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

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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!! 🙌🏼

What a fantastic book. I was hooked from page one. A completely unique concept and so futuristic. I can definitely see this being televised!

I loved all the characters and their stories, I was surprised at a few of the plot twists along the way!

Great read.

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The Family Experiment by John Marrs is my first book by this author and I went in blind because of the hype. I am crying out loud as it wasn't my cup of tea :( but I wanted so much to fit in... I bought so many John Marrs books so I am hoping I will be there :)

I really liked the setting of this book - two different worlds, each operates differently but when we come down to humanity... we all are the same! If you never took part in the reality show it's harder to understand the pressure. As our family actually took part in one reality show (not 24/7 and not 9 months!) I know how much pressure is on you so yes, I could connect with characters and the stress they went through! I loved the Hudson! Hudson's past was what kept me going... Definitely my favorite character.

So, as you can see - this book is about the reality show "The Family Experiment" in the Metaverse (The Family Experiment is a science fiction TV reality story exploring how people could raise families online). The Family Experiment is a competition with the public voting on contestants who enter the experiment to win enough money to raise and support a real baby. It's intense as AI children age quickly and parents don't have enough time to get in terms of it.
Overall it was an interesting concept but something didn't work for me.

Probably there were too many characters...

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this copy!

What a fantastic book. A completely unique concept and so futuristic. I can definitely see this being televised! The characters and their emotions are so well described. Great!

I loved The Family Experiment, although it did take me a few chapters to become totally hooked. John Marrs employs a similar format to that used in his brilliant The One – short chapters, alternatively focusing on different couples, each ending in a humdinger of a cliffhanger. Once I’d been introduced to all the characters I was completely spellbound until the very (surprising, fantastic, fitting) end. The title of the book refers to a reality show in which real world couples raise the world’s first fully interactive, AI-operated children in the Metaverse. Over the course of nine months these children grow at an accelerated rate to adulthood. We follow all eleven competitors, getting to know their backgrounds – and all their secrets. This is a cleverly plotted, intensely captivating, explosive story. I predict it will be a bestseller, and it would make a brilliant TV series.

Eleven contestants, Nine months to win the perfect child.

Families are given the chance to raise a virtual child with the ultimate prize of keeping it. Except it’s far from easy, their journey’s are streamed across the internet where viewers can vote for their winner and add difficult challenges. Faced with this plus their own battles in the “real world” each family face their struggles along the way and exactly what would the ultimate prize mean to them.

Well, he’s done it again, John Marrs is behind one of my ultimate all time favourite books which is The One and this book gave me the chance to revisit that setting. Raced through it and enjoyed every minute, it’s almost like reading lots of different stories where you are invested in them all straight away. Fab book and thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan macmillan for this ARC.

Well I know I’m definitely going to have a book hangover after this one. This is my first John Marrs book and certainly will not be my last. Finally an author who lives up to all the hype. The Family Experiment takes place in Marrs’ speculative fiction universe. It can however be read as a stand alone.

We join 5 couples and one individual as they battle it out in a reality tv competition like no other. Their aim is to raise a virtual child in the metaverse from birth to 18 years whilst the nation watches and votes. The winner of the competition can choose between 250,000 to use towards having a real world child or they can choose to keep the virtual child they have raised.

Marrs tells the story from the perspective of each contestant. As we get deeper into the story we begin to question their motives for taking part and do some of them have less than honourable intentions.

The story really had me questioning whether society as a whole really takes into consideration how reality television can be damaging for those taking part. Reality television especially at the moment has become so addictive and some individuals forget that there are real people involved. What is the true cost of entertainment and could that cost be too high.

For those that love John Marrs other books and for fans of Black Mirror this is the book for you.

My favourite from this author so far. What a thought provoking vision of what the AI world could be. Well developed characters, interesting back stories, and continually keeps you guessing what comes next. Loved it!

John Marrs returns with easily his best book till now. It’s gripping, it’s creepy, its full of interesting characters. All characters harbour secrets but not the kind of secret you would think.

The Family Experiment is the latest in reality tv and it is set in the same universe as The One and The Marriage Act and although its not necessary to have read these titles, it helps a little with understanding how Marrs thinks and how the story will unfold.

Four couples and one single parent are the lucky people who have a chance at winning a large amount of money. Money they will need to set up a family by themselves – and how to win this money? By ‘raising’ , within 9 months, a virtual child from birth to their 18th birthday. The contestants are carefully chosen – but soon it appears that they are no ordinary people.
The story begins with a quite surprising, not to say shocking scene which immediately pulled me into the story and it was very hard to leave the book every now and then to do something else – like sleeping. However, this story was so far out of my comfort zone, I needed a breather now and then. I have no children, nor did I ever want any. I’m in a very happy marriage and above all else: I hate reality shows because they are as fake as they come. Sometimes I see a short trailer of a show and it never ceases to surprise me how many horrible dumb people there are who think other people would love to follow them in their meaningless lives. And there are apparently even more people with meaningless lives who spend time to watch these ‘shows’. I’m also creeped out by the so-called ‘newborn’ dolls who all look like dead babies to me – and one of these plays a big role in the story.

Anyway, you cannot say the couples who are in this show are dumb. They are overall quite clever but sadly made some (very) dumb decisions earlier in their life. Some things they were able to hide before the show, some things not – such as one contestant who admitted to have been on drugs, and needed their partner to overcome the habit. But there is more, much more going on in this book and when inevitably hidden things come to light, it’s no longer just watching happy people raising a happy child. On the contrary.

What binds alle these people is the deep longing for a child. A child of their own, to bring up and to love. Well, some of the contestants get more than they hoped for, while others face disappointment. But giving up is not easy, because in the end, somehow, they all prefer to take away the prize money and (again) start over again.

The plot is very surprising and so is the ending. I began to suspect something earlier in the book and I was partly right but I would never, ever have guessed the truth.
A masterpiece in characterization, plot, atmosphere and suspense. Not to mention the fact that the latest innovations in AI seem to go a little bit further than most people are comfortable with.

Thanks to PanMacMillan and Netgalley for this review copy.

This book is going to be big! It deserves to be big! Marrs is definitely at the top of his game in this book - it’s one that you won’t be able to put down. Every time you think things are slowing down, it speeds up again and more twists and turns are revealed. I can see this being adapted for TV as well and really hope that it is!

The Family Experiment is set in the future where a service to get an AI-Child in Virtual Reality is about to launch. To advertise the service a reality-tv show with several families raising an AI-Child called „The Family Experiment“ is created. Each of the families have a dark secret.

This book is set in the same world as three other of Marrs‘s books (The Marriage Act, The One, Passengers), I‘d only read Passengers before reading this book and I can say that you don‘t need to read any of these three books before starting „The Family Experiment“. Yes there are references to these books but they don‘t spoil these books and feel more the a part of the worldbuilding.

I took me some time to remember all the characters because there are simply a lot. Every single parent gets to tell their perspective so there are >10 perspectives in these books and tbh for the first 100 pages I didn‘t really remember every one, but the more I read the more familiar I became with everyone and I wouldn‘t say that this overflow of POVs has hindered my enjoyment.

There are also some questions posed on the humanity of the AI-Children but the book doesn‘t go to much into that, it‘s more about the families and their secrets.

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, 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 VK headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show. It will follow ten couples as they raise a virtual child from birth to age of eighteen, but in a condensed nine-month time period. The price: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby.

This is a cleverly crafted story. Contestants take part in a reality TV show. They have to bring up an AI child to win themselves the chance to keep the AI child or get the cash to bring up their biological child. The characters are complex, and each contestant is hiding a dark secret. This is a thought-provoking read that will have you questioning everything. We follow each couple's highs and lows as they are set their monthly challenges. The twists were sinister, the book is disturbingly entertaining.

Published 9th May

I would like to thank #NetGalley #PanMacmillan and the author #JohnMarrs for my ARC of #TheFamilyExperiment in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of John Marrs books so was expecting good things! I am pleased to say he did not disappoint. This book is along the same vein as The Marriage Act but was basically reality to for people to have a baby and see it through to adulthood in order to claim a prize. Their baby however is an avatar, but, a highly sophisticated one. The child will grow “fast” and have developmental stages going from newborn to 18 within 9 months. All the contestants, it becomes apparent, have things to hide.

Although this book is set in the future, it does beg the question of how far away this future is. Some things still seem so far fetched but I’m sure if they were researched, they are not that far away.

The book absolutely held my attention all the way through and bar the first two chapters, the rest was read in one sitting. I won’t rehash the “blurb” or say what happens as I think it will lose some of the amazing tension Mr Marrs manages to put into his books

John Marrs delivers with another near future thriller. In the Family Experiment, nine people compete to raise a child in the metaverse in this reality tv show. The winner will then choose between their virtual child or to switch their child off and receive £250,000 to start their own biological family. As ever, people aren’t as straightforward as they seem and secrets start coming to life.
Marrs writes a book which will keep you guessing and is scarily possible. He questions the ethics of AI and how what happens in the metaverse impacts the real world. Highly recommend.

With reality tv becoming more prevalent this tells a scary and potentially realistic story of people who are desperate for many things but this focuses on AI children. It’s utterly compelling from the first ‘incident’ to the end. Each child has a story with their parent/s. It’s really addictive as you follow the stories to the climax. Absolutely brilliant.