The Family Experiment by John Marrs is an absolute gem of a book. It's such a great example of speculative thriller. Intense, intelligent, thought-provoking, it will make you question how you view AI and its impact on people and their lives.
The writing, the story telling are absolutely brilliant. The concept of Metaverse is so unique. The story itself have so many twists that will have you completely hooked and reading till you finished.
I love how the story is told, with its multiple points of view, switching between different characters, their individual stories and voices strong and well developed.
The Family Experiment is absolutely exceptional. One of those books that I know will stay with me for a very long time. Highly recommended.

I love love love John Marrs. His books are always amazing. I am so grateful to have read this book early.

The way it was written about AI was very good and made me think about the future.
The storyline was gripping and I was shocked by the ending. Felt a lot of emotions while reading the book, Sad, happines and fearful.

Read if you like;
-Dystopian Thriller
-Reality TV
-Artificial intelligence
-Tamagotchi babies

I’ve not read a John Marrs book before…. I know right, in shocked too. I’ve not read many dystopian books, from the ones that I have read I would say this is by far the best!

You can read this as a stand-alone but some of his others book are referenced in the book. This didn’t hinder my reading experience but I will definitely go back and read them.

The UK is experiencing a cost of living crisis and the way John portrayed this in the book couldn’t be more relatable to struggles that families are facing every day.

I raced through the short chapters, each one ending on a twist or a shocker! Told in multiple POVs from each contestant on the show. You get a real insight into their lives and why they ended the experiment and the secrets they may have!

The chapters are broken up with snippets from online forums, social medial of people discussing and news articles. I loved this aspect of the books, as it really kept you drawn in and made it realistic reading publics views.

Hands down if this was adapted into a tv series or film I would watch!

Truly a fascinating read, leaving you with many moral questions. Makes you think of the possibility of AI and what it would be like in the future!

Happy Publication Day !!! 🥰😍🥰

The world is overpopulated and families can no longer afford to have children and for some even keep the children they already have but a new reality TV show which inside the metaverse families can have a virtual child and if they win the competition then they get tho choose if they want to keep the child or delete the child from the metaverse in exchange for a cash prize to afford a real world baby.

Oh my this was AMAZING 🤩 John Marrs has done it again. This was an amazing rollercoaster of twists and turns and as each POV unfolds my jaw was on the floor with some of the twists. I literally could not put this book down. Highly recommended. GO AND BUY THIS RIGHT NOW !! (Do check the list of speculative thrillers as I do think reading them in order is a good idea as there are some mentions from other books PLUS THEY ARE ALL AMAZING ! )

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and John Marrs for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a super gripping and twisty thriller set in a futuristic metaverse , which is also set in the same world as the one and the marriage act (but you don’t need to have read them all to read this one! It follows contestants invited to participate in a competition to raise their own virtual reality baby think “the ultimate tamagotchi baby” It follows the contestants throughout the whole growing up stages of the kid & they have to do challenges that the audience give them & ultimately the winner also gets chosen by the audience and they are given an ultimatum on whether they want to keep their virtual baby they have raised and got to love and care for or👀 be given 1
Million pounds & the means to get a real life baby but having to get rid of the virtual baby they have bonded with😱 its a super gripping story and you get fully emersed in the book & you feel like you are participating in the show too! I had so much fun reading, John Marrs never misses!

WOW!

If I had a hat, I think it would have been blown clean off.

Well John Marrs has only gone and done it again hasn't he. What a fantastic unputdownable book.

Having read the majority of John Marrs previous books (liking some much more than others) I had a sense of the author and how he rolls.

This book is set in the same world as some of his other books (although nothing will be spoiled if you read this one first, you'll get a greater understanding of the world the characters are living in - at the very least read though maybe read The Passengers).

The book starts explosive and carries on throughout, there is never a chance to get bored. However Marrs still manages to find space to make the characters believable with a solid back story.

There are a few characters to get to know, which at first seems difficult, but you quickly become accustomed to them and their story.

This story stay with you for years to come.....

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC. This review is entirely my own.

Suspenseful dystopic immersive TV plot.

I've enjoyed Marrs before, with the same frenetic pace and quick-paced move between characters/storylines, almost like a Running Man TV show for people with no attention span.

He here employs the same technique. This time I spent half the book trying to remember who everyone was, what their backstory was, and getting a little annoyed that every chapter ended on a cliffhanger.

It all made sense eventually. The plot is horrific really - a number of potential parents in the world Marrs has used before have put themselves forward to 'star' in an 24-hour-a-day Ed-TV-esque show, where each will be given a 'baby' to raise to 18 over the course of 9 months, not a real one - they are digital, and they will interact with them in a digitally created world. And the real world will be watching, and voting. On a planet where having babies is not easy or cheap, the winner of The Family Experiment might be able to afford a real child, even if it means switching their digital surrogate off.

And so we meet several couples (and one 'single dad'), each smiling for the cameras but each, we soon learn, with hidden motivations and histories they'd rather keep hidden.

On the fast track through childhoods, we watch the audience favouring one then another family, we see more of the terribly close yet 'not our' world, and try to determine what is going to happen in the finale of the Family Experiment...

This reminded me of so many TV shows and books, but Marrs definitely has his own world here, I do like that he uses the same setting for multiple books, and even references them for fans.

Lots to uncover here, a fast-moving and fully-realised world that you really, really hope doesn't come to pass.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

John Marrs delivers speculative fiction at its finest with 'The Family Experiment' - a dark, original, and brilliantly crafted narrative that had me hooked from the very first page. Marrs seamlessly intertwines elements of reality TV, AI, and a chillingly plausible future, creating a story that is both thought-provoking and utterly captivating. In this intriguing tale, 11 contestants are thrust into a reality TV show where they must nurture an AI child with the chance to either keep it or exchange it for the means to raise a biological child. However, each contestant harbors a dark secret, and with the world watching, there's nowhere to hide. What sets this book apart is Marrs' skillful incorporation of present-day issues, cleverly twisting them to fit within a speculative future. The result is a world that feels disturbingly plausible, leaving readers both exhilarated and unnerved. I found myself eagerly turning the pages, eager to explore more of the intricacies of this compelling world. 'The Family Experiment' is a gripping read that leaves a lasting impact. Marrs has crafted a masterful story that lingers long after the final page.

Thanks to NetGalley I have yet again read a 5 star read by John Marrs. Once you start one of his books it's really hard to put it down, you just have to keep going. Highly recommend this book

John Marrs is one of my auto readers, I love his writing style and The Family Experiment was no exception, I really enjoyed this book, I thought the premise was extremely fascinating and it really had me questioning my reality as it felt so realistic. Although I did enjoy the multiple POV’s I did find some of the characters unlikeable which lead me to skim reading their chapters. I thought the ending was fantastic!

3.5 STARS ⭐️
———————
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you for early read NetGalley!
I was completely captivated by this book if you are a fan of The One by John then you will love this!!

Eleven contestants enter a reality tv show to nurture an AI child with the option of swapping it for the money to have a biological child if there own, each and every contestant is hiding a dark secret and with this being world wide none of them are safe from there demons. Loved the world building the characters it was just truely brilliant! I think this could be nabbed for an adaptation on tv it was that bloody good!

“the ultimate tamagotchi”

Marrs has only gone and done it again…

Set in the near future where the cost of living has made children unviable for many, ‘MetaBabies’ can be raised in the virtual world (for a monthly fee!). To launch the controversial venture, six couples are taking part in a new reality tv show, raising babies to adults in 9 months. The winner will get the chance to keep their meta child or receive enough money to raise one in the real world.

Incredible twists, mixed media storytelling, multiple POVs and just speculative enough that you can easily imagine it happening soon! I loved the discourse about the rights of beings in the ‘metaverse’ - is it murder if you kill a virtual person?

It’s set in the same world as all of Marr’s speculative thrillers. I would recommend reading ‘The One’ first - there are some minor spoilers if you’re looking out for them!

When there was a scene with a suitcase in the attic I nearly lost my mind after reading Keep It In The Family last month! 🫨

I might just give up reading anything else and focus on reading John’s backlist for the rest of the year 🤣 10/10

thank you Pan Macmillian / NetGalley for gifting me an ARC
#TheFamilyExperiment

OH MY GIDDY AUNT.
Just when I thought Mr Marrs couldn't get any better,
John writes another humdinger of a novel!

What if you could 'try before you conceive'?
That's the whole concept of the family experiment. Only it comes with a monetary prize if you win.
Eleven "parents " enter a brand new reality television show to parent and nurture a AI baby of their choosing.
Once the show and experience begins you will soon realise that not everyone is as they seem.
Lies, betrayal, deceit and dark secret's, await the reader.

Mr Marrs has an uncanny way of predicting the future in his books, which is slightly unnerving and brilliant at the same time.
Brilliantly written characters, some you will love, some you will take a disliking to but they is one thing you will never predict and that's the mind blowing ending!

An absolutely absorbing novel which kept my interest throughout.

The premise of being able to have a virtual child in a metaverse as cost of living is so high is something beyond my comprehensive and then to enter a competition to try and win such a child or the money to pay for IVF makes a story which is full of surprises and revelations.

John Marrs manages to portray characters who are well rounded, not always likable, but believable and relatable. His descriptive abilities brings the story to life and draws you in. I really recommend this novel.

Thank you to John Marrs and Netgalley for my ARC copy of this novel

SOME FAMILIES ARE VIRTUALLY PERFECT 👀 In a future that doesn’t feel too far away, a reality TV show follows ten couples as they raise a virtual child- the prize; the right to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby 🫣

@John is back with his newest speculative thriller out Thursday in 🇬🇧, July in 🇺🇸 I was totally captivated by THE FAMILY EXPERIMENT, it’s The Handmaid’s Tale meets Black Mirror; and will blow your mind 🤯

An engrossing, *so well done* story; filled with mini cliffhangers that will have you turning the pages and finishing the book in no time! Get the popcorn out 🍿

Are YOU ready for the highly addictive, clever and twisty book of the summer? It’s a book you’ll want/need to read 👀 Don’t forget to hit save to remember to get this one! 💾 This

All I can say is WOW WOW WOW! There aren’t enough stars in the sky for this book. It’s definitely my book of the year, and probably of the century! Set in the same world as The One, The Passengers and The Marriage Act – 3 of My favourite books, this is another of John’s speculative fiction books and up there with the best.

Imagine a future where AI is as common as watching TV, and people are struggling to have children both for financial and medical reasons. Unfortunately, this isn’t a hard stretch of the imagination. A company has come up with the innovative idea of providing AI babies who you can interact with in the Metaverse. To kick it off, they sponsor a reality show where couples compete to bring a child up in the Metaverse in front of millions of viewers, who will vote some out, whilst giving others difficult tasks. The winner can choose whether to keep the child or to use their prize money to start a real life child. The losers’ children are deleted. This seems very simple, but as you delve deeper into the couples (and one single parent) most have secrets to hide.

At first sight this seems like a set of disparate stories, but with the genius that is John Marr’s (don’t tell him as he’s big headed enough as it is 😂) they are brilliantly woven together to produce a fantastic novel which will keep you riveted and reading ‘just one more chapter’.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6480590582

He’s done it again - John Marrs has proved his place in the literary world. Set as in other books slightly in the future where A1 reigns supreme. Scary but oh so believable that it could happen. A page turner from start to finish

Why haven't I read a John Marrs book before?! Absolutely loved this! Set in a near future the story follows ten couples who are competing in a reality TV show to raise and ultimately win an AI child. Each chapter follows a different couple and throughout the book we learn their motivations for taking part in the social experiment and also the secrets from their past they are hiding from everyone.
I was hooked from the first chapter, the reveals and twists this took left me reeling a few times and I even stayed up late to finish it as I needed to know how it would end. I'll definitely be reading more from John Marrs, question is what one do I pick up next?

This book absolutely blew my mind! I’ve read a few of his previous books and finding the golden nuggets of them scattered through this one was fun. The twists were amazing throughout. I hated 90% of the characters but it takes a brilliant author to write such a great book with such awful characters. 100% recommend this book to EVERYONE!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.

I love everything written by John Marrs and this one doesn't disappoint at all. Its clever and all characters are relatable. The story keeps you engaged and when you are nearing the end, you don't want the book to finish. Now only if there was a way to clone John so we can get double the number of books in the same amount of time. Superb book and can't wait for his next one!