The base of Rage and Mercy Part 1 by Scott Dresden is how drug fiends treat the society and vice versa. Sayer has been driving Diana for about ten years. She has a medical condition due to which her dad has appointed Sayer as her driver. Although Sayer is a very reserved guy, Diana’s compassionate nature develops love in his heart. He wants nothing but the best for her. However, destiny has something hideous planned for her. A group of fiends mercilessly kill Diana. This heinous act throws Sayer into a murderous streak. He begins hunting and killing these low lives. The police department is torn between deciding whether this murderer should be caught for killing fiends or left alone for reducing their (fiends’) population.
The storytelling of the author is really impressive. He picks up a character and narrates his life up until now, attitude, dreams, and wishes. This way, when he moves from one character to another, the reader has already made a connection with the previous character and is ready to know something about the next one. If you have read any of my previous reviews, then you know that making a connection with the characters ranks extremely high in my books. No matter how well a story is written, if I cannot make a connection with its characters, then I find something missing.
The plot of the book is quite intriguing. The manner in which these fiends are represented, I could not decide whether to pity them or feel enraged. At that moment, I understood the real meaning of the title of the book: the indecision between rage and mercy. How do you feel mercy towards the people who are killing humans for the sake of a few bucks and their knickknacks? On the contrary, how do you justify hatred towards the people who are not even in their senses? While reading this book, I found myself standing at the crossroads of this dilemma. Rage and Mercy Part 1 forced me to question if anything in life is actually black and white; I think everything is gray.
Although Diana has a very small part to play, I loved her character. Her thoughts on education and religion are very clear and engaging. She is compassionate and non-judgemental. She does not expect anything in return. When Sayer had just started driving her around, he did not talk to her very much. In fact, he didn’t even respond to her. However, his indifference did not stop Diana from conversing with him.
Without giving away the story, I just wish to mention that I did not like how the story ended. From the beginning, there was a flow and logic in the story, which, in my opinion, went missing in the end. This is, of course, a subjective opinion and other readers might not agree with me. But, this is the only reason due to which I am rating Rage and Mercy Part 1 3 out of 4 stars.
This book was an “OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day”. It can be found on OBC bookshelf by clicking on this link: http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=153473
