This is such a good thriller. I was hooked. I read it in one go. The short chapters and excellent characters made me have to find out what was going on. Parts were predictable but in the best of ways. Great for a summer read.

This is book 3 in what I see as an unofficial series. First book being The One.
I've loved the 2 previous books set within this "world". Each one showing a dystopian reality that could one day be possible.

The synopsis of this was very intriguing. I went into this wondering just what this world could look like. Turns out it's worrying.

I found myself gripped to this story. While it did feel a little slow at times I still wanted to see where this would go. What secrets everyone was hiding.

The Family Experiment is a dystopian thriller following a new technological advancement claiming to make parenthood more accessible with the introduction of virtual children. It is multi-POV, jumping between the stories of people competing to become parents in the metaverse. These stories weave together as strange and shocking things are uncovered and secrets are revealed.

John Marrs always manages to create dystopian societies that are so sinister and yet so realistic and eerily close to the world we know today. It feels like a glimpse into what could be on the horizon, which makes it thrilling and at times horrifying. The Family Experiment is set in the same universe as some of the author's other books, some years after the events of The One and with some references to The Marriage Act. It is a standalone novel so you won't miss out on anything important if you haven't read them, but those who have will enjoy some easter eggs and references.

Highly recommended to fans of The One and The Marriage Act; if you liked them, this is very much in the same vein. Also recommended to fans of realistic dystopian fiction and suspenseful thrillers.

From the dystopian world of The One and The Marriage act. The Family Experiment was a book I couldn't wait to read as a John Marrs fan. However this one disappointed me. It just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

It's based on the concept on a reality TV show The Family Experiment. The game lasts 9 months and the baby will progress in leaps up to the age of 18 by the time the finale comes around. The winner has the opportunity to keep their metaverse child or win a cash prize.

There are a few twists along the way, most I found predictable, but there was one I didn't guess. It was a little monotonous at times, but enjoyable overall. It won't dissuade me from picking up whatever John Marrs writes next!

You don't have to have read any of the authors other books (although I have!) to fall straight into this one. Some back references are made to plots in earlier novels but in depth knowledge is not required.
This books plays into the obsessions so many people have with reality TV and the increasing use of AI in many aspects of life to bring you a virtual child, who you can care for as much or as little as you like!
Contestants in the reality show are given a child in the metaverse to bring up in an accelerated timeframe with a view to a big cash prize for those who stay the distance.
Each of the families have unique circumstances and approaches and as the competition progresses more comes to light about them all, and it is not necessarily a positive light.
My favourite Marrs book to date!

This is my first book of John Marrs', although I have heard of some of the others, so I'll be interested to read them. This book is set in the same universe as a couple of his others (The One, and The Marriage Act) and so I'm sure if you've read them that you would get something else out of reading this one. But going in blind, I never felt at a disadvantage. Sure, there are things alluded to, but it doesn't stop any enjoyment of reading this book first-time round.

It's like 'Big Brother' on steroids. There's shocks and surprises round every corner, most of which I could never have predicted. It's so fast paced but never feels rushed; it gives us time to get to know everyone and get involved in the story, but never feels slow or stilted.

All the dialogue felt natural. If I'm honest, most books, even by well-known experienced authors, have at least one line of quite unbelievable dialogue, but I couldn't find any in this. It feels so real. All of it does. There's this bereft feeling the reader gets when you end it that's similar to that felt of the characters.

What's becoming scary is these futuristic fictional sci-fi topics are becoming more and more feasible in the real world. I hope we never get to the stage it is in this book, but it does give you food for thought. Is there anything we aren't willing to monetise or put on social media or the telly, if it means money or success?

It is so addictive; I read it in one sitting. It's unlike anything I've read before. It's sad but uplifting, scary but comforting, unique but familiar, bold but quiet. It's everything it could be. Like the characters, you start growing attached to the children like they're real, you become part of the simulation, and that's when the fear of AI becomes real.

There are quite a number of characters - too many to get into here; it flits from one couple to the next and so on and back and forth. This could have been really complicated and confusing and jarring, but it works really well. You're immediately invested in whatever character you're currently reading about. Everyone is different enough to be interesting, but similar enough to flow together well.

It is not without its difficult topics: miscarriage, child loss, bereavement, death, drug abuse, abduction, trafficking, mental illness, affairs, financial issues, debt, and of course, the ethical problems raised by AI children - are they ''real'? Should they be given the same rights as humans?

It is a psychological thriller, yes. I found it more moving than I expected it to be. Thrillers generally don't make me sad, they make me thrilled...but this was really quite moving and I felt a lump in my throat on a number of occasions. This is definitely a recommended read.

Wow…what a book! I’ve shamefully never read a John Marrs book (but now have many saved in my TBR pile after this) and confess that speculative fiction isn’t a genre I usually like, but this was an incredible read and I flew through it.

A new reality show allows selected couples to raise a virtual child for 18 years accelerated over 9 months, and the company behind the show is preparing to launch a subscription service for other would-be parents of virtual children. There are so many twists and stories behind the contestants, I couldn’t wait to read on what happened next. Absolutely spellbinding from start to finish.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Well well well, this is unexpected! My new favourite John Marrs book. I didn’t think he would ever top The One but this book was everything and more. The twists from chapter to chapter ensured I was unable to put it down. Wow! What more can I say. A fantastic read from start to finish. No one dominates sci-fi thrillers the way John Marrs does!

The Family Experiment by John Marrs
4.5 ⭐️

Synopsis: 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 VR 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 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'm quickly turning into a big, big fan of John Marrs. I was lucky to get an ARC of this book on NetGalley and devoured it in two days!

This book is so different to anything I've read before and set in a dystopian future (although a future you can absolutely see happening!) which terrified me a little bit.

Huge fan of the short chapters and alternating point of view between each couple. Each couple has their own story and own twists which I really enjoyed.

This book is set in the same universe as other Marrs novels such as the One, the Passengers and the Marriage Act. There is reference to these novels in this one but it doesn't spoil it. Definitely going to give these a read next!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I downloaded it instantly , and page 1 had me audibly saying WTF!! and that was how I knew I was going to love this one. And I did👏🏽. The subject of the book felt scarily real throughout and then reading that John’s inspiration was from an article about meta babies, this cemented that fact that one day, this could actually be a possibility😳. I really enjoyed how each family had their own story throughout. It added so many layers to the story and kept me engaged. I absolutely loved the twist at the end! I did have some inkling because of the name but it was still brilliant. I won’t say too much as to not spoil it.

Overall, this is a brilliant read and one everyone should be adding to their tbr on release!

The Family Experiment is set in the same universe as John Marrs' other novels The One, The Passenger, The Minders and The Marriage Act, so has all the futuristic elements within them in this book too. Such as the driverless cars, the marriage act, the DNA soul mate match as well as “15 Minute Cities” where everyone lives within just a 15 minute walk away from everything residents would need such as shops, workplaces, and healthcare. In this world there are still “pandemic lockdowns” occurring on a fairly regular basis so most people work from home. The virtual reality world and AI have made even more advancements, there is a company called Re:born and they actually have an advert advertising their upcoming service. They are a company where you can order a metaverse baby. It can be a 'new' baby, or a duplicate of your current child at an age of your choosing or more eerily a replacement for a loss.
You can pick & choose age, sex, eye & hair colour, skin tone, body shape, their accent, interests & speed of growth. Re:born advertise that "Designers can create the perfect blend of you & your partner just like mother nature intended"
These children have a digital memory, they have photo realistic faces & bodies that can react to you, the parent by using facial tracking & voice recognition. There is a deposit payable and then a monthly subscription fee of £19.99
Re:born is part of a larger company called Awakening Entertainment who also own the new TV Reality show called The Family Experiment. 11 contestants who have been through a lengthy application and vetting process. These prospective parents will wear a slimline headset which are about the size of normal sunglasses and a special “Haptic suit” which have thousands of tactile sensors which allow its wearer to feel every sensation of whatever they are doing in the MetaVerse. Over the next 9 months the contestants compete with each other, bringing up their child that will grow much rapidly than a normal child. The MetaBabies start out as newborns for the first month and jump quite a few years at a time until the final month when they are 18 years old and grown adults. Viewers can watch these parents with their MetaBabies 24 hours a day! The viewers get to vote which parents have to face the monthly challenge such as croup or chicken pox, despite the fact it has been eradicated in the real world.

Theres In App purchases for the viewers which mean you can spend time in the same room as the contestants and MetaBabies without the contestants knowing and literally watch the action as it unfolds. A monthly lottery is also held that allows the winner to interact & enjoy spending one on one time with the MetaChildren themselves.

As for the contestants they are given £250,000 the amount needed to raise a RealWorld child from birth to eighteen. However, it is up to the parents if/how they use it. It can be spent on education, health care, entertainment, travel & immersive experiences and other in App purchases to be used within the MetaVerse.

The Family Experiment is a very interactive for both contestants and viewers. The viewers’ interaction is encouraged and they become very judgmental using a system of red hearts if they approve of what the parents are doing and black hearts if they don’t. The viewers also get to vote for an ultimate winner after the 9 months is done. It is a very black and white ending as the losers see their MetaChild permanently switched off and also lose any of the £250,000 they still have at that time. The Winners are given a choice, they can keep any of the £250,000 they have left and their MetaChild, Or pull the plug on their MetaChild and receive a quarter of a million pounds to start a family in the real world. The money will be paid on the live birth of their child whether that child is conceived by traditional means, IVF, surrogacy or adoption.

It soon becomes apparent that each contestant has a past, a secret they are desperately trying to hide from the viewers. All the contestants have issues/problems to hide or overcome. They all have their unique reasons as to why they want to take part, to have the MetaChild, or to have a final goal of being able to afford a real world child, and some are taking part to further careers and simply make money. Newspapers report on The Family Experiment, saying that it is the return of the original great social experiments.

The book is very cleverly presented in different types of chapters and sections. There’s the “show” parts that Autumn Taylor presents. There’s adverts for Re;Born, then statistics 'information' on the individual parents such as ages, jobs, and backgrounds. There are also the online chat parts where viewers speak to each other about what is currently happening and what they think. At times the viewers in this chat are more aware in some cases than us the reader. As online chat know who Adam is, when Zoe accidentally calls Lenny, Adam. It is through the chats that more facts are revealed to the reader.
There are also the chapters telling you what is happening with the contestants both in the MetaVerse with their MetaChild and in the real world with their relationships and how they are coping with the virtual and real-world balance.
I really enjoyed the references to the other books such as the driverless car hijacking in The Passengers, the finding your one true soul mate partner in The One, and the family dynamics in The Marriage Contract. There were also some character crossovers too within the book but you don’t have to have read all the other books to be able to read and thoroughly enjoy this one. There is so much packed into this one book with all the different contestants, their reasons for wanting to take part in the reality show, the secrets they are hiding and why they are wishing to hide them. The contestants may all be in the same experiment but they all handle the situation differently. For example, Cadman, uses sponsorship to generate more interest and earn money at every single stage of their MetaChild growing up, from the baby clothes and other outfits as the child grows to the furniture in both their virtual and real world apartments. Slowly but surely the secrets of the contestants are revealed and they are eliminated from the show until there are just two contestants left, and there is one heck of a twist as one contestant divulges some shock revelations about the company behind the show and his treatment at their hands. The ugly truth of how the technology behind The Family Experiment show was made and finessed.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, Wow.....just wow! A fantastic, well thought out, highly detailed plot with likeable, relatable characters all in a futuristic, yet believable world.....loved it!

Summing up, if you love speculative, futuristic fiction that makes you stop and think wow that’s crazy, but at the same time wow that could actually happen then this is a must read book for you!

I am a huge John Marrs fan and was super excited to read this. Yet again I am super impressed by this author. Another fantastic dystopian novel that terrifying and realistic. Highly recommended wirh all John Marrs books 📚 👌 👍 👏 😀

Wow! John Marrs has gone and done it again! What another excellent storyline - extremely modern and relevant with the inclusion of AI and virtual reality worlds. I really enjoyed this book and some of the characters were great! I also loved how it incorporated online forums/news articles as felt it just added to the modern/future vibe. I thought I had the ending worked out about 60% through but I was wrong! John Marrs really knows how to twist and turn his storylines, tricking the reader into thinking they have it all worked out when actually they don't! Another 5 star read from this author!

Firstly thank you to MacMillan for my early access in exchange for a honest review.
Johns books never disappoint!
Set in the future and with advanced technology it certainly seems unnerving .
His stories are scientific ,dystopian but with the human element of people’s flaws .
In this case it’s the need /greed for children .
Excellent plot with a peek into the unknown for us in 2024!

Fast paced , exciting , interesting and incredibly morally questionable.

My first piece of advice regarding this book: read the author's other speculative fiction books in order prior to diving into this one, it will make far more sense and you will understand the characters personality traits and how their life experience influence decisions they make.

So, in order: The One, The Passengers, The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment.

It's been a few months since I read The Marriage Act, and even longer since I've read the other books, so I had to dig deep to recall some of the returning characters, but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of this latest book from John Marrs. In a nutshell, this novel follows the contestants who have been signed up for a reality TV show called The Family Experiment. As detailed in the description of the book, these 11 people are the chosen ones who are competing to have a virtual child of their own, with cameras following their attempts to nurture a child from birth to 18 years of age but condensed into a nine-month period. Viewers get to vote on the highs and lows of their experiences, the losing competitors have their "child" dissolved into the millions of pixels that construct them. Harsh, and heartbreaking in equal measure.

It quickly becomes obvious that not everyone is cut out to be a parent, and that some of the contestants have their own agenda, whether that is as the couple they are part of, or as individuals. The cash prize is all that some of them are chasing, whereas for others it's a way to raise their own on-line profile and popularity. Is there a single one of the contestants who signed up with the pure intention of having a child of their own, which would not have been possible otherwise? This is just one of many questions you'll be asking yourself along the way.

The chapters gradually peel back the layers of secrets, lies, and deception that seem to be an inherent part of the contestants lives and there are shocks aplenty along the way as we have come to expect from Mr Marrs. For me this book worked so much better than its predecessor and, with hindsight, it feels to me like the author had to create the world needed for this novel by writing The Marriage Act. As a series the whole thing works brilliantly and my intention is to re-read the whole series from the start at some point as it is so impressive and I want to try and pick up on some of the more subtle details which I'm sure I missed on my first reading of the books. Knowing how the world is going to progress in future books will make the earlier books feel completely different a second time around, I think.

I would say that this would make for a brilliant TV mini-series, but having experienced Netflix's attempt to televise The One, I know I would be disappointed so I'll stick to reading the books and trying to encourage everyone to share the experience with me.

Up on Goodreads now, live on the blog on 6 May:

Hi and welcome to my review of The Family Experiment!

I’m a massive John Marrs fan in general, but most of all, I love his series (and I use that term very loosely) set in a not that far off future. I use the term “series” because these books are all set in the same future and they reference each other, in The Family Experiment for instance, the DNA matching technology from The One is mentioned, there’s a character we met in The Passengers, and the act from The Marriage Act is referred to. Still, these are all standalones and although I would strongly advise you to read the whole bunch because they are all fantastic, you need not have read any of the others to feel right at home with The Family Experiment.

I love all sorts of thrillers but I will admit (and have admitted many times before) to a certain weakness for thrillers with futuristic tech / dystopian angle. In The Family Experiment, that angle is AI babies. As in babies who do not exist in real life, only in the Metaverse. By wearing the necessary equipment, real people can parent such a virtual child, live with them in a virtual world and experience all the things parents with flesh and blood children do. But can you love a virtual child like you would a real one? Can they love you? Do they even have feelings? Do they have a soul? To call it thought-provoking would be an understatement.

Besides that fascinating technological story element, The Family Experiment also has the typical thriller elements that somehow never get old. Basically all the candidates who are competing in the family experiment reality TV show are carefully guarding their secrets in real life. A weird but very intriguing origin story, a secret in the attic and one in the basement, and quite a few other ones that were never meant to come out, including a really sordid one I did not see coming at all. And one person who knows them all, and for reasons of their own, wants them all out in the open.

I had the absolute best time with The Family Experiment. My expectations were sky-high but they were met without a doubt. The Family Experiment is an absorbing, thought-provoking tech thriller I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

The Family Experiment is out in digital formats, audio and hardcover on 9 May, with the paperback to follow next year.

Massive thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ +
Thank you to Pan MacMillan for allowing to read this ARC.

In a world not too far from our own, families compete in a virtual competition, as they seek to look after an AI baby for a cash prize. After the nine months is up, and they’re child has reached adulthood, only one family can win, as voted for by a reality-obsessed population. Will they delete or keep their virtual child? Each family has their own secrets that they have gone to extreme lengths to hide. However, someone out there is working against them. And they may be hiding in plain sight.

This might just be my favourite book I’ve read this year! I went into this with an open mind, having not read Marrs’ similar titles in the universe. After being given an insight into the universe with this outstanding book, I definitely can say I’m going to read the other titles. I didn’t expect anything that happened. It was so well developed with every single character having their own dark back story. This is unlike anything I’ve read before, and is my favourite Marrs’ work yet. Great short chapters, and I feel satisfied at the end because no stone was left unturned. There was an explanation behind everything, and these twists were in no short supply.

A possible six star read! You must read it when it comes out

This was wonderfully dark and thought provoking, both on the concept of reality tv shows and of the idea of raising a child in the metaverse. Set in the same universe as The One, The Passengers and The Marriage Act, this is a Black Mirror style concept where there's a deeper, darker secret that reflects corporate greed in the modern day. Take any idea and when discussing pros and cons, don't forget to ask yourself who's making money from it. This is particularly important at the moment, as AI is on the rise and it's becoming a major part of our lives. A fascinating read and I can't recommend the books in this series highly enough.

The Family Experiment is a gripping futuristic novel set around the premise of Artificial Intelligence helping couples become parents in virtual reality. Planned around a reality TV show in world crippled by recession and continuation of the cost of living crisis, we learn the story and plights of six couples and their quest to raise a child from birth to 18 in just 9 months. The losers lose their child, the winners either get to keep their virtual child, or win money to start a real family - an image beyond many in the future as the cost of doing so is too high.

The book takes a while to settle as it switches between each couple and child. It needs a blitz of reading initially or you lose who is who. But the book is gripping and draws you in. A fantasy story, but one that is scary possible at times. Another great book from this author, who wrote a similar novel The Passengers recently.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

Went into this one completely blind to start with (I read the synopsis after being approved and was so glad I requested it when I read that the family experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate ‘tamagotchi’) I absolutely love the AI concept and found it really interesting.
Over the course of the book the past of each of the contestants came to life. Each one of them was hiding something sinister which let’s be honest who doesn’t love a sinister backstory! I did not expect the twists that took place and I loved the little added extras throughout and felt that they really added to the experience of the story.