This book was unique and thrilling. I found myself anxious, in a good way, most of the time. I don’t think what happened was overly realistic. However, it was interesting enough where that didn’t really matter.

I received a free e-copy of the Passengers by John Marrs from NetGalley for my honest review.

Eight passengers that are in eight separate driverless cars. Each driver with their own secrets but one thing they all have in common is that none of them make it to their desired destination. The drivers can't do anything; brake, steer, open a window or even a door. Someone else has taken over the entire vehicle and in 2 1/2 hours all 8 cars will collide head on. A hacker is in control and the jury is "we the people" who get to decide all of the drivers fate. Who will live and who will die?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As we begin to really push the boundaries with technology, Marrs continues to dream up incredible science fiction plots that rival the best in those Black Mirrors episodes. 

The idea of a self-driving car is awfully appealing to me, but Marrs terrifies us by creating a world where the self-driving car is in full control of the passenger.

Say what? 

Eight cars have been equipped with camera equipment and they are told that they are driving towards certain death. Televising the ordeal, really drives home the point that people see these situations as completely delightful reality television.

Heck, even the passengers think it is a stunt.

Unfortunately, for them, it really isn't. 

This science fiction thriller is twisty, fast paced, and the kind of book that you have to finish in a day.

This is the best book I've read in a while! What a fun, yet horrifying, ride (pun intended) this little thriller was. I could not put this book down. I've already requested copies for every branch in my library system and I've picked it as my next book club read!

The Passengers was released by Berkley Publishing on August 27, 2019. I was given a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A hacker is able to access the computers of eight self-drive cars, and he changes their GPS destinations so that they'll all collide. The public will now have to decide which of the passengers they want to save with the limited information provided by the hacker. The problem is, not everything is at it seems with the passengers.

This book was so incredible and I'm kicking myself for taking so long to get around to it. I was annoyed that I couldn't sit around and read it all day. If I would have had the time, this would have been finished in one day. You have an aging TV star, pregnant woman, war hero, abused wife, illegal immigrant, a suicidal man, and a husband and wife in separate vehicles all at the mercy of the public and the hacker. It was truly terrifying to watch the public's "mob mentality" form to support or gang up on the passengers based on the information given about them. It hit a little too close to home, given that this is the way some of our public officials behave today, without the self driving cars.



The stories were heartfelt. It was so easy to connect with each of the characters at different parts of the book. I found myself on countless occasions trying to figure out who I would have chosen to save. It truly is an impossible choice, especially given the way facts can be twisted to fit different agendas.

This book thoroughly freaked me out. I won't even get an Amazon echo because the idea of it listening all the time freaks me out, and my cell phone is bad enough. God help me if we ever figure out how to have self driving cars. I definitely won't be setting foot in them now!

I loved this book. It was part science fiction, part thriller, and all heart. I'm glad it helped me end my 2019 reading journey on a high note.

Easy rating for me on this one.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars

I thought this premise was incredible, and only wish the execution had been the same. I'm interested in reading more from John Marrs but I was definitely rolling my eyes by the resolution.

To me this was a good book but also disturbing. The idea of self driving cars is scary to me. The author did a great job telling the story and he showed a lot of imagination. I have ordered this book for the library. I am sure many will enjoy it.

The Passengers involves eight separate people who have their self driving cars hi-jacked. As they race toward a certain death, the public and a small group of jurors must decide who lives and who dies. This was a really good thriller. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the story. I ended up enjoying this much more than The One. As an aside, the events from The One are referenced a few times throughout this story. So essentially, The Passengers takes place in the same "world" and a some time after the events in The One.

The story is told through multiple perspectives. I liked that format because it added a lot to the suspense. The characters were engaging. No one is safe. Everyone has secrets. If there was ever a cautionary tale about why we shouldn't give all of our control over to machines, it's this book. This story also highlights the need to wait until you have all of the answers or facts before you make up your mind about something. Nobody's situation is as cut and dry as it appears. Personally, I kept changing my mind as to who I would want to vote for to be safe. I don't want to say much more about the plot because it would ruin the twists. I definitely recommend reading this one. Is was a crazy ride.

The Passengers gad a lot of potential, and kept me interested just enough to not stop, but not enough to keep me awake at night. It was a bit predictable and got sluggish for me with about 25% of the book to go.

The Passengers is scary how believable it is even though it's near-future science fiction novel. This is the story of self-driving cars causing the drivers to completely lose control and be told they will die in a couple hours all while being broadcast live to the world. Super frightening, right? And right while we're on the verge of self-driving cars being a thing. Highly recommended to readers looking for a plausible, scary science fiction novel set in the near-future.

I was really into this book for for the first 80%, which were parts 1 and 2. If I gave a rating just on that much of the book, it would be a solid 4 stars. Then part 3 came along, and everything just fell apart for me. The writing was good, for the most part, and some of the characters were interesting. Some were major stereotypes, but to be honest, with that many characters, it doesn't surprise me. But the thriller aspect just died in the last 20%, even with a push to bring it back.

To be honest, the hacking done on the cars might have been wholly unrealistic, but I don't really care. I'm blessed to be someone who can just enjoy it for what it is, because I don't really know a lot about software, AI, or electronics in general. It was pretty clear that some of the Passengers were only in the book so that the Hacker could show how serious he was, as the number quickly dwindled from 8 to 5. Each of those 5 Passengers has their secrets, which are unveiled as the Hacker hurtles them to their doom.

While this is happening, the protagonist, a woman named Libby, is one of the 5 on the jury that is being forced to decide these people's fate. While there were some things that she did that really bugged me, it was a good perspective to watch the events from. The very end of part 2 was a bit confusing to me, and unfortunately, in the mess that was parts 3 & 4, the book didn't really give a satisfying reason for what happened.

Parts 3 & 4 are messy and mostly unnecessary. They felt like a tack-on, and frankly, soured the mysterious nature of the Hacker. I felt like there were too many attempted twists, and I quickly got to a point where I just didn't believe anything, which makes it difficult to enjoy a book.

In the end, I am glad I read this book. Enough of it was enjoyable that I would recommend it for fans of sci-fi, especially people who enjoy books that show horror stories about the direction our technology is heading. Because of the many higher ratings this book has gotten, definitely check it out if you think you might enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me a copy of this book to review.

This book is terrifying!!!! I keep thinking that it's so realistic, it could really happen. I have so much automated things in my house that could go wrong, I'm not ready to let myself in a driverless car anytime soon! At least if my house's lights are hacked, at best it could look like it's haunted. Not life-threatening at all. But having your car hacked and knowing you'll be dead in 2 hours and 30 minutes... I would totally watch this as a movie and be absorbed by it, even if I read the book. Please let it be a thing!!

Many thanks to Berkeley Publishing for the complimentary e-copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The word I would use to describe this book is chilling. When 8 passengers get locked in their self-driving cars while trying to go about their day, it turns into mass chaos. Now there is a panel off jury members who must decide their fate. Nothing is fair and nothing is easy. This book chilled me to my core to imagine that something like this could ever happen. It’s such a great book.

Who gets to make decisions about someone's life? The fate of eight passengers in self-driven cars depend upon a committee's decision. But each person is not as they seem and will their hidden lives impact the result once those lies are shared with the committee and the world.

The premise of this story was intriguing so that’s why I thought I’d enjoy it. I struggled to finish this as the way people died was definitely upsetting and makes me never want to own a self driving vehicle. Not sure who I’d recommend this to.

While the he concept behind The Passengers is definitely very current, the problem is that it's a little too current and that the book will not age well. In fact, it seems so designed to play on anxieties centered in this current moment that it almost felt as if I was reading an admittedly very well written news article that ended up being stranger than fiction. (Hey, it happens!)?

Okay, leaving the bed jokes behind, The Passengers is entertaining but far too centered around technology and moments that will soon be forgotten and/or dismissed.

This was an unassuming little thriller that crept up on me, completely unannounced. and what a compulsive addictive thrill-ride it was - Passengers by John Marrs is my first book by the author and it certainly won't be the last. [ Indeed, another of his titles The One apparently is being made into a ten-part Netflix series, I certainly want to check it out before it hits the screen!]
Anyways - being closely linked to the whole AI phenomenon at work, the premise (And the delicious promise!) of this book got me hooked straight away. A world where driverless cars are norm on UK roads - and what can happen, if a Hacker gets access to the artificial intelligence servers to control the lives of the passengers within? All too plausible. With the whole debate around ethical AI gaining traction around the world, this was a very topical book, extremely cleverly executed as well.

John Marrs draws us in, reel by reel with the unexpected plot twists and cliffhanger chapter endings galore, keeping us guessing and on our toes. His writing was absolute mastercraft in itself. The racy narrative starts with each of the eight different passengers, who get locked into their own autonomous vehicles and are programmed for a specific location with the warning that within the next two and half hours, they would all be dead. A mysterious Hacker calls up this highly secretive inquisition committee, appointed by the government to enquire into and clear accident cases involving the driverless cars. Libby Dixon is a common civilian, drafted into this committee, the only one with enough balls to stand up to the officious MP Jack whose only agenda is to clear up the machines and get this farce dealt with, as soon as possible. But Libby, the rebel with a cause, is probably the minority few who dare to take an alternative stand. She's gutsy and outspoken and brings her brimming passion to this seemingly mundane "jury" duty where typically the civilians are drafted on, as an afterthought to perhaps keep the humanitarian NGO's silent on the streets. But the manner in which Libby pokes holes in the unflappable MP Jack's arguments for the machines raises quite a few flutter. But with the massive terrorist attack on British soil, lots of big guns swing into action. Cameras are trained on this small committee and very soon, the Hacker starts dictating his terms. It isn't a very pretty scene. Devolving into a "game-show" with audience polls, 'phone-a-friend' and other 'features'. But then, real lives are at stake here!

John Marrs also brings in his well research POV on how Social Media today dictates news around the world - the power of the many, albeit uninformed opinions and thoughts, that shape destinies on the internet and spill out into the physical world. The frenzy of fear, multiplied million times over through clicks and baits on the internet, feeding millions across the world, is an ever-present 'character' in the background as this nerve-wracking drama unfolds on the roads of Great Britain. Even as the Hacker starts to reveal his intentions, it is clear that this 'kidnapping' goes beyond just making a public social media statement. There are twisted lines of connections between many of the passengers. Even Libby's past is linked to one of the passengers. What does the Hacker ultimately want? This was a question that kept me flipping the pages faster.

What also kept me glued to the pages was how John builds up each of the individual characters, rendering them as not just two-dimensional flat victims but making us care. At least for some of them. While some came across as too unbelievably 'flaky' ( Like the fading actress who refuses to believe that this stunt is nothing more than real-action TV that is set to get her publicity soaring again!). The family drama between husband-wife duo each stuck in a car about to explode as they play cat and mouse game with each other as well, just seemed preposterous as well. But staying my judgement on that, all this of course made the whole drama heart-rending and fragile, so to speak. But what mattered was John sets up his thrill sequences pretty well, unlike half hearted attempts at emotional upheavals.

There is a sort of disturbing prescience in the whole manner that the future written by John Marrs comes to play. Food for thought, yes. I did feel however, the science fiction elements weren't really central to the narrative. Yes, autonomous cars and perhaps a few more concepts were alluded to but it all felt more post-modern in terms of a near-future way of living than science-fictional. The Passengers is a non-stop thrill ride, a great potboiler of a read on a 2 hour flight that presents a dismaying picture of the reality that might clog up our futures if we aren't careful. And it all again boils down to the fact that there is no such thing as an unethical AI. Ultimately it's us humans that program these 'robots' that may dictate our future. Don't be surprised, if this one's becomes your next summer Hollywood blockbuster from Michael Bay. Exploding cars, exciting chase sequences, edge-of-the-seat action. Mark my word, it is coming.

This one wasn’t for me unfortunately, I liked the premise and the idea of technology impacting our daily lives but the execution didn’t quite work for me.

The Passenger by John Marrs is a futuristic book about driverless cars. What a concept right? Maybe not. The eight characters in the story would argue against it. Everyone's day was going along as it should when they get into their cars and find themselves locked in and the car is set on a course where all of the cars will collide head-on in a few hours and the people were told they would all die. They were hacked. The deal is, only one person will be allowed to survive. It is up to a "jury" and the internet to decide who gets to live and who does not.

What an imaginative story, I read it in two sittings. I did not want to put it down! Can you imagine that someone can hack into your car and decide your fate? Personally, I don't like the idea of an autonomous car. An electric car is fine if it is to save the environment but not one that is programmed to do what you want it to do. Like any internet linked device, they can be hacked. I love the premise of this book though. It is about a domestic terrorist who has a certain agenda.

I love Libby, at first, she seemed like a meek woman but as the story went on, the reader finds that she is a very strong woman. I enjoyed reading about each of the characters and what their faults were and what was going on in their lives that would determine their fate. So why were they hacked? For what purpose? Those are good questions and reasons for you to get a copy of the book.

This book is an edge of your seat kind of thriller, futuristic but not a fantasy. A story that will have you wondering about the future. I think that if you love this kind of story you can't go wrong and I think I want to read more from this author! I give it 5 stars!

Filled with diverse characters and twisty connections, The Passengers is a thriller centered around self-driving cars. Told through multiple points of view, John Marrs' gripping suspense story tells the tale of several motorists who find themselves prisoners of their vehicles. With a countdown in place, and the world watching, will these passengers be able to take control of their destination or find themselves fatalities of fate? A wild ride of adrenaline! Great for fans of Karen Cleveland.

I was fortunate to receive a free ARC of this book from Netgalley. The above thoughts, insights, or recommendations are my own meek musings.