My Thoughts on The Merge...

Near the end of reading this book, I Googled if there were different subgenres of utopian novels. I had a sense that there were, but I needed to confirm.

According to Google, and, most likely, other AI search engines, The Merge is a Technological/Corporate Dystopia tale, somewhere along the lines of Brave New World and Technomancer. The “Merge” itself is promoted as a technological/medical marvel that can work to end the globe’s issues; issues that directly result from human overpopulation.

Amelia and her mother Laurie, an Alzheimer's sufferer, are conflicted about the Merge and what it can provide for her in terms of a cure. Other characters include a father and daughter, whose struggle with addiction could also be cured by this medical miracle. A pregnant couple is the third pair, summoning forth questions of a new kind of single-parenthood. Lastly, there are a pair of brothers, one who is suffering the late stages of cancer. Combine, the corporation that innovated the Merge, hopes that, with these soon-to-be-successful examples, that world would indeed become a better place.

Not verse in the dystopian story format, I found myself being pulled along the narrative up and until the midpoint, where Amelia and her mother Laurie are finally merged into one body. Before that, the story is rich with social awareness questions, details of what the Merge can offer, and the possible implications of this “historic” action. After the midpoint, unfortunately, the narrative dragged on and didn’t pick up steam until a tragedy occurred. The preparation for the act proves far more interesting than the aftereffects.

There seems to be a set list of social commentary topics any Science fiction author could select, from control vs. humanity, gender/sexuality, racism and prejudice, cli-fi (climate fiction) and totalitarianism (1).

Also, there was one glaring eyesore in the narrative involving the swiftness of opening this “cure” to the rest of England and the World. MHRA, (Great Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency), or FDA, anyone? This literary faux pas did not get in the way of my appreciating the novel, but it may others.

If you’re a fan of dystopian novels, then I recommend this book.

https://www.google.com/search?q=social+commentary+types+in+science+fiction&client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=xae9&sca_esv=6d76dc318ac9b9d4&ei=2iNIaeCIHaWsqtsPuO7umAc&ved=0ahUKEwjg3dGokM-RAxUllmoFHTi3G3MQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=social+commentary+types+in+science+fiction&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiKnNvY2lhbCBjb21tZW50YXJ5IHR5cGVzIGluIHNjaWVuY2UgZmljdGlvbjIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRirAjIFECEYqwIyBRAhGJ8FSNpQUNsKWKNHcAN4AZABAZgB8QagAeocqgEGNDEuNi0xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIsoAKXF8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICCxAAGIAEGJECGIoFwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMY0QMYxwHCAggQABiABBixA8ICCxAAGIAEGJIDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYyQPCAhAQLhiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAgUQABiABMICBhAAGBYYHsICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBcICCBAAGKIEGIkFmAMAiAYBkAYKkgcCNDSgB5OoArIHAjQxuAeJF8IHBzAuMjUuMTnIB2uACAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp