OH MY GOODNESS! I am trying to decide which twist surprised me the most. I love being a part of this dystopian world. I feel as though I am at home when I am engulfed in these books. John Marrs hits the nail on the head with these dystopian thrillers.

This book gives me total futuristic Sims vibes, and I am here for it! A company who has created Virtual Children has also created a Reality TV show in order to showchase a life in the Metaverse with an AI child (why does this feel extremely realistic?!). Within the show, the children will age at an accelerated rate from birth to the age of eighteen, condensed into a nine-month time period. 1. Newborn stage 2. Nine months old 3. Two years old 4. Five years old 5. Eight Years old 6. Twelve years old 7. Fourteen years old 8. Sixteen years old 9. Eighteen years old.

Viewers of this reality TV show have full live-feed access at all times. They are also able to interact and vote throughout this process. 6 contestants started this process....

I just wonder what is going to happen next in this dystopian world...

I love the way John Marrs' mind works. He takes such a simple idea that really doesn't feel that far fetched and creates a whole world. I also love how connected each of his books are, though they aren't part of a series. The world he builds in one book extends to the next and so on. It really is clever and creative and overall a joy to read and escape to.

The Family Experiment is classic Marrs so if you've enjoyed his other novels like The One or The Passengers, you'll definitely love this one. Set in a cross between the Metaverse and the real world, I loved how this book turned the notion of "family" on its head. It prompted so many questions - could you love an AI child? If you "raise" an AI child, are they real? Do AI people have rights? - and I loved that it made me question my beliefs and challenge my ethics.

I also enjoyed the competition aspect of this novel. It put people to the test making them juggle their real world responsibilities while raising an AI human in an expedited way in the Metaverse. The commitment this took was staggering! There were so many surprises along the way that I definitely didn't see coming and much of the show made me fearful for what reality tv is and what it is becoming.

Marrs definitely taps into some ugly sides of humanity and The Family Experiment is no different. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I will admit it took me ages to read it and I sometimes had trouble keeping up with who was who, but generally, it was a great read.

Thank you to HTP, Hanover Square Press, and NetGalley for the copy.

“..a new twist on an old format.”
Exactly my thoughts. If you haven’t read any of this author’s books you may think this book is very unique, 5 stars. However, if you’ve read The Passengers or The Minders, then you will probably think “this is the same book, same plot, just different characters..”
It is the same stuff. Good writing, enough mystery, twists, dystopian, AI improvements, ethical dilemmas, nods to previous books with even some of the same characters. Overall the book is good and maybe the best of his I’ve read.

4.5 Stars - rounding up
I can't recall the last time I read a book about AI - maybe never. I just finished two books about AI and reality TV shows, even though I'm not particularly interested in either. Despite these books sharing some similar elements, they are quite different - except for the fact that they are both exceptional!

I used to steer clear of science fiction books, insisting that I wasn't interested, until some Goodreads friends persuaded me to try my first John Marrs novel. I instantly became a fan. I'm still very selective, but I've discovered a few amazing authors in the genre.

John Marrs' novels are a mesmerizing tapestry of interconnected stand-alone stories. What's truly fascinating is that they unfold in the same captivating world, with subtle references to each other that will keep you hooked. Marrs introduces mind-blowing new elements in each story, showcasing his incredible imagination and creativity.

In "The Family Experiment," Marrs takes us on a wild ride into a metaverse where the concept of a virtual child is explored. This futuristic, jaw-dropping journey stretched my imagination in ways I never thought possible. Trust me, this isn't your average sci-fi story – it's an experience that will leave you reeling long after you've turned the last page!

Big thanks to the author and HTP Book for the advance copy provided through NetGalley. All thoughts are completely my own and shared voluntarily.

#TheFamilyExperiment #htpbooks #htpinfluencer #thehive #JohnMarrs #SciFi #virtualchild #metaverse #VR #RealityTV #AI

5 Fan-girling ⭐️s for John Marrs’ latest release. This man can write no wrong IMO!

Like his previous novels, this book starts with a “what the F is going on” scene. (I am a sucker for whatever he baits his opening chapter hooks with.) Chapter 1, and I’m already invested n the characters, something many thriller writers fail to achieve through the length of an entire book.

Then he flips the script, and you’re introduced interview-style to the contestants in the AI, live-streamed game show, The Familu Experiment. If you feel like you’re drowning in character soup (because there are a lot of them), don’t panic! He throws you a life preserver with how distinct and uniquely crafted each character and their storyline is. You’ll be able to tell who is who soon enough, I promise.

What I love about John Marrs’ characters: even the “good guys” are at least 1% bad, and even the worst person is at least 1% “just misunderstood.” I find them so much relatable than pure-of-heart heroes, and evil to the core villains.

The final chapters are stacked with layered reveal after reveal. They took me through a full range of reactions: YES! NO! What??? Ohhhhh…

While never directly asked, this book raises the question: Are technological advances actually advancing society, or are they setting our humanity back. When we feel void in human connection, we fill it with connection to the internet. How well does that work, and should it work at all?

I tried to get into this one but it was a little too meta/sci-fi for me and I felt lost as I was reading.

This book was mind bending! There are some in the UK that are desperate to start a family. The population is overcrowded, costs are sky high, and some just can’t start a family. But now there is a service in which, for a monthly fee, you can have a virtual child! To introduce this to the world, the company launches a reality TV show wherein couples compete by raising a baby in the virtual world. They enter the metaverse with a special suit and a VR headset. The winner will either be able to keep their virtual child, or have the chance to start a real family. This experiment is 9 months long, so the development milestones jump far – from newborn to toddler in a month! (If only!) The contestants are watched 24/7 by the public. Who will win, and will they keep their virtual baby or try to start a real family?

Whoo this book. This book is set in the same universe as Marrs’ other books The One, The Marriage Act, and The Minders. It’s not necessary that you read those though (and I haven’t read two of the three). There is a large cast of characters, and at first it was a little difficult to keep them all straight, but I caught on rather quickly.

One of the aspects that I liked in this book was the use of mixed media. There were news articles and chats included as well. It breaks up the book a bit, and since it was a reality TV show, it was nice to get a snippet of how the public was reacting to the reality show.

Where Marrs gets these ideas I’ll never know (though he does explain it at the end of the book). But man, talk about something unique. Not only is the concept unique, but there are so many twists and turns that occur in the book. I didn’t see any of them coming, and the one that I thought I saw coming and guessed, I was wrong. This book was just SOOOO good! It’s mind bending and mind blowing.

I’d really love to see this one as a movie or TV show – I really think this is the perfect book for that.

This book was impossible to put down. If you are looking for a fast paced twisty read, this is it!

The Family Experiment is a not too far fetched reality show based on meta babies, created in the meta verse with AI. Contestants will have the opportunity to raise an AI child while the world watches and rates their parenting. Win and you can keep your child or $250,000 to start a family in the real world. Lose and poof, your child is deleted, erased, gone.

This book blew my mind but again, wasn't far fetched. What are we doing with AI and how are companies using it? What ethics surround AI and future people created in the meta verse?

Just go read it, it was a blast. Well thought out. You won't find any cheap twists or sloppy mysteries in this book.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy to review.

I'll read anything John Marrs writes because it's so unique, thought provoking, and absolutely unputdownable and this is no exception! I was captivated by the reality TV aspect, and while multiverse plots often don't work for me, this really did for some reason. He writes in a way that is very easy to picture, and I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun summer read that they can't put down.

Happy Pub Week!!! I knew that I was going to have to read the latest after loving the few of Marrs books I have read (yes I am still working on his backlist). He once again sent me on an absolutely wild ride and I am totally here for it.
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Picture this, you want a kid, but there are circumstances preventing that from happening; you can just head on over to the Metaverse where you can have an AI child. Before this goes live though there will be a contest show giving insight as to how this will work. I was hooked!
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This is a epistolary of sorts novel where the reader can get insights to live threads during the "show" it was such a fun aspect to this story, and I feel like that little aspect made this feel all the more real. Marrs created a futuristic world, but not one that really seems that far-fetched. There are a decent number of characters, some you will love and some you will hate, but in the end, they are super easy to follow. My favorite part - each "family" pretty much has a secret that they are trying to hide and let me just say, they just get more and more shocking.
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There are multiple twists throughout this story that will have you gasping with your jaw on the ground. I flew through this in a day and loved every minute of it. It is super fast paced and will keep you guessing the entire time. This story is just so creepy and eerie with how this one day could be a thing that I will most definitely be thinking about this one for quite a while.
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I listened to this while reading along with my eARC and the full cast was absolutely phenomenal. The audio truly was incredible. Highly recommend listening to this one!
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The Family Experiment was just released on 7/9. I cannot recommend this one enough! Huge thank you to NetGalley, John Marrs, Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

One of my favorite things about speculative fiction John writes is that the journey doesn’t end with the last page of the story. Entertainment factor is always through the roof but so is the social commentary. The Family Experiment is a gift that keeps on giving in that regard. It led to so many thought provoking real life discussions with my friends and I loved every second of it!

What a wild, wild ride this story was! We humans are capable of both great and horrible things, a lot of times both in the name of progress (and profit!). Virtual reality and AI keep processing at such a fast pace that imagining a world in which families can have a virtual reality child doesn’t seem that far off. Combine that with a 24/7 reality show and a bunch of contestants who might have secrets they’d prefer to keep hidden and you get a page turner you won’t be able to put down!

In case it wasn’t clear, I LOVE this book! Along with The Marriage Act it’s now tied for my favorite Marrs book! I won’t be shutting up about it any time soon so prepare to see a lot of it on my feed 🤩

A huge thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, NetGalley & the author for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"We are a few weeks through the series and we are kidding ourselves if we still think we’re watching real people faced with real-life challenges. It’s one long, glorified infomercial. People who cannot afford to raise families are being sold an answer to their prayers in the biggest piece of product placement our screens have ever seen . We are being told an artificial intelligence-operated child is our future."

This is a dark dystopia that feels all too real. Would be parents who for various reasons are not able to be parents in the traditional fashion can compete on a reality show. They will get to see who is the better parent/set of parents..but the catch is that the children are not real. Everything takes place in the metaverse. The audience is constantly watching and judging.

I definitely enjoyed this. Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest revie

The Family Experiment is the first book I've read by John Marrs, and I honestly don't know what to think. I usually love books set in the future that exacerbate an issue or technology that, in the present day, has not yet significantly changed the world. In this story's case, the author expands upon the potential of AI and the various ways it could replace humans, including having children. Most of this book just creeped me out – which was most likely the point. But I was moved past the point of enjoyment and into the need to finish the story. For this reason, I am giving the book three stars.

Quick recap without spoilers:
In a future not so far off, the world's population has caused so much overcrowding that having children has become too expensive for many families. A new technology is releasing the option for a virtual child following a reality TV show where couples raise a child from birth to eighteen in nine months for the chance of choosing between their virtual child to keep or a cash prize to invest in a real child. When virtual reality is so incredibly realistic, how can one tell what is real and what is not?

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy. Because I did not rate this higher than three stars, I am limiting the review to NetGalley and Goodreads vs. publishing on my Instagram page.

This book had an interesting premise: a game show where families have an AI child and they are competing to either keep that child or win prize money to start a family in the real world. There was so much about this book that hit home with how society is right now: AI influence, the cost of living, the job market and desperation of people. It's worth the read, but overall it dragged a little for me. There were too many characters, and I had a hard time remembering who was who. The book was well written though and included lots of surprise connections.

John Marrs did it again. I absolutely loved this book. I love how other books/ characters are intertwined. The topic from his book The One is talked about a lot in this book.

I loved the writing style in this book and because it was a reality TV show there were advertisements and news breaks. Since this was live streamed there were chat conversations that made the story more interesting.

I don't think I liked or cared for any of the main characters but John did a great job developing them.

This was a WILD ride that I loved. The way so many chapters end on cliffhangers kept me clinging to my Kindle to try to get the next chapter in that POV and see the story unwind a bit further. Each of the characters was so unlikeable in a fun way - it became difficult to root for anyone and as it all revealed itself at the end, even more so.

Summary from Goodreads:
The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. 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 has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

I love a good science fiction/dystopian thriller that makes you think!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

Marrs’s sci-fi thrillers are always fun and this is just another one to add to the list! I love books about tv shows, and this one follows a reality show where contestants take care of their own AI child. it’s a fascinating and bingeable thriller that also has a lot to say about the development of technology and how scary our world is becoming with so much AI at our fingertips.
As with all Marrs books we follow lots of POVs which can be hard to keep track of at first, and of course some storylines are inevitably more interesting than others, which I can see being a detractor here but we move through characters so quickly I didn't have an issue.

I have always like John Marrs' stories but have sometimes found his writing style to not be my particular taste. This book was a completely different experience and I was hooked all the way through.

In a time of overpopulation, for a subscription fee, people can create and raise a virtual child. A new reality tv show follows ten couples as they raise virtual children from birth to 18, condensed into a 9 month period.

First off, the premise of this book hooked me from the beginning. I love plot lines that center around reality tv. The book was thought provoking and was almost a chillingly realistic futuristic concept. I loved the drama and all of the plot twists.

The only thing I didn't love about the book was the number of characters. I found it quite overwhelming at first.

The Family Experiment
John Marrs
7.9.24

I loved that with Marrs books, I’m in the same world as his previous books.

In The Family Experiment, a new company is trialing an AI child available in the metaverse. They’re having a competition to kick off their new ‘product’ complete with a viewing app where folks can vote on the chosen parents participating. The winners grand prize being keeping their metaverse child at the end or a large cash prize.

The development of the characters, their unique backstories, and motives is what really kept me invested. I loved the worldbuilding, and as I said earlier, the incorporation of previous stories is such a treat.

As with all of John’s books, I learn something new and with the advent of AI, it’s not really as shocking of a concept as it may have been 5 years ago. He’s really a step ahead in SFF and pushes the envelop between reality and fiction. That, I think, is what makes his books just a tad scarier!

My thanks to @HTPBooks for this gifted DRC.