Walker Percy's novel, The Thanatos Syndrome, invites inevitable comparisons to the dystopian giants George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Each of these narratives delves into the ethics of societal control through medical interventions, warning against the perilous pursuit of a perfect society. Percy's work, however, layers this discourse with a distinctive infusion of religious themes and a contemporary examination of societal issues.

This last novel by Percy brings together the thematic threads that weave through his literary and philosophical explorations—religious faith, racial dynamics, societal manipulation, and the quest for personal identity. A medical doctor by training, Percy's career took a turn when tuberculosis sidelined him, leading to a philosophical journey that profoundly influenced his literary style. His debut novel, The Moviegoer, which earned the National Book Award, explored the existential disconnect between authentic experience and the seductive allure of cinema, a motif revisited in The Thanatos Syndrome.

In The Thanatos Syndrome, Percy resurrects Tom More, a character from Love in the Ruins. In the earlier narrative, More was labeled insane, driven to alcoholism, and left by his wife for a religious sect, paralleling Ellen's gravitation towards Pentecostalism at the novel's conclusion. Despite his previous struggles with addiction, More emerges in The Thanatos Syndrome as a man who has largely overcome his demons, though he occasionally succumbs to the temptation of Jack Daniels. More's journey is one of redemption and proactive engagement, as he endeavors to thwart the societal decay he perceives around him.