Science Fiction
By John Marrs
Paperback 416 pages
Publisher Del Rey (30th May 2019)
'Provocative, terrifying and compulsive. Another savagely clever near future thriller.' Cara Hunter, bestselling author of Close To Home
Set in the near-future, eight passengers are trapped inside their driverless vehicles when a hacker hijacks their on-board computer systems. He notifies them that in a little over two hours they'll collide while travelling at speeds of approximately 70mph. Their plight quickly captures the attention of the world's media and is streamed live around the globe.
Meanwhile, the hacker announces to a horrified Vehicle Inquest Jury that they can save just one passenger. The chosen person will walk away unharmed while the others will almost certainly die in the collision.I've been hearing how good John Marrs' novels are for quite some time, so over the course of a few months I've been downloading them to my Kindle. Not being one for always reading in publication order, I plunged into The Passengers at full throttle. What I got was a very good story about advancements in technology leading to the government enforcing driverless vehicles as compulsory on Britain's roads. Hmm... not quite as far-fetched as it seems! Autonomous cars were being trialed as recently as 2017.
The story delves into the passengers' backgrounds with the reader learning not everything is black or white. This for me was where the book got very interesting. However, some aspects felt a little too contrived. Overall it was a solid read but just lacked a few of the jaw-dropping 'WOWZER!' moments I've come to expect.
Book Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating ⭐⭐⭐
📗The Blurb
When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.
The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?
The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?
📘The Author
John Marrs is the author of #1 Best Sellers The One, The Good Samaritan, When You Disappeared, Welcome to Wherever You Are and Her Last Move. The One has been translated into 20 different languages and is to be turned into a a ten-part Netflix series in 2019.After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time writer. His sixth book, The Passengers, is set for release in April 2019.
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