Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Passengers by John Marrs

17 reviews

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh, my goodness. John Marrs is so “balls to the wall” with this book. What a morbid sense of humor he sometimes has. LOL! This story is continually churning from beginning to end, always staying fresh because there are multiple narrators, but the many characters should not be daunting. The book has 70 chapters and each is easily digestible, allowing the reader to gradually get to know the different characters, something about their backgrounds, and eventually the shared terror in which they all find themselves participating. 

The story is complex and full of the realistic, though possibly a bit exaggerated in some cases, life situations that many people face. Throughout the story, the reader will feel a variety of emotions for each character as you learn about many, many gray areas that exist in their respective lives. But you can never feel you have the whole story because the author continually introduces revelations that can make you sympathize more and less and sometimes in between. Life is complicated and making assumptions about people without a clear picture of their experiences and motivations is a mistake.

This book has wonderfully contemporary themes, such as fear of burgeoning technology, crooked, greedy, and corrupt politics, old moral values versus personal rights, and the detestable fascination people have developed for reality entertainment, even when it celebrates the reprehensible human behavior. Taking all that into consideration, this was a highly entertaining book!

I listened to the audiobook and thought the cast of voice actors were excellent, giving each character in normal and dire circumstances a really fitting voice.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, and Alcohol

andreabey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. If you are looking for a book that offers twists and turns then this is the book for you. This near future thriller offers you twist after twist, keeping you on your toes and always guessing. I also found myself disgusted by some of the decision made but then I can see they are sadly reflective of what probably would happen in this day and age.

I really enjoyed the exploration of the impact of making decisions based on the information you have to hand which is perhaps not reflective of the full picture.

This was the first John Marrs book I have read and I flew through it as I just had to know what would happen next. I am now on the look out for more of his books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The beginning chapters were slow but the pacing was good after that.  I enjoyed the suspense of the novel and liked this take on AI.  An interesting multilayered plot with well developed characters was enhanced by a full cast audiobook.  I enjoyed it but it was dark and some of the back stories were tough.  I'd reccommend checking the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

sarah_amy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A re-read after finishing The One for the first time recently. Equally as fantastic the second time around. Marrs' speculative fiction books give off very Black Mirror vibes, where it feels like a very possible near-future if technology advances just the slightest. I love how this book dared to deliver on some of the threats, which kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, not actually knowing whether good would prevail as expected. A great cast of characters, all very diverse, and the story twisted in ways you didn't expect. After reading The Passengers and The One, it's certainly given me a lot to think about regarding just how much of my information is available online & how much someone could find out about me if they really dug deep - not just personal details such as location and financial, but even niche things...such as my taste in books! One things for certain...I don't think I'll ever trust self-driving cars after reading this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Vomit

emma6544's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

juanat77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Interesting plot and characters, as well as unexpected plot twists, but I felt it went on longer than needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

What a wild ride. This book was like a Black Mirror episode.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Violence, and Car accident

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Vomit, Trafficking, War, and Deportation

quetzel90's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Stalking

Minor: Child death