The Family Experiment by John Marrs is the latest instalment in a speculative series of books that take place in the same near future world. I personally don’t think it is necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this one but there are call backs and easter eggs for the avid reader to find. I enjoy the linear progression of these books, dating, marriage and now child rearing. This story follows childless couples as they compete in a reality show to raise AI children. As always Marrs is the king of Multi POV and mixed media. Short chapters that end on cliffhangers make this a propulsive and exhilarating read. The speculative elements of this book are so believable as to be horrifying, this is one of the hallmarks of these books, it is all too easy to see the events playing out in real life. There are multiple twists and turns throughout this book, everybody has secrets and their own reasons for taking part in the show. These are parcelled out neatly throughout the story and ultimately lead to that big reveal at the end.
With thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this highly anticipated book in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Marriage Act last year and loved it, so I was excited to read John Marr’s latest – The Family Experiment.

Ten couples are given the chance to raise a Virtual Child in the metaverse, they are competing to win the prize of best parent and get a chance to keep the child… or keep any of the prize fund that they’ve saved from raising them.

The Family Experiment is set in the same universe as The Marriage Act, The One and The Passengers, so there are some nice Easter eggs for readers familiar with these books, but it works well as a standalone for those that haven’t. The book is interspersed with news articles and internet forum chats which keep the pace high. The babies also jump in development stages per week as well which is interesting and really shows the affect that parenting can have on a child.

With 10 couples and their children to keep track of initially, it is quite a few characters to get your head around, but this does decrease down further into the book. Each couple has their own secrets to keep and are well distinguished from each other. The plot builds well, and I was hooked throughout – powering through the pages to find out what would happen next.

Overall, The Family Experiment is another great read from John Marrs – perfect for fans of his other stories but a great read for those who haven’t read them as well. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for this eCopy to review

Wow another great novel from John Marrs, I was hooked on The Family Experiment from the first page. A company creating virtual children is running a competition to launch their new product. 10 families will competing to either keep their virtual child or use their prize money to have a real life baby.

As the story progresses secrets in the families lives are revealed, who is behind this and to what end?

Told through multiple POVs with flash backs and characters from other novels by Marrs I was fully "immersed" in his world which is all to frighteningly believable. A must read!

I've not read all of John Marrs' speculative fiction books. I've jumped in towards the end. I would say to get the full blown experience it would be best to read them in order. There are references in this book to the previous books. And, also characters from previous books pop up.

But, that didn't deter me from enjoying The Family Experiment. What I do like about the whole speculative fiction genre is that, yes it is fiction and its not real. But oh boy it could easily be real if technology changes the way it does.

Here we follow a group of people in a reality show. They are all bringing up an AI metachild in the metaverse.

It's full of secrets, lies and shocks. Entertaining and a well thought out plotline.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs
I give this 4.5 stars

The world's population is soaring, and in the UK, breaking point has arrived. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch.To launch this new initiative a reality tv show is launching. It will follow couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to 18 but in a condensed 9 month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby . .

The author’s talent at writing speculative fiction is excellent and horrifying in equal measure.I was gripped from the first chapter to the last and devoured this in 24 hours. Told through multiple POV’s and short chapters we have AI, reality tv,government and deceit.Did this book play out like I thought it would…..hell no! If you enjoy Black Mirror you will love all his books set in this metaverse. A thought provoking plot that would be perfect for a bookclub or buddy read. Who makes it to the end….. you will need to grab your copy to find that out!
.With thanks to John Marrs,Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for my chance to read and review this book.

The Family Experiment John Marrs

Fantastically Bonkers! Set in the same world as The One, The Passengers and The Marriage Act, if you've loved the previous books the buckle up!
Reality TV show where couples are raising a virtual baby, in the hope of winning a life changing sum of money. The winner can choose to keep their virtual child at the end.
Great character development, and by the end I couldn't decide who the winner should be. I'm a sucker for reality TV, so this book hit the mark at every level.
Would love to see this made into a movie, or better still a TV series.
I've read all of John's books so far, and just can't get enough.

Wow. This is a brilliant and totally gripping read, but also terrifying as we may not be far off some of the events described in this futuristic, speculative thriller.

In a world where many Brits can’t afford to raise a family in the real world, they can enter a reality show, “The Family Experiment”, where they will raise an AI child from newborn to 18 years, sped up so that the child reaches 18 in just nine months. The winner can keep the child or take money to start a family in the real world, but each contestant/couple has secrets and someone else knows what they are.

Absolutely brilliant writing, fascinating characters, a stunning plot, and the ending was mind blowing! Some seriously epic twists in there that didn’t let up until the very last page.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, John Marrs and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I love John Marrs’ work and although this is a fantastic book, I don’t think it’s one of his best. It is missing *something* that I can’t put my finger on. I think maybe I put too much expectation on The Family Experiment. I wanted massive twists, but didn’t really get them. I loved the concept and the characters are mix of extremely likeable to absolutely vile people. An enjoyable read.

This book was so different to anything I've read! I really enjoyed the writing and the storyline! It was such an interesting read

Another five star book from this incredibly talented author who never fails to intrigue us with his stories set slightly in the future while remaining credible and somewhat scary. Following on from The One, Passengers, The Marriage Act this new one, The Family Experiment takes us into a world beyond reality tv where AI is prevalent and almost mundane. We follow five couples and a singleton through the televised experience of each parenting an AI child from birth through to adulthood with the most popular being chosen by the viewing public at the end - the prize being to either continue the relationship with the AI entity or terminate them and take a big cash pot.
The book is, as always, well paced with each character having a distinctive voice. John Marrs is my go to writer and I’m always excited to read what his slightly warped mind has conjured up. I’m greedy so I’m already waiting for my next fix - hurry up John!

Due to overcrowding and the rise in cost of living more and more people are unable to have their own children. To launch a new company which offers people the chance to raise AI children in a metaverse, a reality tv show follows the journey of 11 people as they raise a virtual child.

Told from the POV of the contestants along with snippets from online chat rooms and news reports it took a while to remember who was who (I should probably start keeping notes!) but once I did I was totally hooked! Although quite a long book I sped through this disturbing and scarily probable read. It brought up lots of questions about the use of AI and to what extent we should be letting it into our lives.

I absolutely love the dystopian world that Marr’s has created and am hoping I picked up a few hints of what might be coming next … 🤔

The book was very well written - John Marrs' writing style is second to none! However, I was expecting a bigger twist that just didn't happen on this occasion. The characters were developed well; at times it was a little confusing as to what was in the real world and what was in the Metaverse though. I did still enjoy this book and would recommend if you enjoy futuristic thrillers!

This was a great read as others have mentioned a real black mirror esque read that will captivate you

4.5*

A companion novel that stands as part of John Marrs' 'Oneverse'. It can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading others in the universe as they make for great reading and add an extra dimension to the story the various Easter Eggs dropped in throughout.

Our setting is a speculative dystopian landscape in near future Britain where people can no longer afford to start or raise families. There is an alternative however, virtual children! For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset.

To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children (VC) has decided to create a reality TV show - one of my favourite tropes in the thriller genre. It will follow ten couples as they raise a VC from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby.

I was introduced to John Marrs through The Marriage Act and loved the twisting, science fictionesque dystopian story and setting and this book is no different. We get multi-POVs as we are introduced to, and follow, our 10 contestants and watch as one by one they are eliminated, culminating in a thrilling and extremely satisfying ending.

We, the reader, are the viewers of the show - willing couples and children to thrive and succeed, gaining favourites and changing our rankings of who we want to win as the story unfolds. There are sudden changes throughout the story that make you realise that no couple or child is safe and much like when watching reality TV you switch allegiances as the numbers dwindle.

Like all reality TV and multi-pov novels there are weaker story elements. I didn't particularly like the Woody and Tina storyline and the Cadman character was every influencer that I dislike. I will read The Passengers in future however to get a better connection to his character to see if I come round to him more.

Despite these quibbles I really enjoyed this immersive, funny, and disturbing thriller. There's great social commentary and I love how plausible it all is when reflected against the current world. It's fast paced and an absolute page turner and has made me want to continue reading more in this book universe.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan | Macmillan for a digital review copy of "The Family Experiment" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

In the near future the cost of living means that having a family is prohibitively expensive for many people. In steps AI and reality TV to offer contestants a chance to have a virtual child in the metaverse but of course everything is live-streamed and the public get to vote on who is the best parent. Everybody is desperate to win to have the chance to either keep their virtual child, or start a real family. This book had me holding my breath as I tried to work out what was going on in the background of each family and of the game itself. I don't want to give too much away but suffice to say that you will be intrigued, disgusted and shocked - I loved it and have already recommended it to a number people

John Marrs is like the king of modern dystopian thriller writing.

Utterly captivating and disturbing. Like a black mirror episode in book form. In fact my only criticism could be some of this was too disturbing for my sensitive soul.

Something I love about John Marrs is you often think you’ve figured out connections or plot points, but there’s an extra twist, or two, or three, that take you by surprise. Another thing I admire (but also freaks me out) is how believable the stories are. You could totally see certain aspects being a real thing in a few years time and that’s what makes it so scary. It’s an incredible commentary on issues with modern society and how things could go wrong if taken too far.

Very much enjoyed all the references to plots of past books in this universe. Even though each book stands alone, I love how each one builds up more of a picture of this scary, not too far in the future, world.

I don’t want to give anything of the plot away so won’t say much more. It was gripping, fascinating and very sinister. Well worth a read.

Thanks very much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was yet another brilliant read. It was an incredibly interesting concept, and as someone who has lost a child, I do kind of see the appeal of having a virtual child. But I see the potential issues this could create too. This one really had me in my feelings, and I found myself desperate to get to the end and see how this all played out. I am super excited to see what comes next.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Family Experiment is yet another brilliant read from John Marrs! It’s an eerie dystopian thriller set in the not too distant future and it really makes you question where we’re headed!

The chapters are short and parts are broke up with little media inserts that are really clever! The story is told through multiple different POVs of the contestants and all tell a different story! Watching them unravel and witnessing all the twists was a brilliant experience as always with Marrs’ books!

The way everything tied together in the end was brilliant and I really didn’t see it coming (again as always with John Marrs books - I feel like that’s all I end up saying when reviewing his books!) but it was great! I’ve not been reading a lot recently but this was the perfect book to keep me hooked!

I'm fast becoming a big John Marrs fan! This is the third of his books I've read, my first of his speculative fiction, and I absolutely loved it!

The Family Experiment follows a group of contestants in a reality show where they have to raise an AI child in the Metaverse. Their child will develop at a much faster rate than human children, going from baby to adult in 9 months. They are competing to win enough money to start a family of their own and keep their AI child if they choose.

This was such an interesting topic to read about, it didn't get bogged down in AI tech and was an addictive and compelling read. There is a dual timeline which added a darker side to the story, the whole book was so gripping I raced through it!

There are a lot of characters but you soon get used to who's who. They all had secrets and were flawed in different ways which made them all the more interesting to read about!

I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for it to be released so I can buy a copy for myself! John Marrs is definitely an autobuy author for me and I 100% recommend picking up one of his books if you're looking for an entertaining read.

If you love Black Mirror, you have to read John Marrs. And I think this might be favourite @johnmarrs.author yet! 😱

The Family Experiment is set in a universe where clients can raise a virtual child in the Metaverse via a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show. It follows ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen, within a condensed nine-month period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child or sacrifice it for a a chance of a real baby in the real world.

Guys, the TWISTS. I GASPED. I was hooked, turning the pages of this book which had short chapters that alternated between the different families. At first, you believe these are all randomly selected couples, but as their dark secrets become uncovered, you discover that there is something that ties them altogether.

I love John Marrs’ books because they’re so different to anything else and they just make you THINK. Like this ‘alternate’ world doesn’t feel so crazy that it might not actually happen to us one day in the not-too-distant future?! I can totally see VR and AI giving us access to a totally advanced virtual world that currently sounds like a wild sci-fi dream.

This would be a great book to discuss for a book club, as there is so much to discuss! Can AI people have feelings and emotions? Do they have rights? Can you commit a crime in the metaverse? Can a virtual child replace a biological child? SO much to talk about!! 🙌🏼