It’s the year 2446, and the first three Horsemen of Revelation’s Apocalypse have ridden.
Pestilence, War and Famine have changed the world into a dictatorship ruled with an iron fist. Commoners have few rights, and liberty is a distant memory.
But before the final Horseman is released, the Archangel of Mercy – Tzadkiel – makes a bold plea, asking for permission to find even one human who … to find even one human who remembers the meaning of mercy and compassion. He is given 100 years, until Death will sweep across the land.
And so, he must ride. Taking human form and coming to Earth, he finds a place ruled by greed, hatred and fear. With time running out and Death growing impatient, can Tzadkiel find what he’s looking for… and how much will he need to sacrifice?
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An interesting dystopian book to read when let’s face it our own world seems to have gone crazy and every event seems to be reported evermore divisively, showing the wide cracks between the haves and have-nots.
The book is set far into the future. A select few live in comfort while the vast majority live in servitude and poverty. Damage to the environment has led to limited resources which are coveted and consumed by the wealthy minority. The three horsemen of the Apocalypse have already ridden through the lands bringing pestilence, war and famine, heaping more misery on the people. The archangel of mercy, Tzadkiel has won a 100-year reprieve for the world. If he can find one person left who remembers mercy and compassion, the final horseman, Death, will not ride.
Lourdes is a young peasant girl, aware of her place in society and accepting she has little worth other than to serve. Every night she is disturbed to hear the cries of someone being punished in the tower and becomes determined to discover who the poor soul is and whether she can ease his pain in some way. Could she be the person sought by Tzadkiel? If she is, Death will be keeping a watchful eye as the 1oo-year reprieve is nearly over.
A great storyline with a message to us all about protecting our environment and the dangers of an unfair society. Well-written with relatable characters.
Recommend to readers who enjoy dystopian and fantasy novels.
I read Cynthia Morgan’s The Reviled a while back and enjoyed it tremendously. When Misericorde (Mercy Series Book One) came up on my Amazon recommendations, I knew I had to add it to my TBR list. Here are my thoughts!
Synopsis (from the author):
It’s the year 2446, and the first three Horsemen of Revelation’s Apocalypse have ridden.
Pestilence, War and Famine have changed the world into a dictatorship ruled with an iron fist. Commoners have few rights, and liberty is a distant memory.
Before the final Horseman is released, the Archangel of Mercy – Tzadkiel – makes a bold plea, asking for permission to find even one human who remembers the meaning of mercy and compassion. He is given 100 years, until Death will sweep across the land.
Taking human form and coming to Earth, he finds a world ruled by greed, hatred and fear. With time running out and Death growing impatient, can Tzadkiel find what he’s looking for… and how much will he need to sacrifice?
What I liked:
Misericorde had a great storyline! I’m not usually a fan of books with angels, but the focus was not on Tzadkiel’s angelic side, but more on the human frailties he experienced in human form. This is a dark fantasy novel, and parts of Lourdes’ plight and Tzadkiel’s suffering are difficult to read, but in the end, it is a story of hope and possibilities. Well done!
What I didn’t like:
There wasn’t much to dislike in the book, so no complaints from me!
Overall impression:
Misericorde (Mercy Series Book One) was a well-written and thought-provoking novel. Good characters, great story, and a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak world made this a book to enjoy. There are dark elements to the story, so the reader should be aware of that, but if you like dark fantasy, read this one!
My rating:
5 Stars
Highly recommended dark fantasy
This is a dark fantasy story set far in a dystopian future with touches of horror. World-building for the future is well-drawn and convincing, and humanity is paying the price for past mistakes and bad choices inflicted on the planet and its people. The ultimate price is waiting in the wings, but there is hope as the Archangel of Mercy seeks a saviour to redeem humanity, and prevent the arrival of the fourth horseman of The Apocalypse, Death. The thought-provoking story unfolds brilliantly, and certainly kept me turning the pages to find out how this fascinating tale would resolve. Well written with vivid characters and amazingly easy to imagine scenes; I enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this book with its intriguing premise of the Archangel trying to find the one person who understands mercy in a world that has seemingly become completely devoid of it. I saw somewhere it had a Les Miserables feel to it and that alone had me taking a closer look as Les Miserables is one of my favorite novels. Misericorde did have some of that feel with a powerful group having no mercy in their crushing of a downtrodden people. Yet it was far worse treatment than that. This group had a cruelty that took pleasure in the misery and torture they directly dispensed on this group they deemed worthless. To our horror, they dole out the worst of it on the Archangel Tzadkiel. However, we are reminded in the darkest moments what can be endured by the human spirit and what light can be found if searched for hard enough and long enough. We see it as we watch Tzadkiel and Lourdes together, not knowing how their struggle will end, but hoping they can withstand the battlefield placed before them. There were moments their agony seem to cut as deep as the blade used to further their misery. This story is not for the feign of heart. Yet neither is life, but we still continue through it because we end up finding it was worth the journey. This was an incredible read. Though it seemed dark in places because of what the characters had endured and what they may still encounter, I didn’t feel hopeless at all as I left them. I look forward to reading the next book in Morgan’s Mercy Series.
In the year 2446, the world exists as a mere shell of what it used to be. The Great Catalyst tore the human race apart as the Horsemen rode. War, Pestilence, Famine… All that remains to ride is Death.
Archangel Tzadkiel, Angel of Mercy, had taken the task upon himself to find one human on the planet who understands what mercy is. Humans are a vile species, though, and as his journey nears its end, he fears he may never find that person. When he is captured by the soldiers of The Bastion, hope wanes even further.
A mere scullery maid, Lourdes hears screams from her room every night. They break her heart and haunt her nightmares, and even though she doesn’t even know who they come from, she swear to find him and help him. When she does exactly that, though, Lourdes discovers she’s opened a door that she might regret and entered a world darker than she ever imagined.
I really enjoyed this book. Morgan’s style is absolutely breathtaking. It’s thick with descriptions of the world she has created (which is incredible) and the people who live in it. I scarfed this book down like Tzadkiel eating oatmeal (you’d understand that if you read Misericorde). And boy, did this leave me with a book hangover. That awful feeling of MAN, NO BOOK WILL EVER COMPARE. ugh. This is a lot to say: It had a slow start, but once I got in, it was just perfect. Chef’s kiss.
A definite 10/10!
Misericorde by Cynthia Morgan
Question: What did I like about this book?
Answer: Absolutely everything!
From the book cover that immediately draws you in, to the dystopian world so eloquently described by this talented author, it’s just a pleasure to read!
Set in the future, the world is a bleak and desolate place with limited resources and the age-old struggle of power over poverty is prevalent. The main Character, Archangel Tzadkiel takes human form and accepts his quest to find a single person who can show true mercy and compassion before 100 years elapses. If he fails, the Horseman of Death will ride and run rampant around the earth.
Tzadkiel is imprisoned and tortured. His blood-curdling screams are heard by a young servant girl, Lourdes, who is drawn to find a way to help him. But how can a young girl with no status ever find a way to infiltrate herself into the nightmare of his life and help him?
Read the book and find out. You won’t be disappointed. A well earned five stars!
Far in the future the face of our planet has changed. Pestilence, War, and Famine, the first three Horsemen of the Apocalypse have ridden, but the final horseman, Death, in on hold. Tzadkiel is the Archangel of Mercy, he is searching for just one human who remembers what mercy means in a world where it is pretty much every man, or woman for themselves. I thought the characters were compelling, and well written. The plot is thought provoking, and while I’m not a particularly religious person, I was intrigued and found myself completely engrossed in this book. I am actually look forward to the next books in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Tzadkiel has come to a greedy, corrupt and cruel Earth to find just one human still capable of compassion and mercy. Only if such a person can be found can he stop the Horsemen of the Apocalypse from completing their task. How much pain and torment can he endure in his quest. Yes, he can stop the agony and at the same time the quest is over. This is an utterly thrilling and vibrant story that a person should set aside a goodly time to ready through as it is not a story a person can put down once started.
This book is great. Not suggesting otherwise. BUT, the beginning is painfully slow due to an extensive use of description. Once past the first few chapters, the author uses less and less description giving the plot a chance to pick up.
This book is a very creative and unique look at a post-apocalypse world and pulls from Revelation in an equally unique way.Give it a try. You will not be disappointed!