A creative sci-fi thriller packed with twists but lacking believability and likeable characters

In the not too distant future, cyber terrorism is becoming more prevalent, and hackers are swiftly bringing down countries at an alarming rate. To prevent valuable information from being hacked, the UK government decides that its secrets will no longer be stored in computers, but instead turned into genetic code and implanted in the brains of ‘minders’. Five specially selected individuals whose unique brain wiring means they can store massive amounts of data. The five selected minders must give up their past lives and commit to a series of rules to guard the government’s secrets. However, one minder is not who they seem, and as the danger ramps up, they all find themselves being hunted by people who will do anything to possess the secrets they hold.

The concept behind The Minders is definitely very original, and features plenty of the ingredients for a good, trusty dystopian sci-fi thriller: corrupt governments who no one can trust, mad scientist-type doctors with dodgy medical ethics, and popular science concepts and ideas that, thanks to the rapid progress science has made in the past few decades, often feel like they are just around the corner. The plot is a little slow at first, but the pace picks up rapidly during the second half, with plenty of twists and surprises throughout. I didn’t see many of the twists coming, and the ending was quite unexpected. The author clearly has an incredibly creative mind, and his writing flowed smoothly and was very easy to read.

Unfortunately, despite its action-packed and engaging plot, I found myself not enjoying this book as much as I wanted to. The science behind the whole concept of the minders was too unrealistic and didn’t fit in at all with what is already known about neuroscience. It seemed to me as if when coming up with the idea (along with some of the other science aspects in the story, such as the DNA matches) the author had taken some interesting concepts and then mashed them up in a pseudo-scientific way which looks and sounds very glossy and high-tech, but actually doesn’t make sense at all in real life. This really bothered me, but potentially will not be an issue to readers who don’t have a science background.

I also found virtually all of the characters very unrelatable and many of them weren’t fleshed out enough for me to empathise with what was happening to them – in particular, the romantic subplot felt very lazy and unbelievable. I also didn’t buy into some of the characters’ reasons for choosing to become minders. Most of their situations didn’t seem desperate or terrible enough for them to abandon everything and everyone in their former lives completely, particularly not with the rigid rules imposed upon them (including no alcohol and no pets). As a final point, I absolutely despise conspiracy theories, so the fact that a few of them were sprinkled into the story really annoyed me, but again that was an entirely personal thing.

In conclusion, I was disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this novel more, as I had high expectations and the idea behind it was extremely interesting. Although this particular story wasn’t for me, I would definitely not be put off trying more from this clearly talented and original author.


Daenerys


Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Another 5-star book from John Marrs!

His futuristic vision of technological developments, the events that will happen in our world and the fact that his books are set in an unspecified time in the future mean that Marrs' plot will keep you guessing all the way through. There are twists galore, right to the very end meaning it just gets more and more enjoyable.

This is such an enjoyable book with an intriguing and unique concept. The writing is brilliant, as always with John Marrs. There is an ensemble of great characters and I found myself rooting for most of them.

It's really a very intelligent and special thing to be able to imagine such a futuristic world that plays out in the not-to-distant future, creating your own timeline of worldwide events and things the reader can recognise and relate to, whilst also creating brilliant links between your other books. The One, The Passengers, The Minders ... these aren't a series of books as such but they all have nods to each other and reference things that have happened in the others without giving away the plot lines for each.

As you can tell, I loved this book and would highly recommend reading not just The Minders, but every John Marrs book you can get your hands on! Enjoy...!! :)

Thank you to NetGalley, John Marrs and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely love John Marrs and every single book he's written. Brilliant and unique and crazy yet down right believable. Highly recommended x

I must admit that I was confused by this book, but only because I haven’t read the other books that are tied to this story. Saying that, I think it can still be read as a standalone, even if most of the characters are making appearances elsewhere.
I found the story compelling and interesting, there are many things that for me felt very unrealistic but also made me think of how much I know about new tech and new inventions and research, obviously that not much.
Page after page, something new happened and my interest and fear of waiting for the shoe to drop was increased as well.
Twisted and gripping, this is another must read thriller

I am a huge fan of Marrs’ books and writing style. Everything I have read from him I have loved! His books have such 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, immersing the reader in every twist and turn! This one was no different...
⁣⁣
I don’t want to give too much away since this one isn’t even out in paperback until September but I loved it! It 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 ‘𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬’ (another of John’s brilliant books) - it had the same 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 and the same 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞. This book is 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 and I read it in just two sittings! 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞! ⁣

Anything by John Marrs is a must read and RBI’s was no exception. Full of twists and turns and a great story. Highly recommended

This was a good book. It gradually grew on me and I was intrigued to see how things would end. However, I have to be honest and say it is not my favourite John Marrs book. I found it quite confusing for some time to try and follow the different stories of each character.
I did enjoy the links back into other books by John - the references to The One and The Passengers and I thought it was clever because it made the events in this future feel more real due to those links, although I have to point out that if people haven’t read the previous books it could possibly create some spoilers for them.
Overall I rated this 4⭐️, it didn’t keep me as gripped as others I have read by Mr Marrs but it’s well written with an excellent plot woven between interesting characters.

My only previous experience of Marrs was with Passengers, seeing as I blew threw it in a few hours I honestly couldn't say what took me so long to read my ARC of The Minders.
Passengers is relevant but not compulsory reading before this novel, as is -i believe- The One, though I have yet to read it. Both introduce futuristic technological and biological advancements that are a back bone in The Minders.
Don't worry, there's no difficult jargon or in depth science fiction to wrangle with, the premises are simple and all too believable!

I've sat here all day to read The Minders, stopping only to eat and once for a cheeky nap, (I'm not asleep I'm just resting my eyes!) and it was incredible.

The novel is told from the first person POV of four 'minders' and the enigma that is Emilia, as well as additional explanation delivered by occasional transcripts of government briefings.

Each Minder has their own reasons for giving up the life they know in aid of the country's well being, and of course the pursuit of wealth and a fresh start. Some are immediately explained and others unravel throughout the book, holding the readers intrigue on many levels.
All of the characters are well fleshed out and I was invested in each, although less so with Charlie at times.

The only minor drawback was my dislike of the big reveal for Emilia- it felt a little rushed and silly. However, the final page of the novel was just perfection so I let that blip slide.

this was 100% not going to be a book I would normally pick up or enjoy. And you know what.. I was completely entranced. I can see why netflix wants this series because I am very captivated. This book is already long and yet I feel it could have been even longer. I need this on Netflix tomorrow please. What a super creative plan for the future.. and I am about it... or wait netflix doesn't want this but they have his other book.. yeah hello netflix you need this!

The minders by John Marrs.
I love John Marrs and his books are just brilliant. So cleverly written. Some great characters. Read in a fews days. Can't wait for next book. 5*.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 people with a unique and rare neurological condition called synaesthesia, who aren't particularly happy in their existing lives, are selected to carry the UK's governmental secrets in an implant in their heads and start over in new locations. This is thought to be a safer storage location for the information because computers can be hacked. But someone knows these people exist and the participants start to realize they are in danger.

As a rule, I hate futuristic novels, but this one seemed to be set only a few years into the future, so I could tolerate that aspect. I found the 5 characters and their backstories to be interesting and I found this to be a pretty fast moving novel. I felt like it built on elements from Passengers and The One, both novels that I have not read, but may circle back and pick up because they sound pretty interesting. Definitely a unique thriller that overall, I enjoyed.

John Marrs is one of my favourite authors so I am always excited when I hear he has a new book out. His book ‘The One’ is one of my all time favourites so with this referring in parts to that and his other novel ‘The Passengers’ I knew I was in for a treat. This is another original and fast paced story set in the future. It has plenty of twists and turns and I was hooked from start to finish. Another masterpiece from John Marrs. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Speechless. Flabbergasted. Mind blown. Oh yes, John Marrs has done it once again and the holy guacamole is most definitely back!!! I know I might be a bit biased when it comes to his books; he's easily one of my absolute favorite thriller authors and I've loved every single story I've tried so far... But there is no denying just how unique and original his stories are. The Minders is already the third book set in that same near future world with that sci-fi/dystopian feel, and it's another fantastic story. Mind, this is officially a stand-alone story and you can quite easily without reading The One or The Passengers first as it's no official sequel. BUT. Both books are absolutely brilliant as well and you won't be able to spot references to those stories if you don't read them first, so I can highly recommend just clearing your schedule and read all three if you haven't already gotten yourself started.

So, The Minders. I've decided to keep these rambles short both because I'm still recovering from the massive book hangover this book gave me and because it's simply one of those stories where it's better to go in blind so you can fully savour the experience. The Minders is a bit of a mash up of a sci-fi, crime and action thriller all set in a near future world that seems surprisingly realistic and makes you worry about how our own future would look like. Why? Well, let's just say that this particular future isn't exactly a picnic, but at the same time a highly probable escalation of the present. This will put you immediately on edge and you will find yourself on the edge of your seat the whole time. I know I was!

The story uses a multiple POV structure where we switch between the different main characters in play. This might seem a bit much to handle initially, but trust me, it is absolutely worth it as you slowly get to know them better and understand the full scope of the situation. Each character is well developed and feels realistic; they might not seem exactly likeable, but they are each fascinating and their backgrounds explain perfectly why they would opt for a fresh start. The cast of characters is used to introduce a wide variety of different topics into the story, giving the story so much dept without it distracting from the plot itself. You will get crime, you will get violence, you will get emotions, you will get action, you will get suspense, you will get a psychological angle... The Minders is a true rollercoaster ride that will leave you breathless and shell shocked by the time you reach that final page. It's a story that doesn't fit into a neat box; a truly unique thriller with a sci-fi feel set in the near future that is destined to simply blow you away.

Wow! This is another exciting and engrossing read from John Marrs. I always look forward to his books and this one did not disappoint. In my opinion this book is best read after the authors other two books set in the same 'universe', being The One and Passengers, as there are numerous mentions of plot points from those books. This new book can certainly be read as a stand alone but I think readers will get so much more out of it by reading the two earlier books first. Another fab read with a gripping plot and well fleshed out characters. Recommended.

A great plot line- the protection of a nations dirty laundry against hackers determined to rule the world utilising human brains as storage dumps.
The descriptions of an autonomous world and the neo-Luddites fighting those changes (I am totally on their side with avoidance of autonomy!) were spot on and showed both sides of the argument very neatly without becoming a rant whilst instilling a degree of unease in the reader about the possibilities of our future world.
I liked the fact that secrets might permeate to real life causing either accidental revelations or the more sinister side effects such as the "echoes" and that synesthesia was clearly carefully researched, but as with a previous novel I felt the science did not stand up to even basic scrutiny (which it probably was not intended to but as a scientist I find it hard to look past!)

A good read.. I am a huge fan of all of John's books.. elements of The Passengers bring a good storyline. Looking forward to the next one !

Brilliant again I absolutely love john mars’ books. His imagination with the narrative and story is both compelling and thought provoking. The book contains some reference to The Ones premise but it can be read as a a stand alone. Gripping, exiting, finished in 2 days would highly recommend

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a copy of “The Minders “ for an honest review.

Another well written and entertaining book by John Marrs.I had read his previous novels and this seemed a perfect way to follow on their storylines , but I think it would still be fine as a stand-alone book.
Quite a few characters, which I often find confusing, but they were all well rounded and I was genuinely concerned in their outcomes.
I will be recommending this book and eagerly awaiting his next

A well written book that kept me interested in the story line with excellent characters and their secrets.

Some parts of the book were a bit heavy for me personally but did not spoil my enjoyment.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this, a nice tie in with The One and The Passengers. Speculative fiction is one of my favourite genres, and John Marrs never disappoints with his brand of dark and disturbing.
An interesting concept of storing state secrets inside the minds of people who have synthesia. There were some great snippets of secrets, which will delight conspiracy theorists.