Case Study

A Dystopian Novel about Absolute Empathy

De: Arsenii Moskvichoff

Narrado por: Jonathan Davis

What if empathy were absolute? Would it make our world better?

William is a mental health specialist in a world of absolute empathy. It's a dangerous job: one slip-up and an escalating empathy feedback loop with a patient could kill them both. Every day, William faces the worst consequences of the hyperempathy virus release and loathes the restraints it puts on humanity.

His life is upended when a new patient claims to have freed herself from the virus. If others can follow in her footsteps, there's no telling what it will do to the hyperempathic society.

And yet, it's too tempting not to try. As William follows this thread, it leads him ever further into the darker side of the world and of himself.

The novel is best for lovers of classic dystopias like 1984, Brave New World, or Fahrenheit 451 who also welcome a touch of hard psychological science fiction and mind-bending mystery reminiscent of Philip K. Dick.

If you are one of them, you should give it a listen.

©2025 Arsenii Moskvichev (P)2025 Arsenii Moskvichev

Thought Provoking and Unique.

I finally decided to listen after getting 2 to 3 ads on Facebook that was just the intro page for the book. I had been hesitant at first due to it having limited reviews, and being skeptical of the narration for an independent author.

I am glad I took a chance, this was a unique and orginal piece of literature and the intro page is as enticing as the rest oft the book.

The narrator was fantastic in his tone, flow, and abilities to reflect what the author was trying convey of the main charcters thoughts, feelings and emotions.

it is an interesting dystopian world, where unwavering, unavoidable empathy can kill you. Imagine every overly empathic individual you've met, times 100. This is that world, you can feel so bad and so guilty or empathetic for an individual that those feelings can kill you, thus creating a world free of wars and most violence, creating an imperfect utopia.

Would a world like this be ultimately good or bad, would it destroy our individual selves, but be worth the parts of our selves we'd lose?

Even the glossary of terms was fascinating, id recommend listening to/reading it before starting the book and second time at the end.


Definitely take a chance on this new independent author, id love to know more about this world or any other ideas he writes. I fully intend on buying a physical copy of this book to further support the author and post reviews and recommend it to friends.

Would a world like this be ultimately good or bad, would it destroy our individual selves, but be worth the parts of our selves we'd lose?

The next 1984!

This was a gripping story from start to finish. It has been a while since I've listened to a book that had me looking for excuses throughout my day to listen to a few minutes here and there just to see what would happen next. (There are some curse words here and there, so one must steal away from one's children in order to listen, especially since I don't do well with headphones!)

The book is begging for a sequel or even a series. But this will be tricky to follow!

Great performance from the voice talent too! Sometimes the voice you here sounds overly eager or on the other end of the spectrum, too matter-of-fact. This reading struck the right balance for me, making the story both engaging and easy to understand.

interesting from start to finish

This was a riveting story! Written in such an interesting way too. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book. Recommending to all my friends so I have people to talk to about this book. I hope this author write more books like this because I will read or listen to every title.

empathy can be scary

I found this novel quite enjoyable.I was also surprised by the results of complete empathy in this particular situation.I recommend the read , and I hope this author writes again soon.

Spoiler filled review: Thought provoking

This book is very intelligently written. Using a textbook as the baseline plot of the novel gave it both a clinical detachment and an air of mistrust from the beginning, knowing that anything in this book could be manipulated or change to reflect the idea, ideas or thoughts of the people administering the class. This is acknowledge later in the book with the nod toward the character being unsure whether or not his work would be misrepresented. We are assured that the book was not altered due to his wishes but, how do we know that’s true? It leaves an air of doubt and a little bit of room for open interpretation without feeling like the book is incomplete or inconclusive. I found myself at times cheering for the main character, suspicious of him, cheering on the main resistant suspicious of her. Always questioning, who wants to be trusted, and who was not as a person who prides myself on my ability to recognize patterns. I appreciated the fact that I kept second-guessing myself, even if I was right. The answer is both right in front of your face and also left with enough ambiguity to feel like maybe you could be wrong. It also leaves the answer to the biggest question in the book up to your interpretation and your moral compass, which is my favorite kind. I definitely felt like it was inspired by the giver, Fahrenheit 451, 1984 and other Classics in the best way. As a tutor, I think that I would introduce this book to 10th grade end up as a thought provoking study. And ask them to write an essay on whether they think hyper empathy would be a good idea or if they lived in this society if they think they would join this group hunting resistance or not and why while it is hard to put yourself in the shoes of the society that you have never been a part of the writer does a very good job and making sure that you feel connected to the people contained within the pages. Looking forward to more of his works in the future.