Reviews

John Marrs' best, and most ambitious, book to date.

Picture this! It's the near future and you're cruising along in your state-of-the-art driverless car. You might be eating breakfast, applying makeup, reading a book, talking on the phone, or just relaxing, when all of a sudden your car deviates from it's pre-programmed destination.

Then a voice sounds from the centre console:

‘”It may have come to your attention that your vehicle is no longer under your management. From here on in, I am in charge of your destination. “'

This is what happens to eight autonomous British cars carrying eight passengers. And the worse news is still to come. The terrorist who's taken control intends to crash the cars into one another at full speed. Well, seven of them anyway. One of them will be spared, and each passenger will be given the opportunity to plead their case.

And who will ultimately decide their fate?

The internet public. Because everything that's happening is live streaming.

Exciting, high-speed, pulse-pounding, as well as frightening and unsettling. This was the maximum tech-thriller. A timely and all too relevant insight into the potentially destructive nature of technology – how reliant on it we are, how it's changing the way we connect with the world, interact and view one another, exposing us to dangers that used to be the stuff of science fiction. The spread of social media features prominently, with mob and mass mentality, lack of personal responsibility and accountability, and vigilantism rearing its ugly head in judgemental and hateful ways.

I was immersed in the story from the first sentence to the last, and the action was fast paced, and non-stop, from start to finish. There were ‘gasp out loud' moments, cliffhanger chapter endings, a satisfying, surprising conclusion, and relevant articles, newspaper clippings, paperwork, and internet posts preceding chapters. Every character was unique and complex, their fear and anxiety all too real.

The high level of detail and research the author put into his futuristic driverless cars – the mechanics of how they operated, their features, governing rules, laws, and regulations, made this novel all the more fascinating and impressive. This was set in the same universe as The One, with Match Your DNA contributing to the plot.

With just over a week left in May, The Passengers is in prime position to be crowned my top read of the month. Everything about it was crazy good, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to all readers. Fingers crossed, that like The One, this also gets picked up for a Netflix series.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Penguin Random House UK – Ebury Publishing, and John Marrs for the e-ARC.

UK Release Date: 30th May, 2019.
US Release Date: 27th August, 2019.

booksemmaread's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

themarinabox's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

WHAT A BOOK. Goodness, I’m not even sure what to say. It’s everything you want from a psychological thriller. Amazing pace first of all, it kept my eyes and brain moving and I could not stop reading.

It’s a book that not only shows the ugly side of technology but also the unsettling ugly side of humans. I cared and hated some characters in a good way because of John Marrs’s clever way of developing these characters.

I say this is worth the read!