Eight driverless cars have their operation systems hacked and are on a collision course. The passengers are told that there is a high probability that they will die in the next 2 hours. and through hidden cameras in the cars we see their reactions and the reactions of the social media.

Will I be getting into auto driven cars in the future? Well Mr Marrs, for someone who suffers from claustrophobia so badly I get a small panic when I hear the click when I get into an auto locking car, the answer is no!

Did I enjoy this book? You bet I did! I also liked the fact that there were references to John Marrs previous book The One. I hope The Passengers is also bought up by netflix it would make a good sequel to The One.

This is the first book I have read by John Marrs and I quite enjoyed it. The concept of the story of the driverless cars being hacked is a little scary but I can quite see how it could happen in the future as we rely more and more on technology. I loved the twists and turns and finding out the secrets of the people who were seemingly innocent at first but all had skeletons in their closet. Just as you think you have guessed what is happening something happens to prove your theory wrong. All in a all a great suspenseful read.

Although I liked the characters in this book and thought it was well written and well researched, I found the story incredibly far fetched. It definitely wasn’t for me.

I went to a very interesting cyber hacking event this week and I couldn’t help myself, I had to just ask the host about the hacking capabilities of self-driving cars. I was loudly assured that at this point there are no threats…….. but quietly told that it can’t be ruled out in future as hackers evolve with technology.

This story is set in the not too distant future where self-driving cars are ubiquitous. Traffic congestion, accidents and pollution has gone down dramatically. New industries and jobs have been built around this revolution in transportation.

8 different people get up on a fateful morning, order their cars and get in to start their day. But they will never reach their destinations. Very quickly they realise that their cars have been taken over by someone else who is hell bent on ensuring that their cars will collide in the next few hours.

The governing body that oversees the efficacy of AI technology are contacted by the Hacker, forcing them to choose which passengers live or die. The general public also get involved as footage of the panicked passengers are streamed to social media. A flurry of hashtags are born and the story almost takes on a reality TV feel.

This is my second book by John Marrs and I think he will become one of my go-to authors for easy fun reads. I also enjoyed the way that mob mentality on social media was explored and how the secrets of each passenger was revealed.

This is one of those books that should be saved for a holiday as you would probably want to read this undisturbed.

Recommended

Brilliantly written! I couldn’t put it down and found myself itching to get back into it at every opportunity. The storyline is something that can easily be imagined with how technology is developing. The characters are all interesting in their own way, with a few likeable and a few not so likeable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it.

What a fantastic book this was. John Marrs books are all fantastic and never diasapoint me. This one was very cleverly written and full of twists and turns. A very unique storyline. Would highly recommend this book.

O.M.G I am gobsmacked !!! What an absolutely stunner of a book from pen (or typing fingers) of the wonderful John Marrs as once again he writes a brilliant, futuristically scary story that is totally different from anything I have read before it’s a completely original plot and to say it was compulsive is an understatement !! Full of fun, intrigue and suspense it just grabs you by the throat and pulls you into a plot that you really are never sure what the hell is going to happen next, it’s so different and the cast of characters are fabulously written, some likeable, some not, it’s packed with twists aplenty and more. I guess you can see by my enthusiasm I loved it and I am not going to go on about the story other than to say I really can recommend this one as book you don’t want to miss out on so grab it as soon as you can hide away somewhere and just read and read you won’t want to put it down !! All the stars and more for this unmissable, brilliant book .
My thanks to NetGalley, the brilliant John Marrs and Penguin Random House UK for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the idea of this book, but unfortunately I didn’t connect with the story, it might just be me, I DNF’d at 60% but will be trying to pick it up again in the future

Anyone who follows me on Facebook or is a member of THE Book Club knows that I am a HUGE fan of John Marrs and am lucky enough to call him a friend and also honoured to be featured in a cameo role in his last 5 books.  When John wrote THE PASSENGERS he kept telling me I wouldn't enjoy it, but as usual I totally ignored him and started the book with an open mind.

If you've read any of John Marrs' previous books then you know you are in for an original story line full of fascinating characters who all tell their story through their own voices and chapters and somehow are all brought together in a clever and gripping way and THE PASSENGERS does exactly that.

THE PASSENGERS is set in the not-too-distant future and is similar in concept to THE ONE which focuses on what happens when technology is taken to the next level and the consequences on the human race.  In this book driver-less cars are now the norm and in the level 5 automobiles there isn't an override option, a steering wheel or even brakes and the passengers rely 100% on technology to take them from A to B.

Eight seemingly random and unconnected "Passengers" get into their driver-less cars one morning and within moments their cars are hacked, they are told they will die within 2.5 hours and their fate is streamed live to the world via social media.  Meanwhile over in a non-disclosed government building a select group of MP's, doctors, lawyers and religious representatives are taking part in a top secret jury and inquest. Within moments of the hacker hijacking the cars he has made contact with this group and given them sole responsibility for the deaths of the 8 passengers.

In the usual "Marrs manner" you can expect the unexpected, twists, turns, shocks and several OMG moments.  I absolutely love how John manages to weave connections between the characters, make you feel sympathy one moment and utter disgust the next and keep you, the reader, on your toes throughout the journey.  Another cracking read.

Having enjoyed previous books by this author, I was excited to see what this latest offering had in store.

The idea of the hacked driverless cars is a brilliant concept and was really well executed. There were plenty of secrets on the part of all the characters which were revealed to the reader in dramatic fashion. The plot has many twists and turns, most of which I didn't see coming. I was gripped right from the start.

It's taken me about a week to be able to put into words how incredibly epic this book really is. It has spurned conversations and debates among my family and friends as they asked about what i'm reading. It has made me think about the future of technology and of the amount of control and trust we place in power and convenience.
I loved every single character in this, even the ones I came to despise. They are so true to life and represent so many facets and flaws in humankind. They are written so well with depth and passion that it creates an incredible curiosity as the plot unfolds.
The idea, the very concept that in the future driver-less cars will be so commonplace and that the forces empowered to govern can be so easily manipulated. It's phenomenal to me to be reading a story set not too far in the future where we will rely so heavily on computers that do the thinking for us and on technology that it supposed to help us keep connected. Since reading The Passengers I've had conversations about growing up as the internet expanded, as mobile phones became smart phones and how technology has changed over the last 30 years, how technology may change in the next 30-50 years and what that means for our children and our children's children. I think the most compelling thing about this book, besides needing to know the outcome, is that it's so plausible and I'm left thinking that not only is this future a possibility, but wondering at what point this really happens. As ever John seems to have created an emotional and heart rendering tale that plays on peoples curiosity and fear. I encourage everyone to read it, it's bloody brilliant!

Absolutely blooming fabulous! I sincerely hope there is another story that ties in and we get to find out what happens! I don’t want to give anything away, but if you love a bit of mystery and suspense, then this is one to read.

This is a thriller with a sci-fi feel to it.
Eight different passengers are stuck in their self-drive cars, heading for a collision course.
There’s a ‘jury’ which had been convened to debate another issue involving self-drive cars and is rail-roaded into becoming the grand jury for deciding who should survive the collision.
We also have the participation of the public via social media, with voting and liking of various passengers. There is a secret operator behind the whole set up and no one knows who this is.
Each of the passengers has a secret. Some of these secrets are dark and they are not all as they seem. The secrets are revealed to the public and this influences the voting.
It was an easy read. It has a nice style which skips from page to page and I finished it quickly.
The only part which didn’t work for me was the romance between one of the jury and one of the passengers.
This author gets a lot of praise so I was probably expecting more substance and more tension, but it was original and a good light read.

I enjoyed this unusual take on what initially appears to be AI controlled vehicles gone wrong, but it soon becomes clear that the wrong doer is human. The story is complex and emotive, and as we head into a future that looks as if it will be very similar to that in the book, this story presents the reader with many quandaries.

This is a great premise, in the current climate of fear of impending AI, and I was swept up in the story and caught out by the twists. If I'd scored it immediately after I finished reading it, I would have given it 4 stars. However, the more I thought about it, the less sense some aspects of it made to me. Warning, spoilers ahead. Despite the explanation given, there was no need to have someone on the jury of their choosing, it would have played out the same way. And there was definitely no need to have one of the hackers in one of the cars, all that did was give away the face of one of them. The story would still have worked if Libby had happened to know a (genuine) .passenger.

"When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?"


Everytime I read a John Marrs book, i'm gripped right from the start and then taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and The Passengers was no different!

It was written so cleverly from start to finish that i literally couldn't put it down. The characters were believable and well developed - that there were ones i loved, ones i hated and ones that i was neutral about. Everytime i wanted to guess the next twist in the plot, i never got it quite right which is an amazing skill of Marrs.

An easy 5 star read that i will remember for a long time!

I really enjoyed "The One" by John Marrs and was eager to read his latest offering.
I thought the concept was great, in this terrifying live-action reality game show where eight people are trapped in automated vehicles on a collision course and the audience gets to decide who wins and who dies.
They all have a secret and the plotting and pace are quick and action packed. It's easy just to wizz through this book, but not think about it too much.
Very readable, but just lacked that insight and something extra that was in "The One".

A good interesting Scenario showing the dangers of unmanned, fully automated Systems. The characters were interesting and the personal histories not what they first seemed on the surface. It got a Little heavy handed with the Moral issues, slowing the Story down in the last half, but still kept some great twists until the end. Easy to read, interesting plot, great ending.

I thought the writing in this book was excellent, but the premise of the story didn't really connect for me. So, I can't fault anything with the writing, dialogue, or characters, but the plot didn't hook me. I love reality TV, but I'm not sure...maybe the premise of getting the characters in play with the voters didn't register, but I will totally take the blame of not loving it. Still a very well planned out and well written story!

Intriguing premises, this was my first Marrs' book. I think the fan of the genre will find this tense thriller with a speculative flavour describing a reality not too far away very interesting. I liked the plot better than the characters which I couldn't connect to, so left untouched by the tragedy that cursed their lives I wasn't too bothered if they lived or died really which I think was supposed to be the main hook of this novel. Will certainly recommend to the fans of the genre.