this tale transports readers to a futuristic utopian life where good and evil mingle with equal opportunity and are often indistinguishable to the characters. This intriguing slice of future drama ends much too soon and will leave readers begging for a sequel, if not a series.

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September 1, 2012

Having lived her whole life in the comforts of a high-tech underground colony called America-Five, 24-year-old Natasha Wiley is asked to join a team heading Outside for the first time. Billed as crossover dystopian fiction; The Hunger Games, anyone? See also Julianna Baggott's "Pure" trilogy (My Picks, p. 78).

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2013
In Djanikian's horrifically brutal, compelling debut, postapocalyptic America is left peopled by two groups: those who live emotionally controlled existences in high-tech underground settlements such as America-Five, and the wild, emotionally fierce people of the Tribes, who are granted mercy by those in the underground settlements. Natasha Wiley works under the strangely intriguing Jeffrey Montague in America-Five's Department of Mercy, where she spends her days tracking those unfortunate tribespeople who live haunted lives aboveground, struggling to feed themselves as they trek through the wilderness that sprang up after planned sweeps 305 years earlier obliterated 59 billion souls who were suffering immensely on an overcrowded planet. The Tribes are the descendants of those who survived. Since the original sweeps, America-Five and its sister settlements have granted mercy to more than 8 million people. Natasha has been raised to use logic rather than feelings, but seesawing emotions begin to grip her when she is plunged into a sweep herself and comes face-to-face with the very Tribe she is helping to exterminate. As she considers the actual consequences of her and her people's actions, she must question everything and everyone she has ever held true, especially Jeffrey and the intense feelings she has developed for him. A grim muse on a future with shades of the Hunger Games, Djanikian's first offering should attract readers voracious for this popular subgenre.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)