Harnessing Altruism is a dystopian fiction novel written by Sava Buncic. The governments did their thing. They promoted their successes while brushing their failures under the carpet, keeping them quiet, away from the public eye as much as possible. But not everything can be kept a secret, especially something that impacts life itself. Groups had rallied, spoken about the warnings of global warming, the impact of the environment on resources. And they listened, from their comfortable chairs, cranking up the air-conditioning and pretending things weren't as bad as they seemed. They diverted the fickle minds of the public, pointing them elsewhere until it became too late. Agriculture was failing, energy almost depleted, and even if there was money to import supplies, every country suffered the same hardship. There was no chance of surplus, no plan of action, and people would soon learn what it truly meant to tighten their belts. This desperate situation brought about World Organization for Resource Management, or WORM for short. Things were no longer about the fate of an individual, but civilization, but at what cost, and do the ends justify the means?

Harnessing Altruism is a brilliant example of a dystopian world, one which could very easily portray our own future. One question came to mind throughout, is it really worth saving humanity if we sacrifice the very values that make us human? As a species we want to survive, we take from the land and ignore warnings about how much more it has to give. We think things will work out in the end. But they don't always. Sava Buncic opens a reader's eyes to a possible path of the future, one of micromanagement and categorisation based on worth, even the restriction of who can be allowed a child with whom. The world becomes divided into key personnel, developers, and doers, and never the twain should meet. Sava Buncic weaves a thought-provoking tale, with a cast of well-designed characters, in both main and supporting roles, who take you along on their journey into what could possibly be our own future. Wrought with imaginative ideas, solutions, and creativity, Harnessing Altruism is not a tale to be overlooked, and is certainly something that will leave you thinking.

Harnessing Altruism by Sava Buncic is the story of how survival takes humans down and brings them back to their basic instincts. This is a very raw story where our characters have to fight everything tooth and nail to get even the most basic things in life. The novel is set in the war torn world in the middle of the 21st century. Instead of giving up, the Turnbull family becomes resilient and fights to survive in poor living conditions. Living in camps is not easy; minimum food and water have made life even worse. In the midst of all that, our protagonist, Ed, will have to learn to live a life that is suitable for survival and enough to make him feel like a human. If he fights the cruel world and the system, he will be dead. However, if he does not resist he will lose every last bit of humanity he has preserved. He is living in a world of desperation, misery and a constant battle with the self and the inner demons. This is a cruel helpless world where everyone must do whatever it takes to survive. Can Ed keep his humanity intact or will he perish?

Harnessing Altruism by Sava Buncic is a very deep and intense novel that takes you to emotional highs and lows. This novel was psychologically thrilling; you will connect with the characters completely and irrevocably right from the beginning. You will hate and love so many for their flaws. I especially loved Ed for his genuine desire to stay close to his humanity in a world that believed in survival in its rawest form. This is definitely a thought provoking novel that was emotional and very well developed.